Any help for allergies to feathers????

[trez 0]

Any help for allergies to feathers???? I seem to have developed an allergic reaction to my feather stash. Whenever I get out the big box of hackle, I get really stuffed up and my eyes get itchy. Has anyone else eperienced this and is there anything I can do to make it less of an issue?

 

It's 3AM and this is why I am up right now as I have been having a hard time sleeping due to to the sinus congestion. I'm not sure if it is the feathers themselves or the hide attached to them. I guess I could pluck them all but we are talking about several dozen saddles and necks. Would washing them help? This would also be a pain in the neck but I'd do it. The boxes contain Hoffman/Whiting, Collins, Metz, etc... I've been tying for years with only mild reactions in the past.

 

By the way, I'm not looking for "send them to me", right now I don't think it's funny. This really sucks.

 

Has anyone else dealt with this?

 

I have no desire to stop tying........

 

HELP!!!

[Stippled Popper 0]

I've sent you a PM.

[morfrost 0]

I too have allergies to some feathers and hair. In the case of hackles, it's the fine marabou like fibres at the lowest part of hackle stem, and also the underfur on deer hair. Most of my reactions occur when I work with deer hair, spinning hair and clipping it to make bombers.

 

In my case, this seems to flair up more in the winter, probably when indoor humidity is lowest, static electricity is the greatest and you don't normally bring in fresh air to ventilate the house. Usually my eyes get affected, but sometimes my sinuses do as well. I can't tell if it is because the offending material has come in contact with my eyes, or whether the eye reactions are stimulated by irritations in the sinuses. When I was a kid I used to get wicked hay fever attacks all through the summer and life really sucked then. I was tested and had a score of allergies and took desensitizing shots monthly for many years. I eventually stopped them as an adult 40+ years ago and now have only a few minor episodes of allergic reaction. If you are a young person, I would suggest seeing your doctor and getting tested, if you have persistant bad allergic reactions regularly.

 

I now try to strip my feathers at arms length over a garbage container and I comb deer hair over the can with a fine pet comb to minimize having this material near my nose and sinuses. Most of the time this works quite well. It's practically impossible to stop yourself from touching your face, because most of the time these are involuntary or subconsious movements, so you always have tha risk of transferring stuff from your hands to your face near your nose and eyes. Because of this I usually make up a mess of bombers but don't clip the hair. I take them into my workbench area of my basement and clip them over a garbage can, while wearing a dust mask. Then when I'm finished I bring the clipped bodies back to my tying area to be completed. That way, any airborne allergens released from the clipping stay in another part of the house.

 

I've tried wearing a dust mask with some success as mentioned above. I buy one with an air valve built into the centre of the paper cone on the mask as opposed to just the cheaper all paper masks. It costs more but it does permit greater comfort and less heat buildup under the mask. Sometimes it becomes just too warm to be really comfortable, especially in the summer. At the first sign of feeling my eyes starting to get itchy. I go rinse tmy eyes and also my sinus cavities in lukewarm water, then put on the mask, and this usually prevents further complications. This summer I think I'll try tying some in a screened gazebo on my back deck to see shgow this works out.

 

I also have get hay fever type reactions in late summer, from pollens from certain wild grasses. To combat this, and very occassionally during the winter as well, I use an antihistamine such as Reactin. This calms down those rhinitus allergic reactions like itchy eyes and swollen sinuses. Unfortunately by then I've already had the reaction. I don't like just ingesting chemicals and I won't always get an allergic reaction, so when I do take this stuff it's a reactive instead of a preemptive response. I guess, hence the name Reactin.

 

I hope this may give you some ideas on how to deal with your situation. If you can, identify specifically what seems to stimulate your allergic responses ( feather fluff, etc) and then adapt your methods to minimize the responses when working with the offending materials.

 

Good luck!

[troutguy 0]

Get tested. It might not be feathers. I developed a bunch of allergic reactions to food, medicine and stuff. Turned out to be a cancerous kidney throwing my immune system crazy.

[perchjerker 0]

troutguy:

 

2+.

 

perchjerker

[Stippled Popper 0]

I also have get hay fever type reactions in late summer, from pollens from certain wild grasses. To combat this, and very occasionally during the winter as well, I use an antihistamine such as Reactin. This calms down those rhinitus allergic reactions like itchy eyes and swollen sinuses. Unfortunately by then I've already had the reaction. I don't like just ingesting chemicals and I won't always get an allergic reaction, so when I do take this stuff it's a reactive instead of a preemptive response. I guess, hence the name Reactin.

 

These problems also plague me. The problem with Antihistamines is that after you use them, the things that cause the rhinitis and other symptoms are still present to again trouble you after the temporary effect of the drug(and the sleepiness and dry throat that often accompany their use) runs its course. After a while the body adjusts to a particular antihistamine and you are looking for another formulation that is temporarily effective. The rebound effect from the use of nose drops is even worse.

[Ralph42 0]

It’s my fingers that seem to react. At times they can become bloody stumps, so bad that I have to quit tying for several weeks or months just to heal. I’ve tried tying with nitrile gloves but what a nuisance!

[SilverCreek 0]

On 2/23/2011 at 5:18 AM, trez said:

Any help for allergies to feathers???? I seem to have developed an allergic reaction to my feather stash. Whenever I get out the big box of hackle, I get really stuffed up and my eyes get itchy. Has anyone else eperienced this and is there anything I can do to make it less of an issue?

 

Buy and take OTC version of Claritin (loratadine)

 

2 hours ago, Ralph42 said:

It’s my fingers that seem to react. At times they can become bloody stumps, so bad that I have to quit tying for several weeks or months just to heal. I’ve tried tying with nitrile gloves but what a nuisance!

Get an OTC hydrocortisone steroid hand cream. If that does not work, you will need a stronger steroid hand cream that requires a prescription from a doctor.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Pretty sure I've developed a mild allergy to some of the natural materials I handle, but it's greatly diminished now that I'm no longer tying for shops and other customers... In particular I've found it to be very good practice to carefully wash my hands after a session at the bench since I handle lots of deertails, kiptails, and very low grade strung dyed feathers (both saddles and neck hackles) as well as bird skins -some in poor condition - others fairly old, if you buy in bulk you end up with such a variety that it's difficult at times to narrow down what the problem is... 

What I had to do at times was wear a dust mask (no,  not the masks we've all worn in the covid years) to reduce my exposure to airborne problems as well as at times even washing my hands using household cleaners with a bit of bleach in them....  If you handle lots of feathers and other materials dyed in black or red colors you'll quickly begin to notice that the dyes used aren't nearly colorfast enough - you can see the results on your fingers... I've also learned not to touch anywhere close to my eyes when tying since the slightest contact, hand to eye, will cause burning, itching, and other problems with my eyes unless I've left the bench and carefully washed my hands first...

Like I said, most of these symptoms are either gone or greatly reduced now that I'm no longer spending hour after hour knocking out fly orders.. The lures I make are mostly done up in bucktail dressing so that eliminates airborne problems - but my hands and the potential transfer of chemicals to my eyes is still something I try to guard against... 

 

Slightly off topic I've also learned a few tricks in handling  materials that allow me to be more efficient... The first is to use a sheet of fabric softener, rubbed on my hands before a session at the bench in cold weather to greatly reduce any static electricity problems... Another trick is one I learned to use when working with maribou (or other fine materials...).  I keep a small custard bowl with a half inch of water in it and dip my fingers in it periodically to moisten them  - maribou and similar materials are much more controllable when slightly damp... The finished fly dries out very quickly in the low humidity of winter as well... Lastly that same bowl of water acts as a super glue killer whenever you dip your fingers... If you have the slightest bit of wet super glue on your finger tips a quick dip in water  neutralizes the glue - kills it dead... Very handy...

[cphubert 0]

I wear a light nylon white "bearing" gloves (acquired from a friend that works in aviation) when working with silk due to my rough skin, they are ok and better than nitrile or other rubber gloves that grab and get pulled into the thread and fill with sweat. What do you store your material in? some use mothballs or crystals and develop reactions, some it's the dyes used in material or the material or dander itself, try synthetics see if they do the same.

[hiddentalus 0]

I have skin allergies to some materials/glue (Solarez is the worst). Similar thoughts as previously mentioned. I find washing my hands well every 30-45 minutes or so depending on the materials I am using, trying to find out which materials are the worst and either not use them or take extra precautions, keeping hydrated and using a very mild hand lotion after tying, using mild hand soap all the time, and if needed topical hydrocortisone for when the skin is red, itchy and inflamed. I had to keep a journal for a few weeks to figure out what materials triggered my skin problems marking down each day what I tied and materials. Usually it was the following day when my skin problems erupted. I planned to discuss with my doctor but ended up figuring it out. I try not to tie flys for more than 1-1.5 hrs at a time.