I know this one is for A Doctor

[telesmith]

Has this every happen to anyone ,cut wood breaks me out.i was get rashes right after I route out my wood.I have been playing over 35yr
.I guess like people can be around a lawn all day,but cut grass bugs then.I am hopiing if I stick to it my body will get use to it.Making a guitar is new to me,

[Jupiter]

Originally Posted by telesmith

I am hoping if I stick to it my body will get use to it.

In my (deep and varied) experience with allergies, it tends to work the other way; I get MORE sensitive to stuff with repeated exposure.

[tweeet]

It might be the dust you're inhaling and not just touching the wood.Try wearing a mask next time...if that works then there's your answer...if not...wear gloves...and see if that works.

[LocustPlague]

What kind of wood is it that you're dealing with? Some woods affect people a lot more than others.

[telemcCaster]

Sorry to say you have a sensitivity to the dust you are encountering. It might be just the dust from that specific wood or more a general sensitivity to a bunch of wood species dust.

You might develop into a worse reaction with subsequent exposures so either use full protection or quit making dust.

[David Collins]

If dust from a particular wood causes problems like this, you're having an allergic reaction. If you "stick to it" your body won't get used to it - more likely you will become even more sensitized to it, and your reactions will get much worse.

I know people who have gone to the emergency room when they've inhaled a dust they are allergic to. Don't take it lightly, you'll probably make it worse. Wear suitable respiration, use good dust control, filter the air in your shop, sometimes skin protection is needed - or more importantly, if you find a wood that causes particularly bad reactions, just don't use it.

[allen st. john]

I know a luthier who had to wear a hazmat suit and a respirator to finish his (only) cocobolo guitar. Some of the sawdust got inside his goggles and he had blisters *inside* his eyelids.

Not something to mess with.

[DuncanAngus]

What type of wood were you working with?

I worked at a high-end millwork shop for years as a salesperson and some of the guys would get nasty sick from different species of wood. Ipe, Jatoba, even Red Oak can make you break out if you have allergies. More of the shop guys got sick from wood contact than from any of the finishing products. Problem is, you don't know until it's too late.

Even something like Walnut can make you sick. In fact, we would bag our sawdust and give it to local farmers but had to mark any bag with Walnut because if used in a stall for a horse it could kill it. Absorbs through the bottom of the animals foot (frog). Didn't seem to bother pigs though....

I've also heard stories about workers at CF Martin getting VERY sick back in the abalone inlay days before any precautions were taken as to breathing the dust.

be careful!

[telesmith]

pine, aspen

[mbach72]

Several of the other posters are right. Some allergens are known as "sensitizers", which means your body becomes even more sensitive to it with increased exposure. Most wood allergies fall in this category. You"ll probably be best suited wearing a dust mask and long sleeves.

[telesmith]

I was wearing all that,and it Felt like my chest was was swelling inside and my thoat.So throw in the towel .I am gonna buy bodies,neck to put together.No any good sites thank you for your help

[TeleTim911]

Pine trees contain some of the most common allergens to man. Ever noticed the "green" coating on everything in the spring-time? It just makes a mess of me. I'm not allergic to the dust of cut wood though, but that doesn't mean you aren't.

Wear a simple 25 cent dust mask (available anywhere almost) and latex gloves. If it still bothers you wear long sleeved shirts, wrap a scarf around your neck (make sure it's tucked in while working with power tools) and so on. Protect yourself.

Allergies are nothing to sneeze at (pun intended). Being an EMT I've been on many calls where we were scared we were going to lose a patient over a simple allergy...be it pollen, shellfish, whatever. Throats close up, sinuses swell (blocking off breathing). We've had to intubate (stick a tube into their lungs) several times, just to keep them breathing. It's not anything to take lightly.

Let us know how it goes? Good Luck!

[vtcyclist]

Take a look at this chart. I've had rather harsh reactions to some of the exotic woods turned on my lathe. Walnut is a well known allergen.

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-ar...-and-toxicity/

Protecting your airway and skin will usually allow you to keep working.

[Colt W. Knight]

I had to quit working with ebony because that stuff burns the pores of my skin and kills my lungs.

I have also started wearing a respirator working with walnut. If I work with it for an extended period, it hurts my lungs.

[mbach72]

I have a contact allergy to pine too. I used to hang a deer stand in a big pine. I usually had short sleeves on when I would climb up there in august to hang it. My arms looked like I had Poison Ivy for abou three days.

[Reverend D]

You know the old joke? Doctor it hurts when I do this. Well don't do that... Try another wood, alder, ash, basswood something else. See if you can handle that, perhaps just buy a sample piece like Rockler I believe it is sells so you can see what you can handle? Just a thought, but as our EMT friend said it's nothing to fooll with. You don't seem to be as bad as some extreme cases. People can as he said close off they're airways and go into shock similar to a bee sting for some people. Pretty rare with working with woods though I'd think. Or as you say, get someone else to do it, its cleaner, more expensive, but if it saves your lungs and skin.....

Regards,

Don