Bubinga & Respiratory Infections???

[rmwarren]

Last Friday I hit the shop late afternoon to work on shaping/sanding some Bubinga that I am making kitchen cabinet pulls from. I had spent the previous Sunday cutting/shaping/sanding and needed another few hours sanding before applying the finish. I was only in the shop for 30-minutes when I started feeling rotten and threw in the towel. A few hours later the flu-like symptoms started (muscle ache/sore throat/nasal irritation) and by the AM it was in full swing, spent the rest of the weekend on the couch.

Monday it was diagnosed as an upper respiratory infection and prescribed antibiotics, but as of today I am still only operating at perhaps 75% full power. This is very unusual, I don't catch colds or get the flu. It's not that I am particularly"healthy", I just inherited good genes. Always get my flu shot, wash hands, think pure thoughts, bla, bla, bla... [tongue] [tongue] Becoming this ill has me wondering if this was triggered by the Bubinga dust. I did some searching but have not been able to locate any very detailed info.

I keep a pretty clean shop, not fanatical but I stay ahead of sawdust and don't let it build up, it just bugs me. I just don't enjoy wearing a respirator/dust mask but am starting to wonder if it is no longer optional? I read about becoming "sensitized" to dust and that the issues increase once a certain threshold is crossed.

Has anyone had similar problems? Any suggestions other than sealing my head in an air-tite baggie?  [big grin]

Thanks,

RMW

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Best to wear respiratory protection, especially with the exotics.  You may have an allergy to the specific tree species as well.

 

[jacko9]

Best to wear respiratory protection, especially with the exotics.  You may have an allergy to the specific tree species as well.

I agree with Ken,  I have had terrible reactions working with woods like Bocote and Teak.

 

[peter halle]

I saw somewhere a chart of woods that commonly cause allergic reactions and will go looking for it again a little later.

I already told Ken this story, but for the rest, I have never had a reaction to exotics, but while making a box out of either canary wood or yellow heart to hold a quilt, I had my first.  I was outside cutting with my TS-55.  I was too lazy to get out the CT-22 and the wind was blowing away from me.  After five minutes I had puffed up, was coughing, and swore that I was going to ...  I went inside for about a half hour and started feeling better.  Finished up with the CT-22 connected and felt fine.  I can't remember which one of those two woods I used so both are on my do not use list.

Hope you feel better!

Peter

 

[peter halle]

Here is a link to the website that I had remembered:  Wood allergies and toxicities

Peter

 

[MarkF]

There is a Pneumonitis associated with Organic Dust/Mold/Fungi exposure.  National Library of Health 

If things don't turn around fast you need to be seen by a Physician.  It's not something to ignore.

 

[ShawnRussell]

I would wear both googles and a dust mask.

I was helping out at WIA 2010 and was cutting some bubinga and purple heart with a fret saw. The next morning I could hardly breath and my right eye had swollen completely shut. My wife gave me a benedryl and I was feeling much better by noon the next day. I did not come down with any flu symtoms, but I also was not creating super fine dust to breath in.

Hope you get to feeling better.

 

[bigjonh]

The first time I ever worked with Ipe was 15 years ago, we were using a chainsaw mill to cut arches in 8"x8" timbers. The first 2 days I didnt wear a dust mask and got an immediate sinus infection. Any splinters pussed up within an hour or so, and the dust was getting through the air filters on the chainsaws and gumming up the carbs, and we actually burned one saw up till we figured it out. Basically learned my lesson that exotic tropical hardwoods were not to be taken lightly.