Consider this as a bit of a public service announcement.
If you EVER show an allergic reaction to a wood species, get it out of your shop. Every piece. Every scrap. Every damned speck of dust. Get it out.
This applies more to tropicals, as I don't know of too many people showing allergic reactions to domestic woods (though it's possible...I think I heard of people being sensitive to pine). Anyway, I use several tropical woods. They make great handles for kitchen implements.
A few years ago, I had a strong reaction to honduras rosewood. It was bad. I broke out in hives and had respiratory issues. I've been fine as long as I didn't work with it. Several weeks ago, while working with Bocote I had a skin reaction. "Bummer," I thought. I like that stuff. Last week I made the stupid mistake of making a knife handle from a piece of mystery wood. There was only two things it could have been. I'm allergic to both of them. I should have stopped and thrown it away.
That sucks. Hope you heal up fast.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ralph. The reaction is on the down swing finally. I've been through a lot of hydrocortisone and antihystimines over the last week and a half.
DeleteAbsolutely miserable! Things like this just sap the energy right out of you, plus the discomfort makes it so you don't want to work. I'm already lazy, I don't need anything encouraging me to be MORE lazy.