Allergic to wood: what would you do?

[Swedishchef]

Hey guys,

This evening I was out running errands and ended up running into a guy I know. He heats purely with wood. But this year there seems to be a problem: he has developed an allergy to wood! Every time he handles wood, splits, etc he gets all congested. Once he leaves his house to get out of the environment, he is better within 1-2 hours. He is currently taking medication (over the counter I believe) to try and help the symptoms. Before the comments of "maybe it's dust, maybe's he's allergic to fairy dust in the winter time, etc" ( lol), allergy tests confirmed he is allergic to various trees including the ones he burns (maple, spruce, etc).

So, if you suddenly became allergic to wood; what would you do? Continue burning or give it up all together?

Just curious!

Andrew

 

[billb3]

Move to Ikea ?

 

[saskwoodburner]

It depends how allergic I was. I've had various food/animal/pollen allergies since I was a kid, and as time has went on, they seemed to moderate except for the pollen type allergies. Even those aren't too bad. I'd make darn sure it was only the wood that was causing it before I gave up being a slave to the stove.

Then, there's this thought.

https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/logic_causation.html

 

[Swedishchef]

As I said, he is allergic to the wood species that we have around here. Confirmed via allergy testing.

LOL I don't know if he'd move to Ikea....he'd get lost! But at least there's a babysitter there.

And to boot, he lives in the woods...his driveway is about 400 feet long!! He is surrounded by trees. Poor soul....

Andrew

PS. I enjoyed the article about causation.

 

[begreen]

Wondering if he is allergic to a specific species of wood. Here's a good chart on the effect of many different wood species on skin, lungs, eyes, etc..
http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/

 

[Swedishchef]

Thanks BG. I'll send him the link!

Andrew

 

[jb6l6gc]

Get allergy shots from dr.

 

[Swedishchef]

Yeah, I always thought that could be an option. I wonder how efficient those shots are/would be.

Anyone have experience with them?

Andrew

 

[jb6l6gc]

Buddy at work gets em swears by em!

 

[Swedishchef]

What kind of shot and for what allergy?

Andrew

 

[jb6l6gc]

Allergy shots for general allergies. Trees ,pollen,and grass for him.

 

[maple1]

I have had allergies for years - hay fever type stuff, and pollen.

Still have to mow the grass every week & whatever else needs doing out there. They seem to have reduced in severeness over the years, but if I feel things starting to affect me, I go for an antihistamine.

 

[Highbeam]

I've known many people who have taken those allergy tests including myself and everybody is allergic to about everything. It's a scam.

 

[jb6l6gc]

I used to have allergies bad to almost everything when I was a kid. Had asthma too. Miraculously it all just went away lol

 

[rwhite]

Just wondering if this is freshly cut wood or has been sitting for awhile. Reason I ask is that I worked in a mill for several years and had allergies to spruce and white fire. Figured out it wasn't the wood but the mold that grew on it. Within hours of peeling logs the white fir and spruce would begin to grow mold. Driving a forklift with all that blowing back at you was no fun at all. The good thing was within 1/2 hour of being outside the symptoms would go away. Learned to wear a dust mask and gloves whenever I handled it and it seems to solve the issue.

 

[DougA]

I think rwhite has a good answer and my guess is that it's probably mold, dust and very dry conditions in the house. I just put a humidifier in my bedroom a few days ago to help me sleep. That's the first time I have ever needed it. A very dry house will make some allergies much worse. Seems wrong since people move to Arizona to live in dry weather but a house heated with combustion can easily get too dry for people and pets.
Tell him to add a humidifier, vacuum up all the dust and see if that helps.

 

[maple1]

Our daughter is allergic to birch, but it only bothers her in pollen season. Then it REALLY bothers her.

 

[ChipTam]

Our daughter is allergic to birch, but it only bothers her in pollen season. Then it REALLY bothers her.

I worked as a cabinetmaker for many years and black walnut dust always bothered me.....rash on my face and arms. Mills around here separate out walnut dust from the rest if they want to sell the shavings to horse farms since horses are also allergic to walnut dust. Hope that's my only similarity to a horse!

ChipTam

 

[maple1]

<Resists temptation to throw in off-colour joke>

 

[Swedishchef]

<Resists temptation to throw in off-colour joke>

Especially to a guy who goes to Newfoundland in the summer