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Just got home from the ER after a 3 day adventure I would rather forget. Long story short, I had some sort of allergic reaction, came down with a severe case of the hives (which I've never had and hope to never have again) from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head. Low grade fever included. We've narrowed it down to some meds I was on for diverticulitis (which I've taken before with no ill effects), checking the chemicals in the pool and thickness sanding a madagascar rosewood back both of which were done around 4pm on Thursday afternoon. Onset was around 6 pm Thursday and it was horrific. I went from fine to covered in about 45 minutes.

The Dr.'s say there is no real way to know exactly what it was as we stopped pretty much everything. High doses of prednisone finally eased the misery today.

Have any of you had or know of anyone with a mad rw allergy? I'm hoping it was the meds but no way to be sure I guess.

thanks guys.
Steve Reeves

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"We might not be big but we sure are slow"

Wow Steve, I'm glad you are recovering, and hope you can figure out what the cause was. I always suspect meds (I hate meds) but I get a reaction to Gibon Ebony, not quite like yours, but the warning is there to heed it.

I hope it isn't Mad Rose, I've just got some fretboards of it.

Get well soon.
D.

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

A few months ago I thickness sanded some Pao Ferro and had a reaction. A flu like reaction and what looked like poison Ivy on hands ,arms, and face. I sanded some Mad rosewood in December with protection that I should have used last time, no reaction. Had some swelling in the hands after installing frets and doing some light sanding of the bridge blank. No reaction from any other rosewood I have handled. Not that I'm all that experienced tho. I thickness sand any more, I set up the sander outside with mask, googles and coveralls. the coveralls go into the wash right away afterwards. I go into the shower. I even wash out the container of the vacume so I don't come in contact with the dust down the road. Bill

I get rashes from what it seems only tropical type of woods. If i wear a mask, gloves and long shirt and pants i'm ok while cutting, plaining or sanding.. I hate the fact that i have to wear a long sleeve shirt because I wear short sleave all year long and can't stand long sleeve.

Almost all of the tropical hardwoods we use contain contact allergens. In rosewoods, i.e., Dalbergias, Macherium (Bolivian rosewood), cedar, african blackwood, and so on one of the problematic chemicals is actually called a dalbergione. I've had horrible reactions to Bolivian rosewood. Lesser reactions to ziracote and occasional reactions to other rosewoods including east indian. Long sleeve shirts, facemasks, downdraft sanding tables, gloves and the like are a great help.

It seems like it's gotta be the meds. The hives covering every inch of you, makes me think whatever you reacted to got to you from the inside... systemically. Reactions to wood are usually limited to wherever the oil or dust contacts you.

I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV... but, I hope you get feeling better.

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

I just closed a box with mad rose b&s. No reaction at all. Hope you feel better. I'm with Bob on the meds.

I'm kinda going with you, Bob. I was wondering if, having inhaled the dust, could it cause a systemic reaction. The doctors basically told me it would be almost impossible to tell what it was and that it could have even been a combination of things. I certainly hope its not the woods as I really love what I do. On the other hand, my diverticulitis problems can only be treated through those very meds or surgery. It's looking more and more like I'm going to have to go under the knife as much as I don't want to. They're pretty much guaranteeing it will cure the diverticulitis at least for quite a few years down the road.

Thanks for all the replies folks. I'm feeling much better today.

Steve

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"We might not be big but we sure are slow"

Must disagree with Bob (I do have a medical degree). You most certainly can have a generalized allergic reaction to wood dust exposure. I am curious as to what advice you were given-if the mad rose was the culprit you cannot risk another exposure (same for the meds). Are you going to see an allergist? Just curious.

I have disposable Tyvek suits that I wear when when I am doing something really dusty. They are cheap , light, and cool and fairly sturdy. They keep me from bringing dust into the house which pleases the missus.

Good luck and hope you feel better.

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It's not the miles ahead, it's the stone in your shoe


In Markham,Virginia

Thanks Jon. I'm at the point right now of waiting to see my gastroenterologist on Wednesday, hopefully, and ask him the same thing. I'm almost scared to do anything in my shop and another worry I have is what do I do if I have another gastro flareup as these are, supposedly, the two best meds for treatment. I hope there are alternatives. This attack was second in misery only to kidney stones which I have had quite a few times. The onset was sudden, severe, and long!!!!!!

I wonder if they could test me for the wood allergy without making me react severely again. If it is the wood I'm in big trouble as I have two custom builds to finish, both mad rw dreads.

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"We might not be big but we sure are slow"

Jon, thanks for posting that comment. I want to add that my reaction to Morado happened when I was at Roberto-Venn. In those days, dust collection was the wind as the thickness sanders were outside under a 3 sided shed. I got sawdust everywhere. That evening I broke out in very serious hives and rashes and was the most hideous thing you can imagine. Rock Lobster, hah! I went to the doctor the next day he remarked he'd never seen a reaction that violent in 20 years of dermatological practice. He recommended that I not even step in the building. I didn't follow his advice, and have been ok, but I don't use Morado.

As for the inhalation exposure, I point you in the direction of one Julius Borges who made a presentation at an ASIA Symposium in which he gave a slide show of his own bronchial examination. There was systemic blistering and inflammation in his lungs. It was a wake up call to anyone who attended. Julius wears a full head mask with air supply, as does Michael Greenfield, and Jeff Traugott. These are the 3M units and are over a grand for the setup. I don't have one yet, but want one.

Steve - glad to hear you are on the mend. I'm building a mad rose guitar now and no reactions whatsoever....keep us posted - exotic wood that I've never used before scares a little bit.....

Laurie

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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

The more I've had time to go over what I did last Thursday, I remember after running the joined back through my performax (with dust collector on) when I came back into my other shop side where I do all the assembling I was sand and fitting the center reinforcement spruce peice and started getting an aggravating tickle in my throat with some coughing and came in after a few minutes.

Long story short I'm going to have to be more judicious with coveralls and dustmasks which I normally always use when sanding....but didn't that time.

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"We might not be big but we sure are slow"

It is possible that some may need a unit of this extreme in expense but I've found the TRITON Powered Respirator ($230 at Rockler) to be sufficient for me. And as the Doc mentioned above, the Disposable Coveralls ($1.85 ea. or $1.65 in 50+ qty's.) are excellent combined with Nitrile gloves, excellent dust evacuation, and air filtration down to .1 micron. I may or may nor need all this but I choose to err on the side of max safety. I'm sorry you had this encounter Steve and hope your recovery is speedy and complete.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!