saw eyes, flaky facial skin etc etc

[kienik]

Evening All

 

As you will probably know, i have just taken my boat out of the weater for re blacking, the previous blacking was in a pretty bad way so i decided to remove the whole lot back to metal to re apply properly, so i got all booted and suited ready for the lovely task of grinding the old blacking off (boiler suit, full face screen, mask, gloves etc etc, i am using an angle grinder with a "twist knot wheel from tool station", these last for hours and hours and strip the paint straight back to the bare metal in seconds. i thought i would be well safe from the flying bits of old steel and rusty bits with all of the safety gear i had on, BUT...............................................

 

After a whole day of grinding i got home to find i looked like sometihng out of a horror movie, my eyes were all puffed up and i couldnt stop them from watering, they were and still are very saw around the eye lids and around the nose area, What could this be??

 

I have been applying moisturiser daily as my whole face has felt as if it was burning and was really tight feeling, also i found it hard to eat properly as the sides of my mouth were very saw indeed, now after three days of abstenance from grinding my face feels much better but is flaking old dead skin at an alarming rate!!

 

Question is,,,, is Bitumen/Blacking "dust" harmful to the skin or is it likely to be something that was "stuck" to the hull that i was aggrevating I.E. some sort of disease in the water, the fglaking is starting to ware away now but i just wat to know what it could be as i have at least two more weekends of grinding to do!

 

Thanks

 

Nik

[Paul Evans]

I doubt there is anybody here capable of providing an expert opinion (unless we have a dermatologist in the crew) but it seems clear to me that you are allergic to something. Before you do any more work get yourself down to A&E and ask to see a dermatologist.

[magpie patrick]

Get to the quack NOW, you have had a serious allergic reaction to something and need to be bloody careful. Unless there are qualified doctors on here (and there maybe) we are outside our field of competence, and I don't want the possible consequences on my conscience

 

Sorry, but I've had a few medical problems, it's about the one thing I won't ask here for help on, Baldock will produce his Haynes Manual and dissect you with a hacksaw, no one else really knows... (nor does Baldock)

[kienik]

Thanks for the replies, my thoughts exactly but being a "sort of male" i dont want to got to A & E to complain of flaky skin, i do understand that it could be dermatologically related but as it is clearing up now i feel as it could just be the bitumen drying out my skin,, if it helps my face went extremely oily for two days ar so before the flakyness started so i guess it was my bodies way of dealing with an attack on the skin??

 

if anyone on here has any professional expertise in this sort of thing then please comment, im bot an ambulance chaser and realise that the NHs and emergency services are already snowed under with cases far worse than mine.

 

thanks for the responses

 

Nik

[Bagpuss]

Patrick's advice is sound... Quack!

 

What irony would there be if you were allergic to all your PPE?

[kienik]

Patrick's advice is sound... Quack!

 

What irony would there be if you were allergic to all your PPE?

 

 

Haha, i work for a major employer as a training & development manager for chefs so i band on all the time about PPE, it certainly would be ironic if i were to be allergic to my very own PPE haha lets hope not, otherwise my reputation has nothing down for it

 

Nik

[MoominPapa]

I pressure-washed our hull prior to re-blacking last week. This involves getting liberally soaked in cold water and bitumen bits (well, it does when I do it anyway). I came out with what looked like really bad shaving rash where my neck was wet and rubbing on my t-shirt, and had a really bad headache that evening. The headache was gone by the morning but the rash has taken about 10 days to go completely, leaving dry flaky skin.

 

This may be relevant, it may not be. I'd re-iterate the advice to see a medi-quack if you're at all worried. You pay your taxes, you're entitled to use the NHS.

 

 

MP.

[kienik]

I pressure-washed our hull prior to re-blacking last week. This involves getting liberally soaked in cold water and bitumen bits (well, it does when I do it anyway). I came out with what looked like really bad shaving rash where my neck was wet and rubbing on my t-shirt, and had a really bad headache that evening. The headache was gone by the morning but the rash has taken about 10 days to go completely, leaving dry flaky skin.

 

This may be relevant, it may not be. I'd re-iterate the advice to see a medi-quack if you're at all worried. You pay your taxes, you're entitled to use the NHS.

 

 

MP.

 

 

MP thanks for the message glad im not the only one, thinking about it i did have a bit of a bad head afterwards but i was so thirsty when i got home i had bath and downed a few glasses of wine and hay presto the headache went, joking apart i will go to the Quacks ad see if the Doc can shed some light onit as i really dont want to go through that situation again it was absolute agony (drinking wine was ok but food was a deffo no no, is that a bad thing??)

 

Nik

[Guest]

Well I think there are about 4 responses to your post recommending seeking immediate medical advice and you've not heeded it - fair enough but why bother asking in the first place ?

 

Hope all is OK when you do.

 

 

.

Edited September 22, 2010 by MJG

[Lady Muck]

we learnt the hard way that if you get the blacking on your skin and then are exposed to direct sunlight then it burns you just as you describe. This year we took more care and used rubber gloves and we were fine.

[Timleech]

Maybe your boat was last painted with a coal tar based paint. Bitumen can produce a reaction but it's much more likely with tar.

 

Tim

[alan_fincher]

Only slightly off topic......

 

I tend to be from the "get covered in whatever I'm working with, and only worry about getting it off later" school of boat maintenance.

 

I got fairly covered in the new blacking we just put on, (Rylards Rytex).

 

However when nearly done, for some reason I decided to start reading the tin.

 

I know all these products come across a bit scary, but I was genuinely quite shocked at the level of warning, the advice about how far you should protect yourself, and what to do if you had splashes on your skin, (and believe me I had a bit more than splashes).

 

If the stuff you grind off is anywhere near as nasty as what you are putting back on, (and maybe it isn't without all the solvents still in it ?), I'd recommend a lot more caution than I foolishly managed not to come up with.

[kitman]

A similar reaction always happened to someone who used to work for us when grinding off bitumen and painting it aswell. She used to use moisturiser to block it from touching her skin.

 

I myself are effected by the solvents in the paint, it gives me eczema on my face (which is dry flakey skin, and itchey) So i always use a mask and keep my skin moisturised! <waits for incoming jokes!>

 

Hope you feel better soon

[MoominPapa]

Only slightly off topic......

 

I tend to be from the "get covered in whatever I'm working with, and only worry about getting it off later" school of boat maintenance.

 

I got fairly covered in the new blacking we just put on, (Rylards Rytex).

 

However when nearly done, for some reason I decided to start reading the tin.

 

I know all these products come across a bit scary, but I was genuinely quite shocked at the level of warning, the advice about how far you should protect yourself, and what to do if you had splashes on your skin, (and believe me I had a bit more than splashes).

... and Rytex (and Premium Protection, which we used) are the wimpy ones. According to the Rylards website, the coal-tar based products (Standard Black and CoFlex) are "professional use only (Health and Safety)"

 

MP.

[Guest]

I suspect a lot of these products will be carcinogenic.. hence the need to take care...

[RLWP]

It could also be a reaction to rust, but as I'm not a doctor, I'd also say GO TO THE DOCTOR YOU IDIOT!!!

 

Clear?

 

Richard

[Québec]

Bitumen-based products seem to carry similar (obvious) health warnings i.e.

Avoid contact with skin, mouth, eyes, and foodstuffs (last can be contaminated by vapours until stuff is dry);

Can cause irritation and allergic reactions to skin (dermatitis) and to eyes. (Recommend wear eye protectors as well as skin & face masks).

 

This is the advice from the HSE:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthtopics/dermatitis.htm

 

the bit I particularly noted is that once you've had an allergic reaction "any future exposure to the substance will produce an adverse reaction".

[WJM]

Sore not saw

[kienik]

thanks for all the replies (even the somewhat rude ones!), doctors here i come

[Chertsey]

Well I think there are about 4 responses to your post recommending seeking immediate medical advice and you've not heeded it - fair enough but why bother asking in the first place ?

 

Hope all is OK when you do.

 

 

.

You posted this only about half an hour after the OP - how quickly was he meant to heed CWF advice and leap off to the doctors? At seven in the evening?

 

He had made the point that he was already recovering, and was mainly concerned about what further exposure might do. Important to seek a medical opinion then, but not necessarily urgent.

 

... and Rytex (and Premium Protection, which we used) are the wimpy ones. According to the Rylards website, the coal-tar based products (Standard Black and CoFlex) are "professional use only (Health and Safety)"

 

MP.

Ah, Coflex, that's the stuff. I've still got the scars. But I'm still alive and well too.

Edited September 23, 2010 by Chertsey

[MoominPapa]

But I'm still alive and well too.

I'm glad to hear it. An observer at Bill Fen has difficulty telling these days. Are you planning to re-visit the old stomping ground?

 

 

MP.

[Guest]

Sounded urgent to me Sarah poss very serious adverse reaction plenty of places urgent medical advice can be sourced at that time btw

 

That's all.

Edited September 23, 2010 by MJG

[Chertsey]

Sounded urgent to me Sarah poss very serious adverse reaction plenty of places urgent medical advice can be sourced at that time btw

 

That's all.

But if you read the OP properly this happened three days ago and he is now recovering. His concern was about the possible effect of future exposure, and to ascertain the cause.

 

By the way, saw eyes... not a good idea. Nor is drilling, sanding or filing them.

Edited September 23, 2010 by Chertsey

[WJM]

I think having a saw in your eye is a very serious condition. One sudden movement and it could cut right through to the brain! :-)

[Keeping Up]

I think having a saw in your eye is a very serious condition. One sudden movement and it could cut right through to the brain! :-)

 

But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,

Why, I do it again and again.