# Skin reaction from Oak?



## jashcroft (Sep 30, 2010)

I cut up and loaded up a nice size red oak last weekend and later that day developed a itchy skin reaction.  I had what I can only describe as red welts about the size of a dime all over my mid section and some on my arm.  I know exactly what poison ivy looks like because we have plenty on the farm, but I did not see any in the area I was cutting.  It also didn't look like poison ivy I have got in the past.  It looked more like insect bites.

I got to thinking that maybe it came from the oak itself?  It was a warm day and I was only wearing a long-sleeved cotton shirt, so I was sweating pretty bad and carrying the oak against my body which is exactly where the reaction took place.

Anybody any idea on what this may be or have had a similar experience?

Thanks,


----------



## ANeat (Sep 30, 2010)

Chiggers perhaps?


----------



## bogydave (Sep 30, 2010)

Web MD link
Allergies to poison ivy, oak, sumac
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/poison-ivy-oak-sumac

May help


----------



## wood spliter (Oct 1, 2010)

There could have been piece's of vine on it.  I got it on the boys when I cut a vine than hit the head.


----------



## ecocavalier02 (Oct 1, 2010)

i was just cutting up some pieces of big sugar maple and came across a vine tucked away in the crotch woke up this morning itching like a bastard. it will sometimes start out looking like little bug bites. also the oils can stick around forever even if you didnt see it.


----------



## ironpony (Oct 1, 2010)

I had it happen one year to me cutting poplar
lasted about a year if i remember right
and its never happened again since
guess I built up a resistance


----------



## Wood Duck (Oct 1, 2010)

I am not saying it is impossible to react to oak, but I have never had a reaction and never heard of it before. I'd look for another cause. Chiggers or something like that seems like a plausible explanation.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Oct 1, 2010)

I once knew a man who shied away from most oak. He would break out from it and itch like crazy. He is the only one I ever have known to be allergic to it though.


----------



## FLINT (Oct 1, 2010)

gator21 said:
			
		

> It was a warm day and I was only wearing a long-sleeved cotton shirt, so I was sweating pretty bad and carrying the oak against my body which is exactly where the reaction took place.




I think the rash/welts may have come from heat/sweat + all the pressure on your skin from carrying the heavy wood - so something like a combination of heat rash, plus a slight reaction from a lot of pressure on your skin.  

I've seen it happen


----------



## billb3 (Oct 1, 2010)

sawdust dermatitis ?

I'll get it (usually the next day though) if the weather is warmer and I'm cutting in short sleeves, sweating  and get a lot of sawdust on my arms. Green wood. Dead oak seems OK.  I don't get spots the size of dimes though, just a reddish area ( the red might be from scratching). The spots and redness might be degree of reaction. and I'm lucky to have just a mild reaction to whatever is in the green sawdust. 
Tiny bit on chest and stomach, too if sawdust went down my shirt. Wouldn't notice it I didn't look, though cuz it never itches much.


----------



## Adios Pantalones (Oct 1, 2010)

I have got that reaction from other woods- ipe, hedge, and I think yew.  Usually it involves a lot of sawdust and sweat.


----------



## Flatbedford (Oct 1, 2010)

May also have to do with the higher acidity of Oak or tannins. That, the heat and your sweat may have irritated your skin.
This is an MSDS for some kind of industrial product, but it does come up on a Google search for "tannin skin irritation"
http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/T0065.htm


----------



## branchburner (Oct 1, 2010)

Worst poison ivy I've ever had always comes from vines, not leaves. The big vines I never miss, but the little ones can be sneaky. Not sure how long the oil stays active in a dead vine, but it can be long enough to git ya when even there's no trace of live poison ivy.


----------



## branchburner (Oct 1, 2010)

gator21 said:
			
		

> red welts about the size of a dime



Missed the part about size of a dime. Doesn't sound like poison ivy. Maybe it was the money you could have been saving from Geico.


----------



## okotoks guy (Oct 2, 2010)

I used to work at a lumber wholesaler and part of the job when I started was
standing up lifts of oak boards into bins.1x2 - 1x12, 6-16'.I would always wear
work gloves but would rash on my forearms and even on my face when some 
of the sawdust or splinters would fall onto me.I thought I just had sensitive skin
until we started carrying maple boards and I had no reaction to them.I guess it's 
just an allergy to oak as the boards were kd'd and S4S so there is no way there
were traces of vine on them causing the reaction.


----------

