Wood allergies - time to allergic reaction?

FredyCro

FredyCro

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I need some help, preferentially from people who had allergic reactions to wood dust, specially to rosewoods.

On Saturday I was in the shop and working on hand sanding a cocobolo handle. Afterwards I went for a beer, had a shower and put a creme on my face before going to sleep since my skin was bone dry..

I woke up in the middle of the night with swollen eyelids and incredible rash. Now I would like to put the allergic reaction down to the creme, but there might be a connection between the coocobolo dust and the creme. I am contemplating testing both out on a small piece of skin, but my symptoms still haven't passed completely. I have been taking allergy pills, and yesterday even my palms have swollen lightly and started itching. Today is much better, but the symptoms are still not completely gone.

When I hand sand I work without gloves, eye protection and respirator, but I never had a reaction to any of the rosewood I worked with before including cocobolo.
 
I wouldn’t mess around- I’d go see an allergist. Allergies can develop, change and worsen with time. Since it’s Tuesday and you still have symptoms 4 days after the exposure, seems like there’s a high price to pay by experimenting on your own.

ETA: there might be some other exposure going on, too- one you’re not aware of.
 
One time I cut up a lot of Cocobolo without a respirator and had a bloody nose for two days.
 
Not an allergist, but I am an EMT and we are trained to deal with allergic emergencies.

Allergies can develop suddenly and without warning, best practice is to always wear respirators while doing any kind of work that raises dust.

If you know you have had allergic reactions to a substance before, and you HAVE to do something in an environment where you are going to be exposed, take some antihistamines (benadryl and pepcid together) ahead of time and protect yourself the best you can. Maybe a tyvec suit, gloves and a full face respirator?

Keep a epi-pen handy and limit your exposure. Especially since your reaction made your face and eyes swell. Personally I would recommend avoiding rosewoods like the plague, since it is a known allergen and you had a reaction to it involving your face...

Stay safe out there and make good choices!
 
I take precautions (gloves, respirator, long sleeves) and shower as soon as possible after working with hardwoods. If I react it is usually a rash in my armpit that shows up a few hours after exposure. I did have eye-swelling from one wood (Indian Ebony)
 
Freddy - as others have said, dont mess around. See an allergist, and dont mess around with a potential warning reaction.

Fwiw - after being “forwarned” about rosewoods, whenever i work with them (sanding of any kind) I: wear gloves, wear a long sleeve shirt (immediately laundered after), use respirator and eye protection, use dust collection or frequently hand vacuum the table if hand sanding, use HEPA filters in all dust collection, and have my whole-shop air cleaner on medium to high (you can see the dust in the light beams below my lights), and shower after.

Others have said with rosewoods it is not “if”, but “when” where it comes to allergic reactions…
 
Sorry to hear that, Fredy. Sometimes my eyes swell and my cheeks get a bit puffy and itch after grinding handles. The PAPR system has helped with that compared to the half mask I was using before. Maybe I should start wearing a respirator when hand sanding as well.
 
See a Doc BECAUSE.
You have to determine what caused the reaction because the next exposure could cause a full blown anaphylaxis reaction that cause severe injury or death.
Reaction time varies according to sensitivity of the person. It could be immediate or a day later. AND just because you have a mild reaction one time OR several times doesn't mean the next time it will be mild.
Plus you've got to know because if its the wood your shops contaminated and another exposure could be life threatening.
I hate to sound alarmist but ...its your life better safe than sorry
 
Like others have mentioned it would be best to see a Doctor. Next time your reaction could be much worse.

I had a really bad reaction the spring of 2022 that appears to have been from Cocobolo. I was wearing a respirator except, like you, when I was hand sanding. About two weeks later I ended up in the hospital for three days. My symptoms getting gradually worse over that time period. They never did pin down the exact cause, but I'm fairly sure it was the Cocobolo. Wear a respirator. The only time I don't wear a respirator now is if I'm hand sanding steel using oil as a lubricant.

I might use Cocobolo again. But if I do, it will be with a full face respirator, long sleeves, shop apron, gloves, lots of ventilation and showering immediately after.
 
See a Doc. Allergic reactions can happen at any time, immediate, or later in the day/night. Wear a respirator when working with any handle material or blade material. I am allergic to cocobolo/rosewoods, even when using a respirator and gloves! I got hit with severe allergies back in late 2014 and in 2015, had to get out of knifemaking completely since any dust triggered a reaction that would last for over a week at times.
 
Hi guys, thanks for all the replies. I did call medical service on sunday and went to a doc on monday morning. Got prescriped with stronger medication and given a cortisone creme. The symptoms are gone now.

I will take care when working with rosewoods in the future and if there is even a sign of any allergic reaction I will go see a specialist to pinpoint the cause. This was the advice given by the doc.

I am still quite sure it was the creme, but you never know.
 
I am sorry for not pointing out in my OP that I went to see a doc. Thanks for all the advice!
 
Glad your doing well.....here I was worried about metal dust....now I have to worry about sanding down a stick as well. Seems like making knives might be more dangerous than getting stabbed by one. Again, I'm glad your better and thank you for the post. I'll be more cautious because of it.
 
The only rosewood dust I’ve had a reaction to was Cocobolo. It broke my skin out in a horrible itchy rash that took days to heal.
 
This discussion on Cocobolo to me raises (again) the question of just what woods *are* safe. The answer might appear to be "none". If you do a google search on "wood database wood allergies and toxicity", you will find a chart published by the wood-database that lists a lot of woods, and their hazards by inhalation, skin contact, and eye contact. Cocobolo of course is listed as one with the highest potency, but there are others (rosewoods) .... but some other surprising ones. Also, there is the possibility of creating a sensitivity to one wood, that will cross react and increase your reaction to another wood that you might not have previously reacted to.

In medicine and in handling used medical devices, there is a concept known as "universal precautions" .... which basically means that whenever handling tissue or potentially contaminated devices, always assume that they are indeed hazardous and use protective gear (gloves, glasses, full coverings). With wood and its dust, there is the added risk of inhaling dust (never good).

So likely the best option here is to always use precautions (gloves, mask, eye protection, long sleeves, etc) when sanding wood ..... along with dust collection and reasonably frequent cleaning in the shop....

(stacy - not sure about the wood database so did not post link. if you say it is ok, I will edit to place the link to the table)
 
The database is a common reference source, and you are free to post links to the site or to specific species info.
 
I stopped using the woods I was allergic to and used others I found out were sensitizers after my allergies exploded. It sucked big time!! Now I am super careful with any woods!
 
Good luck finding answers. I’m lucky I’m only allergic to days off it seems. But two of my sisters my wife one son and my sons best friend have allergies. My sisters so allergic to cedar being in a yard with a fairly new cedar fence could land her in the hospital.
my wife now carries an epi pen everywhere.
it gets worse as you get older or more exposed and the number of things your allergic to will also increase.

my advice is to start a list and add to it and just avoid working with things that have created any and I mean any reaction. The allergy tests can be a waste of time. You’ll get scraped and tested several times possibly with no results. id make a fresh cut in anything new and rub it on a finger or something far away from your head neck and heart. These are areas you don’t want to use as test subject if you don’t react try working with them and make sure you mask up from now on. There are some great fitting masks now.

I do a lot of wood working experience has shown I will wear a mask that fits and feels good on.
this is now my favorite.

GVS Elipse
 
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