My 22 month old daughter woke up this morning with an allergic reaction rash/welts over much of her body - especially her stomach, legs, and armpits. No fever, and no respiratory impacts.

After my wife and I brainstormed what foods and such she was exposed to yesterday, the only new thing we could come up with was red oak sawdust. I was planing some rough-cut oak to size in the garage while the kids played in the driveway. When I was done, dripping in sweat and covered in sawdust, I went out to stand in the drive and talk with my neighbor for a while. My 22 month old is afraid of the neighbor's German Shepherd and asked me to pick her up and hold her. I held her on my hip in the crook of my arm facing me. Often when I hold her like this, her shirt rides up and her belly rubs against my shirt. I pick her up under her arms, and the insides of her legs wrap around my waist. Those are the exact areas where the rash/welts were the worst and most concentrated.

I am aware of some people having respiratory irritation to breathing sawdust from (usually) exotic hardwoods, but I have never heard of people having a contact dermatitis reaction to coming in contact with the sawdust on their skin. After poking around on the web, it seems that this type of skin reaction to oak is documented, but not very common.

Are any other Creekers allergic to certain species of sawdust coming in contact with your skin? Have any of you seen an allergist for it, and what did the doctor say? We are making an appointment for our daughter, but I'm curious to learn what I can in the meantime.


Semper Fidelis,
Joshua