Has anyone ever heard of being allergic to trees or certain kinds of trees? For some reason when I cut hackberry my sinuses start acting like I've been hit with tear gas, and my eyes burn... If it's fresh I start itching too... Walnut kinda has the same effect on me. Other trees, no problems... Anybody else have anything like that?
Walnut is known to cause problems like that I don't know about hackberry Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Black Walnut has been reported as asensitizer. Usually most common reactions simply include eye and skin irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
Poison sumac grows as a shrub or small tree up to 25 feet tall. It is found in wooded, swampy areas around southeast Texas. All parts of the plant contain a resin that causes skin irritation to humans. Best to keep your distance.
Reportedly American Sycamore triggers allergic reaction for many sawyers. Might be a problem with sycamore, with noodling it too, since it's reported to be so difficult to split. Never BTDT, myself, and likely won't. I've had it happen twice that fungi in the trunk of trees, once in heartwood, other in sapwood, got to my sinuses, bad. Of course, I was "bathed" in dust & chips while cutting them. Won't do that again if possible, and now I keep dust masks handy. Wind direction, a big plus too. Rhus oil in poison ivy/oak/sumac vines really really socks bad, too, especially when it sneaks up on you. Like when vine is out of sight to you, and bud doesn't tell you it's there. When it later explodes in crimson it's too late to do much about it. Oral Ivy helps, but it's a band-aid at that stage.
Yes. Seen first this hand. My son has allergies. And some are to different tree species. Others are dust and dust mites. This is a tough one because dust is everywhere. (Luckily no food allergies! Yeah! He loves food and trying different kinds of food.) But, I tore his carpet out of his room and put a laminate down myself. He has a special allergen free pillow of some kind. Air purifier in room. We dust several times a week. Etc. He doesn't have any serious skin issues but the trees can bother his sinuses and eyes. However, we have been bringing him to an allergy specialist for almost three years now. Started when he was 8 and now he is 11. He had all the test on the skin in the beginning, and they made a "serum" especially for his allergies. And he has been taking shots for almost three years now. First he started out two shots, one in each arm, twice a week. Combined with half an allergy pill twice a day. Then over time they gradually decreased. He is currently down to one shot in each arm every three weeks. There has been a big improvement in his quality of life as time went by. Started right in the first six months and gradually got much better within the first year. The little guy went from an almost constant sneezing and runny nose many times of the of the year to a totally normal life. He now takes half an allergy pill when he needs to now.
I wear a kerchief as a mask when I use the splitter on red oak. Other wood dust too but the oak really seems to light me up. Sneezin' and weezin' like crazy. If I keep the kerchief wet, no prob.
Yes, it happens. I used to be miserable a lot of the time, sneezing stuffed up head. Went to dctr and got tested, came back positive to certain species of trees( and other things) Did not help that I worked outside every day around the things I was allergic to. I think I eventually built up an immunity to the things that used to make me miserable.
I have a fairly strong dermilogical reaction to balsam sap. Within minutes it feels like my skin is on fire and then I break out in hives.
When I was in high school on summer break I worked one of dads logging crews. We were into some nice size sassafras pulp and there was a small top on the landing at the end of the day. Dad decided to buzz it up and take it home for firewood. We unloaded it right into the winter stacks out back when we got home that afternoon. The next morning I woke up with a rashof*hellfire from my neck to my schwanz and on my forearms. Couple days calamine lotion and all was well. Havent been within 20 feet of a sassafras in 30 years !!!!
My daughter is allergic to pine/evergreen, it only affects her if the plant is indoors, we can not have real Christmas greens in the house. If she goes into a building during the holiday season and smells pine she has to leave immediately. We didn't figure it out till she was three. The year we figured it out, we had just put a tree up on the second floor, she woke up in the middle of the night having problems breathing, my wife says, I think it's the Christmas tree, all,of the sudden it made sense, the tree went out the window, decorations and all.
My daughter was tested by an allergist a few years ago and they found she had a high sensitivity to Maple trees.
As you can see Hellbent, allergic reactions to various trees is very common. I've been fortunate that the only thing that has ever bothered me was one time and once only I got poison ivy. Nasty stuff it can be.
I love the smell of all wood when cutting it. I even like the smell of elm. Some wood smells awesome when cutting. Cherry, and hickory are 2 of my favorites. I used to be poison ivy resistant. I could roll in it as a child through teenage years with no itching or breakouts. My brothers at the same time and place would be in pain, and I'd have no issues. I have not tested that resistance out though in years. I kinda don't want to.
Gas, how did you determine he had allergies? My lil one has a cough and runny nose, no sign of a cold, and its going on for a month on and off... Thanks
Tree allergies are very common. The best thing that I have ever done for my allergies is using a Neti-pot. I went from being miserable for several weeks to very minimal irritation. I've been using it for over a year. I only wish I would have started years ago.
