Would-be Carpenter Develops Wood Allergy

From BBC: "A banker quit his £80,000 a year job to live his dream of being a carpenter - only to discover he has developed an allergy to wood:

"I making my first professional piece - a workbench for myself - out of African hardwood when I started to notice this red rash all over my hands and arms.


African Mahogany at Helena Hardwoods. Image source: Flickr, Creative Commons license.

"My eyes stung all the time and were really sore. They were always red and puffed up and it was really unpleasant.

He started using Welsh oak wood instead of African hardwoods - and realised it was one type of wood he isn't allergic to:

"I realised it was the African hardwood that was causing the problem but now I'm fine with the oak."


Oak wood. Image source: Flickr, Creative Commons license.

The former banker and his brother launched their own company NewReD Furniture which designs and makes bespoke and semi-bespoke furniture using only locally sourced sustainable Welsh oak.

References:

Carpenter develops wood allergy. BBC.
Occupational asthma caused by IgE-mediated sensitization to multiple woods. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Oct 11.
Wood allergy on Flickr.

Related reading:

The Secret Life of Trees - Photo Journal - WSJ  http://goo.gl/3fcZ4