Asthma and Power Sanding

My son is a chronic asthmatic. During the warm seasons I worked in the garage. When It gets cold I worked in the basement of the house. I have installed a I micron dust collector for when I do power sanding. Recently the temperature went down to - 30 accompanied by strong coastal wind. My son was rushed to the hospital for respiratory problems.. Although the Doctor said that it was a mixture of extreme cold weather, viral infection and chronic asthma. I still wonder if the 1 micron dust collector is doing its job and not contributing to my son respiratory problem. It would be helpful to hear from others that had the same type problems.

TIA

Denis Sprucewood, Rothesay, N.B

Hi Denis- Not asthma, but some respiratory issues of my own- IANAD... just some personal experience here. You may want to check with your son's doctor first... AOSafety has a filter mask that purports to be .3 micron. It's the Cool Max mask- pleated mask, fit is great, breathability is excellent. I use two of these- one to cover an open trach and the other over mouth/nose so I'm not getting any dust at all. Having a trach and woodturning as a hobby is a challenge, but it's sure easier than scuba diving .

With the combination of the cold weather, flu season, dust, etc- it may be helpful for your son to wear one- secondary benefit is that it does help pre-warm and humidify the air, making breathing in winter a little easier. As I said- check with the doc to make sure it won't interfere with the amount of air he gets or be too hard to pull air thru the filter material.

regards, vic

Probably less to do with the dust than the low humidity that comes with the cold. I'm an EMT, and the calls do go up as the temperatures plunge. I'll go along with the doc and say that dried bronchi are more susceptible to viruses, and more likely to spasm. Has the allergen which causes the asthma been determined or allergic asthma ruled out?

I'm sure you know about keeping the indoor humidity up, did you know that a simple mask is also helpful worn outdoors to keep prewarmed and moistened air available?

The trouble with a "diagnosis" on our part is that every asthma case is different. Almost everybody in my immediate family, (including me) as well as all 4 of my sister's sons have asthma, and all are aggravated differently by different things. I would tend to come down on the side of your sawbones on this one. Extreme cold bothers my asthma, but almost nobody else in the family, while none of them are bothered by cigarette smoke or smoke from a candle, it makes my chest tighten almost immediately. The same with dog dander. Point being, what liitle dust you may have in your air may well _not_ be aggravating your son's asthma, since it hasn't in the past. But, the doc _should_ know for sure.

BTW, none of my family seems to be bothered by the wood dust in my shop...I don't use a dust collector, and just use respirators when I'm working, so the dust is around.

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September 11, 2001 - Never Forget

For those that don't use a dust collector, remember that when you are walking around the shop you are kicking up dust, and if not turning at the time, you may not be wearing the respirator. A friend of mine was diligent about wearing the respirator when turning cedar, but didn't think about the dust you stir up when doing other things in the shop. He got a nasty lung infection from the residual dust (cedar is some of the worst.) FWIW

Dave Colorado

Thanks to every one for their feedback. I appreciate the information. It appears at this time that the dust collected into the 1 micron bag in the basement is not affecting my son.