Skin reaction from Oak?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

jashcroft

Member
May 5, 2009
62
Western PA
I cut up and loaded up a nice size red oak last weekend and later that day developed a itchy skin reaction. I had what I can only describe as red welts about the size of a dime all over my mid section and some on my arm. I know exactly what poison ivy looks like because we have plenty on the farm, but I did not see any in the area I was cutting. It also didn't look like poison ivy I have got in the past. It looked more like insect bites.

I got to thinking that maybe it came from the oak itself? It was a warm day and I was only wearing a long-sleeved cotton shirt, so I was sweating pretty bad and carrying the oak against my body which is exactly where the reaction took place.

Anybody any idea on what this may be or have had a similar experience?

Thanks,
 
Chiggers perhaps?
 
i was just cutting up some pieces of big sugar maple and came across a vine tucked away in the crotch woke up this morning itching like a bastard. it will sometimes start out looking like little bug bites. also the oils can stick around forever even if you didnt see it.
 
I had it happen one year to me cutting poplar
lasted about a year if i remember right
and its never happened again since
guess I built up a resistance
 
I am not saying it is impossible to react to oak, but I have never had a reaction and never heard of it before. I'd look for another cause. Chiggers or something like that seems like a plausible explanation.
 
I once knew a man who shied away from most oak. He would break out from it and itch like crazy. He is the only one I ever have known to be allergic to it though.
 
gator21 said:
It was a warm day and I was only wearing a long-sleeved cotton shirt, so I was sweating pretty bad and carrying the oak against my body which is exactly where the reaction took place.


I think the rash/welts may have come from heat/sweat + all the pressure on your skin from carrying the heavy wood - so something like a combination of heat rash, plus a slight reaction from a lot of pressure on your skin.

I've seen it happen
 
sawdust dermatitis ?

I'll get it (usually the next day though) if the weather is warmer and I'm cutting in short sleeves, sweating and get a lot of sawdust on my arms. Green wood. Dead oak seems OK. I don't get spots the size of dimes though, just a reddish area ( the red might be from scratching). The spots and redness might be degree of reaction. and I'm lucky to have just a mild reaction to whatever is in the green sawdust.
Tiny bit on chest and stomach, too if sawdust went down my shirt. Wouldn't notice it I didn't look, though cuz it never itches much.
 
May also have to do with the higher acidity of Oak or tannins. That, the heat and your sweat may have irritated your skin.
This is an MSDS for some kind of industrial product, but it does come up on a Google search for "tannin skin irritation"
http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/T0065.htm
 
Worst poison ivy I've ever had always comes from vines, not leaves. The big vines I never miss, but the little ones can be sneaky. Not sure how long the oil stays active in a dead vine, but it can be long enough to git ya when even there's no trace of live poison ivy.
 
gator21 said:
red welts about the size of a dime

Missed the part about size of a dime. Doesn't sound like poison ivy. Maybe it was the money you could have been saving from Geico.
 
I used to work at a lumber wholesaler and part of the job when I started was
standing up lifts of oak boards into bins.1x2 - 1x12, 6-16'.I would always wear
work gloves but would rash on my forearms and even on my face when some
of the sawdust or splinters would fall onto me.I thought I just had sensitive skin
until we started carrying maple boards and I had no reaction to them.I guess it's
just an allergy to oak as the boards were kd'd and S4S so there is no way there
were traces of vine on them causing the reaction.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.