Allergy to Reloading.

[bobbob]

Well, not reloading itself but to the components.

Bnz does a lot of reloading. When he is prepping cases, his fingers, mainly on his right hand, become dry and sore and if he doesn't put gloves on or use a barrier cream it sometimes cracks. It stays like it for a couple of days, very dry but gradually wears off. On the range if he gets through a lot of rounds it can start as well.

We are thinking it is the brass, or one of the alloys that make up brass.

Anyone else have/had this problem? How do you/did you deal with it?

[Jenks]

Well, not reloading itself but to the components.

Bnz does a lot of reloading. When he is prepping cases, his fingers, mainly on his right hand, become dry and sore and if he doesn't put gloves on or use a barrier cream it sometimes cracks. It stays like it for a couple of days, very dry but gradually wears off. On the range if he gets through a lot of rounds it can start as well.

We are thinking it is the brass, or one of the alloys that make up brass.

Anyone else have/had this problem? How do you/did you deal with it?

bobbob..
I was in hospital once with a skin complaint, the chap in the next bed to me was allergic to brass he came out in a very bad rash. It took quite a while for them to discover this. Testing him with dog hair, cat fur, feathers, dust, etc. A bit odd really as had they thought about it they might of got a clue from his occupation. He was the keeper of the keys for Hampshire County Council and the Great Hall of Winchester Castle.


Jenks

[Dave 101]

I have heard of people being allergic to cheap jewelery , copper bands on the wrist , earings etc . Also heard of a case of a guy who went to see his doctor about a rash on his thigh in line with the bottom of his trouser pocket , it transpired he was allergic to coins which he kept in that pocket .
So the moral of the story is ' wear protection to stop a nastey little rash '

Dave

[ovenpaa]

Nickel is the favourite for this, I used to wear a headset with boom microphone that had a small shiny end on the end of the tube that sat next to my mouth, over a period of months I developed a small bald patch in my goatee in the same place so I cut the end of the boom mic tube off and all was good again.

I notice my hands seem to dry up if I shoot a lot of 7,62x51 - a good wash and they look OK again.

[20series]

Its almost certainly a reaction to the metals, when I was an apprentice we did a turning excersise that involved brass and we were advised to use barrier cream after one lad started having similar issue to bnz's

Alan

[AHPP]

+1 on nickel. A friend of a friend had trouble with Euro coins while living in Germany (higher nickel content than our beautiful British coins) and eventually moved back to England! It's a known issue.

[kennyc]

most of the people who work for me have an allergic reaction to copper and brass, they start sweating and fidgeting, and can't wait to get it in their scrap bags

[meles meles]

There are lots who are allergic to unloading too. The graveyards are full of oomans who contracted acute lead poisoning after some other ooman unloaded at them...

:)