what to do: "metal allergy"?

Sorry to hear that.

Once, after sanding bronze, I had a bitter taste in my mouth that lasted a week. Also, once I used cutting oil that smoked a lot, and had a very bad headache. Could it be that brass and oil mists could be responsible in your case?

i

Possible, to either. I've also had denatured alcohol on my hands (can't imagine that being tracked all over my scratching parts, though), tapping oil, cocobolo sawdust, brazing rod, and solder. A busy week, hard to sort it all out.

But an old salt (scuba friend) saw it and immediately asked if I had a metal allergy.

er

When I read that I'm left with the (false) impression I scuba dive. Sorry.

For penance, I offer up some bits of the conversation with the new (well, recently examined) MD in the lab:

"just watch it for a couple days, and don't touch your d**k."

er

Try this site for guidence then go and see your doctor and yes do not touch the 'old fella'

I have a friend who is very sensitive to nickel, and that nickel is very difficult to avoid (he wears cotton gloves in public). Symptoms are dry/cracked hands. This doesn't sound like your problem.

Reminds me of a joke about a waiter that used a silver spoon for everything.

Its the brass.

Or the spring steel had a lot of nickle in it..nickle alergy is fairly common

Gunner

Should be pretty easy to figure out where the problem is by carefully rubbing each item against your forearm and checking the results. I'm allergic to any kind of bird meat - chicken, turkey, duck, etc. When I eat it I feel funny within about a minute and within 5 minutes I'm in the bathroom puking my guts out. And if you've got a full blown allergy to something in the shop then wearing gloves, coveralls and a face shield is just the price you get to pay unless you can use alternate materials, just like I get to read the ingredients label on every food item that might have bird meat in it.

Steve.

Copper compounds are notorious contact irritants. It's not likely you're allergic to it -- almost all allergies are to proteins or substances that appear to the body to mimic proteins.

But sanding brass is a perfect way to obtain all sorts of cupric and cuprous compounds. Although you may not detect it, the heat generated at the point of cutting of a single grain on your abrasive sheet is remarkably high. It will accelerate the copper's tendency to react with some of the gasses in the air, will release some sulfur (some papers), and will allow microscopic, razor-sharp bits of copper bearing dusts to float around -- which you then breathe or rub into the pores of your skin.

Copper is quite poisonous to most living things. It's compounds are useful as anti-fungals and anti-bacterials, and can serve as violent cauterants.

I'd say you're having a direct chemically-induced irritation to the copper and its dagger-like little sanding particles.

LLoyd

In addition to allergy there's the cracking painfull splits metalworkers get in their hands. What works for me is to dissolve a vitamin C tablet in a few ounces of water and wet a couple paper towels in the solution to wipe my hands with periodically, It also works when you are fooling with cement- might be the alkalai from metalworking coolants, I don't know for sure I just know it soothes the cracks and heals them faster.

Check your grinder blades - many sand papers use fiberglass substrate.

Wear long sleaves and gloves.

I get the same thing happening to me using hard grinding disks.

Some brands worse than others.

The cocobolo sawdust is a good candidate. It can irritate the skin.

I would give you 10-1 its the Cocobola dust. (It's a sucker bet you need

500-1) It's one of the most toxic woods and one of the harshest allergens out there for many people. Next time you work with the Cocobola, pretend that you're sawing up poison ivy and treat it as such. Many pool cue builders and other wood turners must use a full respirator and cover up extremely well before handling the stuff because of the oils in the wood. Shower immediately after working with it. Do not inhale the dust! It can really irritate the lining of your nose and upper throat too! Many people simply can't work with the stuff at all because of the toxicity. Another thing is, some people work with the wood a few times with very little symptoms, then for whatever reason, they just blow up the next time they use it. It's like the allergy suddenly develops. It's sure is beautiful though. AFTER you finish it.

Best of luck, Eddie in Dtroit

Ah Ha! { cocobolo sawdust, } There you go. woodworkerd have known that for a long time. ...lew...

I never realized that this group was populated with so many medical experts.....

....experts that don't even need to see a patient to make a diagnosis.

Around my parts, the medicos must actually *see* a patient and do some sort of test to determine what, if any, allergies actually exist.

Go see an allergist.

And, by the way, most of the medically-related sites you'll find on Google are much like this newsgroup - a matter of opinion, not necessarily fact.......

.....unless, of course, you tap into a well-known, recognized source such as Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, NEJM, etc.

See a *real* doctor and take *his* advice.......

On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:02:44 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, Enoch Root quickly quoth:

Let's see, you've been immersed in solvents, metal dust, wood dust, brazing smoke, solder smoke, cutting oil, is that it?

With all that going into your system so close together in time, it's no wonder you broke out, Enoch. You sound like you're doing what they did in the 18th century, without knowledge of allergies or safety procedures.

Learn to keep the dust and smoke out of your lungs/nose and the oils/swarf off your skin. You'll live a lot longer, healthier, and happier. As that crazy Cajun chef, Justin Wilson, used to say

"I gare on TEE it."

While masks, aprons, gloves, exhaust fans, and respirators aren't sexy, they can sure make your life a lot nicer. Learn to put up with the slight irritation of using them. If not, start eating dessert. ;)

.-. Life is short. Eat dessert first! ---

NoteSHADES(tm) laptop privacy/glare guards

The Cocobolo sawdust could also be the culprit. ERS

I dunno, I rather enjoy scaring the neighbors when they see me heading to the shop in a Tyvek jumpsuit, goggles, respirator, elbow length gloves, etc.

Pete C.

Ah. Lots of the exotic woods are toxic, here's a chart:

...which includes: Cocobolo: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin/great/dust, wood/common

I'd go with a biological source of an allergen long before I'd suspect something non-organic.

I'm not sure that, technically, "allergy" is the right term for a sensitivity to metals. But I'd strongly suspect the cocobolo first. Some of the prettiest stuff is really, really nasty, particulary woods that originate in rainforests. But even walnut and cherry can give you problems.