# What would you do?  I love wood stove, GF has wood allergies...



## project240 (Mar 11, 2011)

This past summer we bought/moved to a new house and shortly afterwards I installed a wood insert.  I love wood heat and so does she, although we're finally learning she may have a bit of an allergy to either the wood/dust.  We've taken a break from burning a couple times (among many other things) to try to pinpoint the allergy and the source.  Seems pretty clear that whenever we're not burning she is fine, but whenever we do she develops snuffy nose, watery eyes; normal allergy symptoms.  

By no means are her allergies very serious, but they definitely are very noticeable.  We had been planning to install a second larger stove and heat solely with wood in the coming years, but now I'm not so sure.  I really want to continue on burning, but obviously am concerned with this situation.

What would you do?  Cut back, quit, air purifier, Reactine...? 

I'm sure others may have encountered this situation at one point or another, so I"m curious to hear what you did to resolve/cope?

Thanks


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## PNWBurner (Mar 11, 2011)

Well, I guess it depends on which one keeps you warmer  

Sorry, I couldn't resist...

Have you tried to see if it's a specific species that she's allergic to or just wood in general?


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## granpajohn (Mar 11, 2011)

Points on allergies in general:

1. An allergist can help deterimine what the real allergy is. e.g. mold on wood, dust from wood, dust from ash, or something else. Then, you can work to eliminate or reduce it. By merely stopping the burning, you may be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

2. Medications used to combat allergies, especially asthma....On first blush, it always seems desirous to eliminate the source, rather than treat the symptom. Would it not be better to give away a pet, (for example), than to keep the pet and go on a regimen of medicine? Answer; Yes, but not always. The patient then finds herself susceptible to symptoms when visiting other homes or public places. 

So, as in case 2 above; this may be a blessing in disguise, to attack and treat this allergy; not hide from it.

As you may guess, I speak from experience.  

One last thing; after living with something like this for years, you may find that the medicines available to treat it advance and become much more acceptable to live with. Thus the risk analysis of item 2 above can change. (Again, I speak from experience.)

Hope that helps some.


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## gzecc (Mar 11, 2011)

I assume you are not stacking/storing any wood in the house?  Do you smell smoke during its use?
What specifically could she be allergic to.  Are you bringing moldy wood or nice dry splits?
I don't think its possible to be allergic to wood. Smoke, on the other hand is an irritant which could cause your issues. How is your draft?


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## begreen (Mar 11, 2011)

Some nut trees, like walnut can bring on an allergic reaction. I would try to isolate the cause. If the stove is tight and no leaks, it may be outgassing of paint from the stove or stove pipe or burning dust on the stove.


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## zzr7ky (Mar 11, 2011)

I agree with the above suggestions. 

 If you have the room you might look into outdoor boilers.


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## granpajohn (Mar 11, 2011)

Does it improve when she leaves the stove room?

Does it worsen if she just hangs around the woodpile for a while?

You could put a bunch of wood splits in the back seat of her car, then see if she gets symptoms while driving.
Try same with different species of wood.

If you smoke a cigar; does it cause the same effect? (Dont' smoke? Try it for the sake of your loved one. Just once.)

A true wood allergy must be so rare. Most of the house is built from wood. The table we eat from, the nightstand, doors and trim, floors; heck, even the pencil we used as kids.


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## DanCorcoran (Mar 11, 2011)

As with most subjects on this forum, we'll need photos both of the stove and the GF...


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## Highbeam (Mar 11, 2011)

If my wife was allergic to my wood then we wouldn't have so many children! She is obviously not allergic to real wood. You are in a new house and this is the first winter, who knows what the allergen is. I was "diagnosed" with allergies to several pollens, a few foods, dogs, and dust mites. I found that when the house is cool, I am fine, but that when I heat it up such as when burning wood, that I would get stuffy. Don't know if it was the heat alone, or if the heat was causing dust to be stirred up or whatever. 

What I'm getting at is that you don't know what the allergy is yet. You're in a new house with potential mold, dust mites, animal dander, etc. already in it. Before going to such extremes as stopping wood burning, you would be well served to visit the allergy doctor. In my case it was the Ear,nose,throat doctor which has a fancy name but I never learned it.


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## Flatbedford (Mar 11, 2011)

Quick answer; Replace girlfriend.


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## ansehnlich1 (Mar 11, 2011)

DanCorcoran said:
			
		

> As with most subjects on this forum, we'll need photos both of the stove and the GF...



Yep, post pics of both and we'll tell ya which one to keep 

or, burn coal.


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## wood-fan-atic (Mar 11, 2011)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

> Quick answer; Replace girlfriend.



 NICE!! 

 But,seriously... My wife had 'allergic' reactions to our woodburning stoves,also. We got 2 ionic air purifiers and a humidifier, and "PRESTO".....no more symptoms....shes fine now. An allergist is the first place to start,though. They will isolate EXACTLY what causes her symptoms,and you can go on from there.


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## yooperdave (Mar 11, 2011)

project240 said:
			
		

> This past summer we bought/moved to a new house and shortly afterwards I installed a wood insert.  I love wood heat and so does she, although we're finally learning she may have a bit of an allergy to either the wood/dust.  We've taken a break from burning a couple times (among many other things) to try to pinpoint the allergy and the source.  Seems pretty clear that whenever we're not burning she is fine, but whenever we do she develops snuffy nose, watery eyes; normal allergy symptoms.
> 
> By no means are her allergies very serious, but they definitely are very noticeable.  We had been planning to install a second larger stove and heat solely with wood in the coming years, but now I'm not so sure.  I really want to continue on burning, but obviously am concerned with this situation.
> 
> ...



first, how old is she???  if she is 40, trade her in for 2-20's...........


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## Adios Pantalones (Mar 11, 2011)

If it's a sniffle type reaction, rather than a skin reaction, consider that the stove may dry the air and that may be part of the reason.  Even some skin problems may be from dry air.  Most allergens do better at very low and very high humidity- try a humidifier and see what happens.


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## Dakotas Dad (Mar 11, 2011)

Are you sure it's an allergy? maybe it's just the dryer air?


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## project240 (Mar 11, 2011)

PNWBurner said:
			
		

> Well, I guess it depends on which one keeps you warmer
> 
> Sorry, I couldn't resist...
> 
> Have you tried to see if it's a specific species that she's allergic to or just wood in general?



Well, if I had to pick one or the other, I would definitely choose her, but I'm greedy and want both.

We've burnt elm, poplar, and pine mostly and so far it doesn't seem to matter what I'm burning... symptoms seem to appear shortly after.


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## project240 (Mar 11, 2011)

granpajohn said:
			
		

> Points on allergies in general:
> 
> 1. An allergist can help deterimine what the real allergy is. e.g. mold on wood, dust from wood, dust from ash, or something else. Then, you can work to eliminate or reduce it. By merely stopping the burning, you may be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
> 
> ...



Points taken.  I'm trying to source the problem/cause initially by myself, but obviously a specialist could definitely help to pinpoint the cause/solution.


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## project240 (Mar 11, 2011)

gzecc said:
			
		

> I assume you are not stacking/storing any wood in the house?  Do you smell smoke during its use?
> What specifically could she be allergic to.  Are you bringing moldy wood or nice dry splits?
> I don't think its possible to be allergic to wood. Smoke, on the other hand is an irritant which could cause your issues. How is your draft?



We do stack about a week's worth of wood inside the house, but unless the stove is burning, she's never been affected by it; which leads me to believe it is more than likely ash/dust from the stove.  Our draft is pretty strong and rarely do we get any smoke in the house.


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## project240 (Mar 11, 2011)

wood-fan-atic said:
			
		

> Flatbedford said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I just purchased an air purifier to put in the stove room today.  Purchased this one http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...tra+Clean+Air+Purifier%2C+Large.jsp?locale=en from Home Depot today on clearance for $62.00.   We'll see if this helps...


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## project240 (Mar 11, 2011)

Adios Pantalones said:
			
		

> If it's a sniffle type reaction, rather than a skin reaction, consider that the stove may dry the air and that may be part of the reason.  Even some skin problems may be from dry air.  Most allergens do better at very low and very high humidity- try a humidifier and see what happens.



We do have a humidifier constantly running in the house, but even I still notice the air is very dry.  Might be wise to either grab a second one or a kettle for the stove to help out.


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## project240 (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks for all of the responses guys.  It's definitely appreciated and gives us a few more things to consider.


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## maverick06 (Mar 11, 2011)

time to upgrade to girlfriend version 2.0!

Give a air purifier a shot. I have one just to keep down dust and anything else thats floating! 

I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-502...E7RY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299883965&sr=8-2 

Its great, also helps circulate the hot air.  I definitely have noticed a lot less dust moving around, and the filters get disgustingly dirty! Good think they are reusable!


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## fire_man (Mar 12, 2011)

yooperdave said:
			
		

> > first, how old is she???  if she is 40, trade her in for 2-20's...........



You mean so they can load the woodstove twice as fast without sneezing, right?


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## johnnycomelately (Mar 12, 2011)

Sell the stove and give her" the wood"


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## Jimbob (Mar 12, 2011)

A whole thread and no pics yet.....:-/


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## project240 (Mar 12, 2011)

I'll post a couple pics tomorrow of our current setup and the second soon to be (maybe) stove room I'm currently working on...

Not sure about the other pic... maybe if I can find one she approves of...


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## snowleopard (Mar 12, 2011)

This may be of use.   I had been around fireweed in bloom many seasons with no problems.   I started wearing contacts (pre-themoserol-free drops) and had no problems with them--unless I was walking, biking, or driving past a field of fireweed in bloom.  Then my eyes would start itching and tearing so badly that I couldn't drive sometimes.  Remove the contacts--no problem.  Get away from fireweed--no problem.  Combine them--allergic reaction. 

I've never seen reference to this elsewhere, but I think that it's possible my experience is not unique.  There may be more than one factor that is at work here--perhaps something that brings her up to the borderline, and whatever is triggering it in your home is pushing her over the critical limit.  So even if she does have a smoke allergy, if another sensitivity is also identified, you could try eliminating that and seeing if it helps.


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## ddddddden (Mar 12, 2011)

> If my wife were allergic to wood, we'd have fewer kids.


 Nice one, Highbeam.                   Yeah, further assistance will require pics of GF and stove.   The usual surpects have been identified. . .maybe we can fine tune a lil'. You're noticing that it coincides with stove operation. Does the stove have a blower? Do you remove ashes before firing up? Ash pan or scoop out?


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## gzecc (Mar 12, 2011)

project240 said:
			
		

> gzecc said:
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I would remove the wood from the house. Clean well with a hepa vacumn wait a few days and make another fire.  Keep the wood out of the house for a few weeks and see what happens.


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## iceisasolid (Mar 12, 2011)

The allergy panel in my office includes types of wood found in North Central ID.  Guess what? People are allergic to cedar, red fir, white pine, and others, but a 10 mg tablet of over the counter cetirizine (zytec) or loratadine (claritin) helps many people. 

I started wood burning this season and have found that my daughter, son, and I, who all have some sort of sinus concern with the wood burning.  I have tried a tea kettle with little improvement.  I did find that when the stove was off we do not have this problem.  When the stove is off and it is windy I could smell creosote.   I sealed all the lower pipe connections with high temp silicone and have noticed less problems, so far.  My daughter isn't complaining about it either.    

Allergists can't always find the problem.  I'd consider using saline nasal spray and see if the increased moisture in the nose helps.  The filter/purifier should be of some benefit.  You may consider not placing it next to where you sit, as it draws air to it and the particulates in the air are drawn to you and your GF.  Try placing it in a different room, or on the other side of the room.  Just some thoughts...

I hope you find your solution.


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