the itch

General Discussion
1

I have , in the last month or so , broken out in a painful rash on both wrists. Inside and on the back of each wrist. It won’t go away.

It has become worse in the last two weeks or so.

Strangely, this is how long since I last fibreglassed.

I did a search on ’ itch’ first, then one on allergies.

I have not used epoxy resin … yet.

Hicksy uses the stuff, though. I do my glassing and stuff at his place.

I am just wondering if it is possible if I am one of the unlucky ones who is allergic to even ‘airborne’ epoxy ? [ as I haven’t touched any of the West Systems stuff Grant uses. ]

Is this what the term ‘sensitised’ really means…so oversensensitive to a substance that you break out in red painful rashes , as a result of even going within a certain distance of it ?

I really want to do epoxy boards. I really will cover myself from head to toe if this IS the case.

Are there any creams or lotions [or ?injections/ antibodies / dietary supplements?] that will reduce / eliminate this, or is it as Bert said, “susceptible blood types” who cop it hard ?

And I wonder why I have had this outbreak two to three weeks AFTER any fibreglassing contact ?

thank you for any help…I’ve never had ANYTHING like this before, in all the years I’ve been using polyester resin, fixing dings, making boards, and fins, grinding and sanding fins…

ben

p.s. - a search under ‘itch’ yielded something like 920 entries/ 39 pages of stuff, but a quick flick through a few pages revealed some were only ‘I’m itching to make my next board’ type threads !

2

I just wondered , after posting that…

does hot weather cause these things to ‘fester’ more ??

It’s our summer here in oz at the moment , and we have had some 38 degree c days [100 degrees on the ‘old scale’]

Ours is a dry [ie non-humid] heat…if this information helps / makes any difference to solving what is a ‘mystery’ to me .

  thanks ! 



   ben
3

Chip,

Is the rash where your Tshirt cuffs rub or clothing rub when you sand…

not to sound grody, but what does the rash look like…

Oh and since you are close to the source, Tea Tree oil will dry the rash up and act as an antibacterial so you wont get infected if they open up…

Again not to sound grody, post a pic…

I have had epoxy sensitivity but it wasn’t on my wrists…

p.s. I posted a pic of that keel fin…

DONT SCRATCH!!!

4

Hey Chippy. I’ve seen guys get that rash from latex gloves at work.It’s the powder inside.

Hope this helps.

5

thanks for that…

yes, latex gloves with powder inside

…yes, they’ve opened up…‘weeping’ liquid and bleeding…even without scratching [and they are itchy, alright. Um, zo, it will be a while till my film is finished, but I WILL endeavour to get a closeup of at least my left wrist at some stage over the next few weeks.

Meantime, I’m trying to wear no watch, no long sleeves [easy in summer], no gloves…

Thanks for the tip on tea / [or is it “ti” , I wonder ?] tree oil, zolo…I’ll try that…anything to get relief from this !! [I just had a thought: would ‘calamine’ lotion also work on this, I wonder ?]

Well, any more insight / advice is certainly most welcome…thanks everyone!

6

  1. see a doctor

  2. with 1404 posts, perhaps you’re developing a keyboard allergy? (joke)

  3. I’d try calamine… but not on open sores. Neosporin on those until I saw a doc.

7

  1. I might, if creams / tea tree oil don’t work first

  2. you wish…

  3. what is / in neosporin, do you know ?

… thanks for your help Keith !

8
Quote:

with 1404 posts, perhaps you’re developing a keyboard allergy? (joke)

================================================= Funny one Keith, it made me laugh out loud. 4. zig zags dipped in red wine will fix it.

9

lets see-

Buddy of mine got into a world of trouble with latex allergy - he caught it from an airbag going off in a van he was in. The stuff was driven into his skin. Meanwhile-

They make medical gloves that don’t contain latex, which are prolly something to try. Also, I find that in heat I tend to develop various rashes and such from sanding, etc a helluva sight easier. The fact that they are on your wrists and not also on your face and other exposed areas too leads me to think that it’s not an epoxy problem, more like an irritant dust problem.

Have a look through http://www.vh.org/ and I’d do a search for ‘contact dermatitis’, sounds like what you might be dealing with.

You might try a steroidal ( cortisone) cream or lotion on those seeping whateveryacallums, worked for me. Over-the-counter strength ( here in the US) seems to be adequate, takes down the blisters, or Benadryl capsules for bad cases - only thing is Benadryl is also a very good soporific. Puts me into a kinda dreamy state, when I shouldn’t use anything sharp or anything like a power tool.

Really grotesque photos: http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/dermatology/PietteDermatology/BasicDermatology.html plus lots of info.

hope that’s of use

doc…

10

wow !

Good to have a doctor in the house !

Thanks for your help, guys!

The rash’s scabs, when NOT weeping , go very very dry, actually…why I was wondering if a calamine of aloe vera or vitamin E cream / moisturiser type cream may be better for it ?

They are red and ‘scaly’, ZoSurf, in the absence of a current photo.

… Yesterday [a slightly [5 degrees] cooler day], they were hardly visible [??] …strange .

ben

11

howdy Chip,

I am not a doctor, but, Google - chigger mite bug rash, 1st two sites, parasite little buggers.

This may have nothing to do with chem.reactions.

If you live outback, chances are they may be what is BUGGN’ you.

Good Luck! and Good Surfn’

Chris

12

Hey chip, have you come into contact with anything else out of the ordinary lately, could just be coincedence.

I had trouble with my hands after they hadn’t seen acetone for a while. Had several months break from boardmaking, still in salt water regularly, and when I got back into glasing it went away.

Work that one out, and it happened to me more than once.

13

Was there epoxy in the shop? Did you dip into contaminated acetone? Was there something else that could have been in the solvent? West can be nasty stuff for the wrong person but it’s rare that vapor would cause a reation alone, especailly in someone who hasn’t had a pre condition.

14

My brother just said exactly the same, Wildy ! …Two weeks of NO glass work, and he erupts, too ?! … weird, indeed .

ben

15
Quote:

Was there epoxy in the shop? Did you dip into contaminated acetone? Was there something else that could have been in the solvent? West can be nasty stuff for the wrong person but it’s rare that vapor would cause a reation alone, especailly in someone who hasn’t had a pre condition.

“Hicksy” was epoxy laminating his wooden stubbie board at the time, and I stood probably 2’ away from it for maybe 10 minutes.

could that do anything ?

 ben
16

Hey Chipfish sounds like a job for the doctor. A few bucks and you find out for sure so you know what to avoid. You can get a fix now but if you don’t know the problem it might come back to haunt you. When it is hot the pours open up,wash with cold water they close clogging anything that might be in there. Hot water for a hot day and avoid to much rubbing.

Common sense tells me its not a reaction to airborns or they would be in other sensitive places.

Did you have gloves on?

what were you using at the time?

Doctor would still be a better bet,just so you know for the next time.

good luck man,

Keith

17

Hey Chip, you asked what’s in neosporin?

NEOSPORIN is brand name for a sterile antimicrobial ointment, it contains: neomycin, polymyxin B, bacitracin zinc, and white petrolatum. Basically to keep infection out of open cuts, etc. It’s not going to cure a rash but might keep it from getting infected if you can’t keep from scratching it. I’d still recommend seeing a doctor…

PS I recall reading in prior posts, perhaps from Greg Loehr, about guys getting rashes around the wrist because when wearing gloves, that’s where you tend to grab the glove with your other hand to pull it off… thus if any goo is on the fingers of the left hand glove, it will contact the skin on the inside of the right wrist when the gloves are removed… something that I now watch for when taking off dirty gloves (typically disposable ones, as the expensive ones usually have gauntlets that cover 4-6 inches of your lower arm).

18

Hey everyone…I just want to say THANKS SO MUCH for all your help on this issue !!

To the average observer, it may seem almost trivial, or a bit nancy boy ish complaint to write about, but…this itch actually IS painful, and those that have / had it understand , I’m sure !

Here’s what I got so far, in case others encounter this too, it will help them too, hopefully

full protection

gauntlet length gloves

barrier cream on hands and wrists

cotton gloves inside other ones

extreme care taking gloves off…especially if working with epoxy…don’t let ANY ‘goo’ touch !

let the stuff ‘weep’ out through the skin [[is this fibreglass micro bits trying to escape, I wonder …is THAT why it ‘opens up’ , from time to time ?]

see a doctor

tea tree oil

? other creams / lotions/ tablet?

neosporin

?calamine?

I haven’t done any epoxy at all.

The last time I did glass work of any kind was using a grinder, a sander, then a sanding block, then sanding sheet[s] and wet and dryy to foil some fibreglass fcs fins I made.

Okay, I hope this helps…any further input welcome.

I want to give it a further week with no glass work, keep swimming in the ocean, use aloe vera cream on it…and see if that all helps it clear.

If still no improvement, I WILL take myself off to the doctor ! And keep you posted on this…

  ben

c.f. …I’m not in the outback, but got a good laugh out of your comment, anyway, thanks !! [bring back your cowboy avatar by the way…that was a ripper !!] … the only bugs I get here are the big black summertime ones that fly into my windows and lights here at night!

…“Kama Bugs”, I call 'em [as in ‘kamakazi’ !]

19

what about mini jellyfish stings and just coincidental timing? Thats happened to me… it got all itchy and oozy and gross and it seemed to be better on cooler days…

20

Hey Ben

Go to the doctor, I’ve got one up here that bulk bills, get a skin scraping done at Pathology and see what it grows in the lab. In the meantime the Doc will give you a broad spectrum antibiotic to tide you over until they find out what the bug is.

Other things to look for

Changing soap powder in your wash, look at where your contact points are, have you used a cleaner on the table where your wrists sit in front of the keyboard.

Be careful with creams and lotions, they can make things worse giving a medium for the bugs to grow.

Hope it clears up before tomorrow…

cheers

Hicksy