I came across this on a surf fishing board (Hatteras Jack) and am copying it here, unedited. Anyone know of similar cases of severe allergic reactions to epoxy?

A little while ago, I updated my rods for better casting distance and better fighting ability. Ryan provided the blanks and the riggings and I actually did the fabrication. Even though I had been using West Marine Epoxy for literally decades without any problems; during the process of fabrication I developed an extreme and severe allergic reaction. Open, oozing, and itching insanity hives virtually all over my body and my eyes literally were swollen shut for a week on two separate occasions. Recovery, each time, took better than a month. The development of an allergic reaction, after several decades of epoxy use seems to be quite normal; and, once developed is "never reversible". Upon one subsequent use , even with the use of a "Tyvec" complete body suite and a full face organic vapor respirator, using surgical CR gloves, and within a fully forced ventilation paint booth, toxification still occurred. I am not a chemist, but the reaction is actually to the epoxy hardener. Formulations using "corrosive" hardeners seem to be the culprit. Now, even using epoxies with non-corrosive hardeners / non-hazmat formulations, toxification still occurs. I must wear a full body, self contained environment suit to even go anywhere near epoxy of any kind; an absolute pain. For those building rods and using epoxies, for your own safety and continued livelihood, at least, minimally protect yourself NOW - before it is too late.

It is rare, but does happen. Often times a product which has never given you a problem, will suddenly do so. This sometimes happen when prolonged or regular exposure to certain chemicals results in a person's body becoming "allergic" to the very same chemicals that didn't seem to be causing any problem previously. Again it's rare, but it does happen. It's recommended that you don't get epoxy on your skin to begin with and that you use it only where you have adequate ventilation.

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The only problem I have had is, after years of getting my hands in solvent/gas, when I get too much on my hands I get contact dermatitis which is a red rash on my hands. My system has changed and no longer would allow the abuse after all the years of contact with them. I now have a ointment perscribed by my doctor and it goes away quite fast. I just am now more aware. I still have not become acustomed to using surgical gloves.

Kerry

Kerry

This is a typical and classic description of a sensitization reaction. It is a situation where, after repeated exposures, the body develops an immune reaction and no longer tolerates the exposure. It is irreversible. Once you are sensitized, you will react to minute exposures from that point on.

This is something that is known to happen in a small percentage of the population and epoxies are a classic cause. There are many types of epoxy systems, some which are more aggressive than others in terms of their potential to cause sensitization.

The bottom line, it's always good to minimize your exposures and take care of your skin. If you develop good techniques, there is hardly any reason to get epoxy on your skin during the rodbuilding process. Disposable nitrile gloves are highly recommended for the messier applications such as building up grips.

As an Industrial Hygienist, I've seen this occur in manufacturing setttings and it is a truely debilitating condition in that it restricts you from doing things you love or are accustomed to doing. Not good when the only thing keeping you sane is your rodbuilding passion.

Erik

I know about allergies, because I suffer from some severe ones myself, for which I am under the care of an allergist. Began with weekely shots, that were gradually tapered off to monthly shots. I've got three more years of this to go.

I have met someone else with a reaction to epoxies such as the one you had. Repeated exposure to chemicals can lead to such reactions.

One or two years ago I saw a video where an individual is demonstraing a certain aspect of rod building using his bare hands to spread the epoxy material. Doing so suggests this is a safe practice, but I suspect otherwise and would never intentionally allow such thorough contact with epoxy. Best to safe than sorry.

BTW, Ryan White is a good guy. Met him during Sportscast competitions back in the mid 90s. All those folks from down in Rodanthe, NC are nice folks. I just love the area.

Lou

Epoxy allergies/reactions are fairly common umong boat builders here on the coast. I don't mean one out of every three get this condition, but it isn't a suprise to hear of it happening. And yes they say once they have it they don't get rid of it.

Jay

If I can remember enough of what I learned in chemistry, biochemistry and immunology classes while in Pharmacy school:

One of the components in epoxy is an AMINE (R-NH2). [This -NH2: group is the nucleophilic group which attacks the epoxide ring and causes the polymerization reaction. I think that's why they call it "the hardener".]

AMINE (-NH2) groups are an internal and smaller part of molecules called AMINO ACIDS. Amino acids are the building blocks of the much larger PROTEINS. As far as your immune system is concerned, this little amine may be considered as part of a foreign invader / invasion.

Proteins which are NOT recognized by YOUR immune system as a natural part of YOUR body are identified by your native circulating anti-bodies. They are "tagged", and once that happens, a complicated cascade of anti-body reactions and cellular immune responses occur. This domino effect can cause anything from a very local & mild skin irritation to a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction (which causes so much swelling in the throat it obstructs breathing; or fluid production in the lungs, it causes a pneumonia-like drowning).

The first-exposure reactions are usually not that problematic. It is the NEXT exposure which reveals just how violent a response the body is willing to launch in order to fend off this perceived threat. It usually takes several months for these anti-bodies to build up. If the schedule of exposure to the epoxy produces this anaphylaxis, the body will retain copies of those anti-bodies against that little amine (and others like it ) for at least ten years, if not a lifetime, since it considers that amine to be a foreign protein, an antigen, something like a snake venom or spider bite or enzymatic poison.

For very mild reactions limited to local skin irritation only, a different brand of epoxy may be less allergenic. But avoiding direct skin contact is the best way to reduce the likelihood of developing an allergy in the first place. These amines do have a volalite aspect to them, and smell somewhat like ammonia. Hence, in some very rare cases, even the slightest odor of these amine epoxies will be a (permanent) problem.

-Cliff Hall, Gainesville, FL-

Where can I get gloves to protect myself? Vinyl and latex gloves will melt when exposed to epoxy.

I typically recommend nitrile gloves for general purpose incidental contact with epoxies... 4-mil thickness. Nitrile generally offers better chemical resistence than latex (though one should always consult the glove compatibility charts to determine acceptability for use with any particular chemical).

In general, nitrile will provide excellent protection against the RESIN component (several hours of protection)... and will provide fair protection against the HARDNERS (on the order of 20 minutes or so). So if you make a mess with the hardner, you will want to change your gloves.

Don't wipe your gloves with solvents that easily penetrate the gloves... this can cause epoxy to be carried through the glove and into the skin. I've seen this problem in industry... usually with acetone since it penetrates most glove materials so readily.

I like the N-dex gloves from Best Glove Company because they are very pliable and offer very good dexterity and durability. These are widely available... and I'd suggest the powder free version so that you don't contaminate your wraps with powder.

You can look up chemical compatibility for these gloves at www.chemrest.com

As far as the cause of sensitization, many people have traditionally looked at the hardners as the main culprit for sensitization (which includes the various amine compounds that Cliff mentioned). In reality, about 10% of allergic contact dermatitis cases involving epoxy systems is attributable to the hardners. The hardners, however, usually contain the components that are highly irritating to the skin and sometimes volatile... causing odors and respiratory and eye irritation..

Most cases of epoxy sensitization are attributed to the resin... the most common being the Diglycidyl Ether of Bisphenol A (DGEBA) based epoxy resin oligomer with a molecular weight of 340. The sensitizing potential of an epoxy resin decreases as the average molecular weight increases, although even some higher MW molecules can still cause sensitization.

Bottom line... again... is minimize your skin exposure.

Erik Kunz, CIH
Santa Rosa, CA