My Puffy Face... Allergic Reaction to Bloodwood

DAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMNNNNN. Glad you’re alright man. Guess you won’t be using Bloodwood again any time soon. Maybe it got the name because you end up scratching yourself ‘til you bleed.

Take care, JM

-- Jarrod, Taos, NM http://jzmurphree.wordpress.com/

Blake,

Glad it wasn’t any worse!

Thanks for the heads up on the book, too.

Lew

OMG. Im glad you are ok Blake.

I guess for the cleanup you will probably need a set of Tyvec (white) coveralls with a hood and some sort of personal air filtration just so you can get in the shop.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

Woah, that’s awful, get a cheap hazmat when you do the cleanup

-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso

You could get one of those positive pressure masks and the coveralls to clean up your shop. That must suck. Bloodwood looks so good too :(

-- Tyler, Illinois

Wow, what a bummer….. glad your’e o.k and that it wasn’t worse.
I have that book and it is absolutely a wonderful reference. Good lluck on the cleanup.
I have used bloodwood before a few times but have had no reaction to it (yet). Seeing you
sure makes me a little leary of using it now. I sure will make sure that I have all the protection
on / around me that I can if I do use it again.

Take Care…..........

-- Gene, Majestic Eagle Woodworks, http://majesticeagleww.etsy.com/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/majesticeagle/

Wow, Blake. I’m sorry to hear this. I often have had mild reactions to purpleheart & cocobolo, but nothing that comes close to this. Good Luck with your shop clean up & I hope your reaction subsides quickly.

Let us know how things are going.

-- Martin, Kansas

Blake I had a similiar reaction to Cocobolo. First time I made a pen, no problem. Second pen a little problem. Then I made a clock and the base was Cocobolo. I had like poison Ivy all over my arms, neck.

I’ve never noticed bloodwood doing it to me but the only thing I’ve done was an order for 15 pens. But no problem.

I guess everyone’s systems are a little different. Or the wood is different, depending upon the tree.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I had a similar reaction to an Amboyna burl bowl I created a year ago. You can see what it did to me on my other blog.

I wasn’t able to work for almost a week while my hands healed.

-- Joe Brinkman, Ohio - http://blog.theaccidentalgeek.com

Thanks for the heads up. Gotta stink having the itches all the time like that.

I was gonna suggest the hazmat/tyvek suit as well when cleaning up, as well. After following the link, I saw a cool little amber warning lamp, that you might want to buy too. :)

-- Respect your shop tools and they will respect you - Ric

that stinks. right now i think i have an allergic reaction for paduak. i’ve been working with it and i have been scratching a lot. it stinks but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Glad you is ok Blake!

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

how horrible.

definitely wear lots of protection (and/or seek some help) to clear out your shop. That’s horrible.
I’m glad you found out what the cause was so you can prevent another occurrence.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Dammit!......I have felt your pain a few times. I now have that book and look at it everytime before I start to use an unfamilar wood.
Hope you get better soon.

-- Can't never could do anything, to try is to advance.

Sorry about that man, get well soon. I think you have given us all an eye opener.

-- Bill from Lithia Springs, GA I love the smell of sawdust in the morning.

Allergy cream or pills might help. You should get someone to help you sweep up.

-- Berta in NC

Yikes!!!

Cleanup will not be a fun task. Maybe you can bribe someone else to help who isn’t sensitive to the stuff.

-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama

I am happy that you did not have too bad an allergic reaction to the blood wood, at least it not affect your respiratory system.

Three ways of cleaning up the shop:
1. Full hazmat gear – really good respirator and vacuum cleaner – special care to be taken on the dust extraction systems. By the way it does not say much for the Jet filtration/Air cleaner system.

2. Get a friend to do who does not have a problem with blood wood.

3. Get a new workshop.

On a more serious note – be careful with other woods, now that you have a reaction to one type of wood, you may be more susceptible to others (I hope not). Lets us all hope you can remove the quarantine notices soon. Take care

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Ach! I need that book! Might just stop by my lock Half-Price books to see if they have it in stock.

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

Blake I’m glad that your OK. but a word not so much to you as to others who think you “got to do what you gotta do” ALLERGIC REACTIONS CAN KILL YOU” no one is allergic to their first bee sting but the second can easily send them to the er or worse and it never becomes less severe. I might mention that you apparently take this to seriously since you apparently did not seek medical attention as is shown by your photo. any practitioner could have helped reduce this and resolved the itching. As for your shop if you don’t have close neighbors I’d be inclined to open all the doors and windows and let the wind blow though even add fans if necessary. Otherwise I would be happy to help but I think there would be some transportation issues, NY to CALIF ??

-- RTB. "dumb animals are not stupid they simply can't talk "

Here is a list that may be of interest:

Wood Toxicity Chart

-- Advertising Manager for LumberJocks, PR Writer and Martin's Slave ;)

I had a wierd reaction to some to a fallen tree we had to chop up when I was in Kenya. I itched for weeks. I don’t know what kind of wood it was but the sawdust was horrible. The thorns on the limbs were bad too! Get well soon and as my 4 year old daughter says as I leave for the office each morning – “Good luck & don’t give up!”

-- When the tide goes out you see who's been skinny dipping.

I was gagged when I cut some IPE once. Couldn’t catch my breath!! I got really scared!! But I swore I would never use Ipe again, and so far, so good.

-- Matt, Houston Texas

Damn! I’m glad you are doing ok. Just think of all of the woods that you do still get to use though. Get yourself a hazmat suit and one of those positive pressure face masks and and a shop vac with a bag. Open all of the doors and windows and have at it. Or just have one of those companies that cleans out HVAC ducts come and suck it all up with their giant vac.

-- Joe, Indiana, http://www.crookedshack.com

Judie – “Here is a list that may be of interest:

Wood Toxicity Chart”

This link fails, do you happen to have an alternative?

I just ended yesterday/today my one week quarantine with the same issue. Everything from the soles of my feet to the top of my head itching like crazy and swollen up like a New Years parade baloon. It was terrible. I am uncertain what it was from since I was doing four different projects at the same time including working with metal.

-- "Love is like standing on wet cement, the longer you stay the harder it is to leave...and you can never go without leaving your prints behind..."

That’s a drag. I have a similar, though not as intense reaction to red oak dust. Every time I’d work with it my exposed forearms would get all itchy. Never progressed beyond that though luckily.

-- Nothing looks worse on your outdoors resume than a list of the possible locations of your remains.

Blake you might want to see if you can get an Epi pen (Unitized injectable Epinephrine) from your Doc or Fire Unit Medical officer and/or some oral Benadryl tabs to keep around the house/shop. Just in the event that your hypersensitization crosses to other species. Just a thought… Glad you are getting back on the horse.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.