Hello all,

Since I haven't seen any posts for almost a month, I thought I'd test post
with a somewhat-woodworking-related post.

In building a small hobby box, I was routing a narrow rabbet in what I
thought was small cut-off of clear fir from a previous project. Some of the
sawdust blew into my face. Within seconds it felt like my mustache was on
fire, where the dust mixed with sweat. I cleaned it out well but the
burning sensation took over an hour to fade. Over the next few days I had
blistered like chemical burns I have had before, but just in the middle of
my mustache.

The wood itself appears very light in color with hardly any grain visible.
It is very soft, a little harder than spruce, but it holds an edge as well
as maple. It has no discernable odor (or my sniffer is shot).

I cannot find any other scraps with this appearance and I am stumped on
where it came from and what it is. I have some mahogany, eucalytus, cedar,
fir, SYP, maple, and brazilian rosewood in the shop, but again it does not
look exactly like any of these. And I've been covered in sawdust from all of
it at some point, without any similar reaction.

Has anyone else had any skin reactions to particular woods? Did I get a
piece of chemically treated wood?

Thanks!
Scott

"ScottWW" wrote:
Hello all,

Since I haven't seen any posts for almost a month, I thought I'd test
post with a somewhat-woodworking-related post.

In building a small hobby box, I was routing a narrow rabbet in what I
thought was small cut-off of clear fir from a previous project. Some of
the sawdust blew into my face. Within seconds it felt like my mustache
was on fire, where the dust mixed with sweat. I cleaned it out well but
the burning sensation took over an hour to fade. Over the next few days
I had blistered like chemical burns I have had before, but just in the
middle of my mustache.

The wood itself appears very light in color with hardly any grain
visible. It is very soft, a little harder than spruce, but it holds an
edge as well as maple. It has no discernable odor (or my sniffer is shot).

I cannot find any other scraps with this appearance and I am stumped on
where it came from and what it is. I have some mahogany, eucalytus,
cedar, fir, SYP, maple, and brazilian rosewood in the shop, but again it
does not look exactly like any of these. And I've been covered in sawdust
from all of it at some point, without any similar reaction.

Has anyone else had any skin reactions to particular woods? Did I get a
piece of chemically treated wood?

Thanks!
Scott

Odd that you did not have burns anywhere else. I would be looking as
something you may have eaten.

ScottWW wrote:
Hello all,

Since I haven't seen any posts for almost a month, I thought I'd test
post with a somewhat-woodworking-related post.

In building a small hobby box, I was routing a narrow rabbet in what I
thought was small cut-off of clear fir from a previous project. Some
of the sawdust blew into my face. Within seconds it felt like my
mustache was on fire, where the dust mixed with sweat. I cleaned it
out well but the burning sensation took over an hour to fade. Over
the next few days I had blistered like chemical burns I have had
before, but just in the middle of my mustache.
What was the source of the irritation when they occurred
earlier? If it was already a sensitive area, you may have experienced a
reaction to yeast, which can provide the somewhat immediate "firey"
sensation along with "chemical burns".


The wood itself appears very light in color with hardly any grain
visible. It is very soft, a little harder than spruce, but it holds an
edge as well as maple. It has no discernable odor (or my sniffer is
shot).

I cannot find any other scraps with this appearance and I am stumped
on where it came from and what it is. I have some mahogany,
eucalytus, cedar, fir, SYP, maple, and brazilian rosewood in the shop,
but again it does not look exactly like any of these. And I've been
covered in sawdust from all of it at some point, without any similar
reaction.

Has anyone else had any skin reactions to particular woods? Did I get
a piece of chemically treated wood?

Thanks!
Scott

On 09/16/2015 7:50 AM, ScottWW wrote:
....

In building a small hobby box, I was routing a narrow rabbet in what I
thought was small cut-off of clear fir from a previous project. Some of
the sawdust blew into my face. Within seconds it felt like my mustache
was on fire, where the dust mixed with sweat. I cleaned it out well but
the burning sensation took over an hour to fade. Over the next few days
I had blistered like chemical burns I have had before, but just in the
middle of my mustache.

The wood itself appears very light in color with hardly any grain
visible. It is very soft, a little harder than spruce, but it holds an
edge as well as maple. It has no discernable odor (or my sniffer is shot).

I cannot find any other scraps with this appearance and I am stumped on
where it came from and what it is. I have some mahogany, eucalytus,
cedar, fir, SYP, maple, and brazilian rosewood in the shop, but again it
does not look exactly like any of these. And I've been covered in
sawdust from all of it at some point, without any similar reaction.

Has anyone else had any skin reactions to particular woods? Did I get a
piece of chemically treated wood?
....

It's certainly possible altho actual blistering is unusual.

As for what it was/is, the most likely candidates would be some salvaged
material from a foreign source such as shipping crates or pallets or
somesuch--there's no telling what may get used for such purposes and
with so much imported it could have come from almost anywhere on earth.
I'm unaware there's anything _particularly_ prone to being reactive in NA.

I'd think it not likely it was preservative treated; suppose it's always
possible if it was salvaged somebody had used it for some specific
purpose and it did have something applied...

--

On 2015-09-16 12:50:55 +0000, ScottWW said:

Hello all,

Since I haven't seen any posts for almost a month, I thought I'd test
post with a somewhat-woodworking-related post.

In building a small hobby box, I was routing a narrow rabbet in what I
thought was small cut-off of clear fir from a previous project. Some of
the sawdust blew into my face. Within seconds it felt like my mustache
was on fire, where the dust mixed with sweat. I cleaned it out well
but the burning sensation took over an hour to fade. Over the next few
days I had blistered like chemical burns I have had before, but just in
the middle of my mustache.

The wood itself appears very light in color with hardly any grain
visible. It is very soft, a little harder than spruce, but it holds an
edge as well as maple. It has no discernable odor (or my sniffer is
shot).

I cannot find any other scraps with this appearance and I am stumped on
where it came from and what it is. I have some mahogany, eucalytus,
cedar, fir, SYP, maple, and brazilian rosewood in the shop, but again
it does not look exactly like any of these. And I've been covered in
sawdust from all of it at some point, without any similar reaction.

Has anyone else had any skin reactions to particular woods? Did I get
a piece of chemically treated wood?

Thanks!
Scott

There are toxic woods. One of the most is Golden Chain (Laburnum), and
it is the color you discribe. But I would be very surprized if that is
the wood, it tends to be avoided.

Another highly toxic wood is Yew. It's sap wood is as you describe. But
the heart tends to be darker.

There are a number of woods in the Rosewood family and some of them are
the color you mention.
Your reactions are also consistent with a Rosewood reaction.

My guess is Rosewood family

"ScottWW" wrote in
news
Hello all,

Since I haven't seen any posts for almost a month, I thought I'd test
post with a somewhat-woodworking-related post.

There have been a multitude of posts over the past month, so
something appears to have been wrong with whatever source you
get Usenet from. Which quite likely means you won't see this
or anyone else's replies :-(

In building a small hobby box, I was routing a narrow rabbet in what I
thought was small cut-off of clear fir from a previous project. Some
of the sawdust blew into my face. Within seconds it felt like my
mustache was on fire, where the dust mixed with sweat. I cleaned it
out well but the burning sensation took over an hour to fade. Over
the next few days I had blistered like chemical burns I have had
before, but just in the middle of my mustache.

Sounds like an allergic reaction, similar to how some people
respond to poison ivy. I haven't ever heard of that happening
with wood, but I could easily imagine some tropical species
having sap with similar properties.

John

On 9/16/2015 11:42 AM, John McCoy wrote:
"ScottWW" wrote in
news
Hello all,

Since I haven't seen any posts for almost a month, I thought I'd test
post with a somewhat-woodworking-related post.

There have been a multitude of posts over the past month, so
something appears to have been wrong with whatever source you
get Usenet from. Which quite likely means you won't see this
or anyone else's replies :-(

In building a small hobby box, I was routing a narrow rabbet in what I
thought was small cut-off of clear fir from a previous project. Some
of the sawdust blew into my face. Within seconds it felt like my
mustache was on fire, where the dust mixed with sweat. I cleaned it
out well but the burning sensation took over an hour to fade. Over
the next few days I had blistered like chemical burns I have had
before, but just in the middle of my mustache.

Sounds like an allergic reaction, similar to how some people
respond to poison ivy. I haven't ever heard of that happening
with wood, but I could easily imagine some tropical species
having sap with similar properties.

John

I find it strange that he did not have the reaction on any other parts
of his body, leading me to believe that it was not just the wood dust
mixed with possibly sweat.

If you have ever worked with Ipe you probably have noticed that the fine
green dust turns blood red when mixed with sweat. The first time I
worked with it I thought I had severely cut myself somewhere. ;~)

On Wed, 16 Sep 2015 08:22:55 -0500, Leon wrote:

"ScottWW" wrote:
Hello all,

Since I haven't seen any posts for almost a month, I thought I'd test
post with a somewhat-woodworking-related post.

In building a small hobby box, I was routing a narrow rabbet in what I
thought was small cut-off of clear fir from a previous project. Some of
the sawdust blew into my face. Within seconds it felt like my mustache
was on fire, where the dust mixed with sweat. I cleaned it out well but
the burning sensation took over an hour to fade. Over the next few days
I had blistered like chemical burns I have had before, but just in the
middle of my mustache.

The wood itself appears very light in color with hardly any grain
visible. It is very soft, a little harder than spruce, but it holds an
edge as well as maple. It has no discernable odor (or my sniffer is shot).

I cannot find any other scraps with this appearance and I am stumped on
where it came from and what it is. I have some mahogany, eucalytus,
cedar, fir, SYP, maple, and brazilian rosewood in the shop, but again it
does not look exactly like any of these. And I've been covered in sawdust
from all of it at some point, without any similar reaction.

Has anyone else had any skin reactions to particular woods? Did I get a
piece of chemically treated wood?

Thanks!
Scott

Odd that you did not have burns anywhere else. I would be looking as
something you may have eaten.

Might it be sweat/water on the lip? I'd think there would be nasal
problems, too, but perhaps the shavings were too coarse.

"John McCoy" wrote in message
. ..

"ScottWW" wrote in
news
Hello all,

Since I haven't seen any posts for almost a month, I thought I'd test
post with a somewhat-woodworking-related post.

There have been a multitude of posts over the past month, so
something appears to have been wrong with whatever source you
get Usenet from. Which quite likely means you won't see this
or anyone else's replies :-(

In building a small hobby box, I was routing a narrow rabbet in what I
thought was small cut-off of clear fir from a previous project. Some
of the sawdust blew into my face. Within seconds it felt like my
mustache was on fire, where the dust mixed with sweat. I cleaned it
out well but the burning sensation took over an hour to fade. Over
the next few days I had blistered like chemical burns I have had
before, but just in the middle of my mustache.

Sounds like an allergic reaction, similar to how some people
respond to poison ivy. I haven't ever heard of that happening
with wood, but I could easily imagine some tropical species
having sap with similar properties.

John

Thank you everyone for your responses.
Indeed, when my post(s) didn't show up, I deleted my news account and
recreated it.

I am among the 1/3 of people allergic to Rus oils from poison ivy, oak and
sumac. But that has an definite itch for me. This was like an alkaline
burn from chem class in my teens, or the steam burn in my sideburns from a
burst radiator hose from my 20s, or even shingles from my 30s.

Thankfully I do not suffer from cedar fever, as I love the smell. Working
at the lumber yard, restocking the cedar was my favorite duty.

I am suspecting Rosewood, as was mentioned by Ralph and Martin. I do have a
few pieces stashed away in the attic, and now that I think of it, some are
almost all white-wood. I'll have to be more careful when I work with it.

Scott

On 9/17/2015 12:39 PM, ScottWW wrote:

I am among the 1/3 of people allergic to Rus oils from poison ivy, oak
and sumac. But that has an definite itch for me. This was like an
alkaline burn from chem class in my teens, or the steam burn in my
sideburns from a burst radiator hose from my 20s, or even shingles from
my 30s.

My first guess was going to be shingles. Since you have already had
shingles, I suspect it even more. I wouldn't think wood allergies
would act like this? Since you had them, you may have more anti-bodies
or what ever to them, which could give a rather mild case like this.

My second guess would be some sort of poison ivy thing was growing on
the tree and you got some of the oil trapped in the stash. I've never
been allergic to anything, and I'm not a doctor, so you are in the right
place to ask about this medical condition.
--
Jack
Add Life to your Days not Days to your Life.
http://jbstein.com

Jack wrote:
On 9/17/2015 12:39 PM, ScottWW wrote:

I am among the 1/3 of people allergic to Rus oils from poison ivy,
oak and sumac. But that has an definite itch for me. This was like
an alkaline burn from chem class in my teens, or the steam burn in my
sideburns from a burst radiator hose from my 20s, or even shingles
from my 30s.

My first guess was going to be shingles. Since you have already had
shingles, I suspect it even more. I wouldn't think wood allergies
would act like this? Since you had them, you may have more anti-bodies
or what ever to them, which could give a rather mild case like this.

I might be wrong about this, but I thought that if you had experienced
shingles once, that a recurrance was less likely - not more likely.
Shingles however, do not behave as short term as the OP reported - as I have
experienced them, and as I understand them.


--

-Mike-

There are some woods that are just flat toxic. That means everyone.
Satin wood, rosewoods yew, spalted wood.
To a lesser amount which is nice is Opepe and Padauk are low end but
wide possible. Wide means many forms of problems but to a low level.

Reference:
1. _Woods Toxic to Man_, author unknown
2. Woods, B., Calnan, C.D., "Toxic Woods." _Br. Journal of Dermatology_ 1976
3. _ILO Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety_ 1983
4. Lame, K., McAnn, M., _AMA Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious
Plants_, AMA 1985
5. _Poisondex_, Micromedix Inc. 1990


Martin

On 9/21/2015 10:20 AM, Jack wrote:
On 9/17/2015 12:39 PM, ScottWW wrote:

I am among the 1/3 of people allergic to Rus oils from poison ivy, oak
and sumac. But that has an definite itch for me. This was like an
alkaline burn from chem class in my teens, or the steam burn in my
sideburns from a burst radiator hose from my 20s, or even shingles from
my 30s.

My first guess was going to be shingles. Since you have already had
shingles, I suspect it even more. I wouldn't think wood allergies
would act like this? Since you had them, you may have more anti-bodies
or what ever to them, which could give a rather mild case like this.

My second guess would be some sort of poison ivy thing was growing on
the tree and you got some of the oil trapped in the stash. I've never
been allergic to anything, and I'm not a doctor, so you are in the right
place to ask about this medical condition.

On Mon, 21 Sep 2015 20:39:54 -0500
Martin Eastburn wrote:

There are some woods that are just flat toxic. That means everyone.

most plants have a defense mechanism of some kind
trees have many strategies including chemical

some just out grow and take all the sunlight

On Monday, September 21, 2015 at 8:40:00 PM UTC-5, Martin Eastburn wrote:
There are some woods that are just flat toxic. That means everyone.
Satin wood, rosewoods yew, spalted wood.
To a lesser amount which is nice is Opepe and Padauk are low end but
wide possible. Wide means many forms of problems but to a low level.

Reference:
1. _Woods Toxic to Man_, author unknown
2. Woods, B., Calnan, C.D., "Toxic Woods." _Br. Journal of Dermatology_ 1976
3. _ILO Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety_ 1983
4. Lame, K., McAnn, M., _AMA Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious
Plants_, AMA 1985
5. _Poisondex_, Micromedix Inc. 1990


Martin

Saw your post on another thread close to this one, and you couldn't be more right. I remember when I started turning wood when it became the rage somewhere in the mid/late 90s and all kinds of little odds and ends were being traded around between me and the boys to make pens, letter openers, brushes, round boxes, etc. I was lucky that I wasn't allergic to most of them, but some of the guys had a terrible time when exposed to the dust and shavings and had to give up turning for months after exposure to some of the "exotics".

I had some red wood of some type that I traded for one time that gave me hives when I made a pen with it. I only had a few small sticks (for pens) but traded or tossed the rest of it. It wasn't worth the reaction I had.

Robert

On 9/21/2015 12:03 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Jack wrote:
On 9/17/2015 12:39 PM, ScottWW wrote:

I am among the 1/3 of people allergic to Rus oils from poison ivy,
oak and sumac. But that has an definite itch for me. This was like
an alkaline burn from chem class in my teens, or the steam burn in my
sideburns from a burst radiator hose from my 20s, or even shingles
from my 30s.

My first guess was going to be shingles. Since you have already had
shingles, I suspect it even more. I wouldn't think wood allergies
would act like this? Since you had them, you may have more anti-bodies
or what ever to them, which could give a rather mild case like this.

I might be wrong about this, but I thought that if you had experienced
shingles once, that a recurrance was less likely - not more likely.
Shingles however, do not behave as short term as the OP reported - as I have
experienced them, and as I understand them.

I hope you are right about it, I had a mild case of them myself, the doc
said I was lucky, as they can be a lot worse. They lasted a while
though, around 3 weeks. I didn't ask if they come back, but someone
told me they had them, and they still get the shot, so I assume they can
come back.

--
Jack
Add Life to your Days not Days to your Life.
http://jbstein.com