Allergic reaction to resin?

So last Friday I gave my boy a good palmolive, warm water, and wash cloth scrub down. I felt much worse after doing so (probably from disassembling him and breathing that business in), but almost immediately after leaving the house (and him), I started feeling much better. I am not going to chance taking him out of the containment room that he is currently airing out in before I go to the dr. this week. I really hope this works because, ah, such bitter tragedy to finally start participating in this hobby only to be allergic it it! travesty!!!

piyo2himi~ thanks, piyo! *hugs back* I am so glad to hear that it was just the flu for you.

hiritai~ I did go ahead and scrub him down myself, which aferwards seemed like not such a good idea But his smelliness and also the grainy feeling on his legs (which I really hoped wasn't dust... but ugh) is now pretty much gone. But yes! Thank you very much for the suggestion about the mold release, cushions, and box. I will be sure to take them out to the garage and store them, rewash him, and keep him in a new box and cushions. On hindsight, it probably wasn't so bright to put him back in the box after cleaning all the chemical filminess off of him

sheri~ I am so addicted to EmergcenC. haha. I'll try drinking some tonight

But you are onto something that I hadn't thought of before! I am very sensitive to chemical/synthetic perfumes and fragrances. Most scented candles, bug-killers, room sprays, plug-ins, and personal perfumes and frangrances can make me very ill (migraines, nausea, etc). I guess this sensitivity really does make having a brand spankin' new bjd a bit of a hurdle to get past. Hopefully the bath will contain my boy's toxic fumes enough that I don't have to give him up. That would be just too sad! !

Cynthia in Flinthills~ thanks so much for the links! I've read a couple of them and recalled an entry from one person in one who touched on this specific topic (the variances between companies), but I shall go through them and find what else I can

Zagzagael~ thanks! I'll be seeing the dr. this week.

Inochi-Chwan~ It worked very well! I saw in another thread that St. James suggested putting a drop of dish cleaning liquid in a few quarts of warm water, and scrubbing with a soft wash cloth. It really has helped so far.
edit: be sure to unstring the doll first and bathe the parts separated from the elastic.

Emblen and Verilens~ Definitely! I really hope it is a coincidence. The one thing that made me think not was that I would start coughing and getting dizzy whenever I handled him. Also, when my friend with the Volks doll came over and we had both dolls out and were handling them, she also started to get sick. This kinda makes me more think that luts might not have cleaned him after sanding some seams... but I guess all there is left now is to see the Dr. and give the boy some time to air out.

 

Wow, I haven't gotten my first doll yet myself... I'd thought there would be a smell but not fumes, or anything chemically... Though this might not affect me personally -I have a HORRIBLE sense of smell- My dad, mom, and my birds might have the most problems, as they are the most sensitive to fumes.

I'm glad I chanced upon this thread and I hope you feel better and that you are not allergic to your doll's resin.

 

Do NOT let your doll outgas in the same room as your birds, taixonay. Heck, I wouldn't even bring the doll in the HOUSE until it's done. =/ Birdies are so sensitive.

 

Just in case no one has touched on it... I want to recommend two additional things.

#1) Don't store him in a box at all. That will just totally contain the smell... you should store him somewhere he can always air out.

#2) After giving him a bath... his elastic will be wet INSIDE (unless you completely took him apart and re-strung him) and get mildew-y. Also, it won't clean out any resin dust that got inside his joints and whatnot. So I suggest getting one of those rubbermaid plastic bins... un-stringing your doll completely, and putting all his parts in the bin filled with the soapy dish washing liquid, and letting him soak for a bit (maybe overnight). Then take him out and let him air dry overnight somewhere away from you, but out in the open (if it's a nice day out, i'd even suggest putting him outside to dry). THEN after he's completely dry (make sure the elastic is completely dry as well), re-string him and you should be fine.

Also, wash any wig and clothes that came with him in the sink with dish washing liquid and ensure they dry thoroughly as well before putting them back on him. I'm told liquid "Joy" (a brand name) is the mildest on skin and will still kill anything (including smells). It was actually recommended to me by several doctors. (But I suppose any mild dish detergent will do.)

I hope that helps...

PS- Definitely go see your doctor is symptoms persist.

 

XD So I guess that means I'll have to open my kid up in the garage , how unromantic. But birds before toys!! Any idea when I should be able to bring the doll into my room? Cause that's where my birds stay and I don't want them to get sick because of fumes that I can't sense/smell.

 

It is always good to take safety measures whenever you deal with chemical substances and that includes resin dust.

I have not gotten any allergic reactions to resin yet but I make sure to wear goggles and charcoal mask even when doing some light sanding or some gentle heat modding on the resin--the fumes are toxic and depending on the wind direction, you don't want to inhale even a minute amount of it--it's very irritating to the lungs.

I remember making the stupid mistake of not wearing a mask while spray painting a doll accessory (and this wasn't even on a well-ventilated area)--it gave me severe headaches and then a very bad sore throat that progressed into coughing and then bronchitis.

I get ridiculed by my cousin for being so "safety precaution" and laughed at for looking like I'm going to some "chemical and biological warfare" when I do some doll modding because of the goggles and apron and mask and gloves and long sleeved shirt and long pants.

But looking "weird" is better than breaking out in hives, and coughing and wheezing because of toxic resin dust inhalation.

 

I was dry sanding my dolls to and i didnt use a mask or goggles, and i was sanding for about 20 min when my eyes started to sting and got all itchy, and my throat got all swollen, >_< so i freaked out and went to the doctor that evening and he said i probably had an allergic reaction (he didnt know if it was the resin that caused the allergicreaction cuz he didnt know what resin was lol)

 

Let the doll outgas for...I don't know, a week or so? Check further up the thread for more info on that. Then scrub it down the best you can with the methods recommended by DiSpy, and let it dry, and maybe let it sit for another day or two. And by sit, I mean in the open air. Do not put dolly in the box, that defeats the purpose.

For the record, thwippersnapple here on DOA has a cockatiel and a doll, and my dolls head en masse to her house quite a bit. The cockatiel's my "boyfriend" (he loves me) and though the dolls stay in the same room with him, he has no problems. But that's because none of them give off toxic nasties anymore. XD

 

Hmm, interesting thread. I knew resin dust was toxic, so I figured the chance of allergic reactions would be high, but this thread has made me think of the sever cold I had for a long time. It's gone now, but I'm on an inhaler atm for what the doctor thinks might be 'cough-varient asthma'. Now I've have allergies for some time, to things like cats & mold & particular pollens, but I never thought my resin boys could affect it. I did my best to air them out & have never sanded them, but I've also never bathed them. It makes me wonder... I hope it's not the case! I have a daily allergy pill which helps greatly for those pesky seasonal allergies, so maybe it'll help if I have this pesky allergy too!

 

DiSpy~ I did exactly that, with the exception of the overnight soaking and Joy. haha. it was palmolive or some cosco kirkland stuff. Though I did unstring him, I plan on cleaning him once more and restringing him with new elastic anyways. I am feeling worlds better, but I am going to let him hang out in pieces in solitary airing confinement for another week or so before I tackle him again. Though, that is some really good advice! I just might let him soak for a couple hours sometime before I restring him.

 

Wow this is amazing to me - so many folks have had a bad reaction to the resin. YIKES!!!
I will be very careful - seam ridges are no big problem in light of what sanding them can do. I did do some light eye beveling inside a non-Volks head once - sorry I don't remember what brand. I was too lazy to get a mask :
I could actually taste the resin smell for many hours afterwards.

yumenoir I am so relieved you are feeling better now. I'd keep up with the EmergenC daily for a week or 10 days. It works wonders on allergies. I knew a young boy who had a bad allergy to corn and corn syrup. It is in just about everything. Anyway when exposed he changed into a different kid; anger and tantrums - His mom would give him EmergenC and within 20 minutes he was a much happier boy.

TandemPonyRide, I was wondering if you maybe had a migraine attack that was triggered by the resin or MSC or whatever. The symptoms sound quite similar. My husband used to get migraine from chemical solvents (he used to use it to clean engine parts)

I don't know if you've read some of the talented Kaye Wiggs posts about her doll sculpting. She breaks out in hives from casting the resin, and nearly lost her beloved dog too. She suspects the resin fumes were toxic for him. I think it was liver failure he was having. Fortunately he was able to recover.
For her new doll she has found a company to cast it for her.

So many cautionary tales!!

 

yumenoir - I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better now!

 

It looks like me and my mother have an allergy to... something. It just happened to start when my doll arrived... *Sighs* I'm hoping it's just the stray resin dust, and that bathing him and letting him air out for a bit will work.

We both have itchy, red rashes on our arms, necks and scalps. The doctor gave us a lot of allergy medicine, which seems to be working. My mother's quite ill with it.

 

ok, I did not know this... So she had allergic reactions and it might have caused the dog liver failure!? Was it casting dolls or just having dolls around?

I've been paranoid about this lately, and now I feel really worried. I have 2 small dogs inside the house, and I would freak out if anything about this hobby was that harmful to them.

My beloved pets are way more important than my dolls!

ETA: How close do you keep your dolls from you everyday? And how many are they?
I have a large resin family and I worry they "give fumes" as many people have said in this and other threads, and that it may cause severe damage to anyone in the house, and also the pets.

 

Also, I forgot to mention this, I have noticed something in two of my dolls.

Long ago, I had one of my DOCs sitting on a desk, one morning I noticed he had a dead mosquito standing on his arm. I was about to swat it, but I noticed he was, yeah, dead. As if he were trying to suck my doll's "blood".

Then a few days ago, I had another DOC standing on my computer desk, and one morning (am I seeing a pattern here?? lol) I see a bug standing on his leg. Dead too, but standing there.

I guess after seeing the second dead bug is when my paranoia began!

Should I lock them up in a closet? Shove them inside a box? Any thoughts?

 

I'm assuming it was casting dolls, but dont quote me on it since i've never heard of the case. I've heard that casting resin can be toxic if the proper precautions arent taken, and if she was allergic to it besides, that would explain her hives, i believe. As for her dog, he was probably unprotected near the casting area. Again, i'm clueless and these are just ideas on my part here.

I've got 5 dolls here, and i havent had any problems. They are all left in the open, literally like two feet away from my computer, which is where i spend most of my time. I also live in a room with 7 rodents (hamster, gerbils, mouse, and chinchilla) in close proximity. Again, no issues at all. My dog also wanders in and has been close to the dolls with no problem. Hell, the first day i had my first girl, i put her by my dog to see her reaction, and though my dog wasnt interested, she didnt seem ill affected by it.


as for your mosquito problem, ...o_O;; i'm calling coincidence, here, but no idea on that one o_O ...perhaps your DoC is just a new form of bug killer, like a bug zapper? ^.~;

Resin's no longer toxic or harmful after its dried and teh fumes have, er, aired out, from what i understand, otherwise i really dont think they'd sell anything made of it anywhere.

 

o.o Woah. I could see how resin in powdered form could do that to you. I hope I'm not allergic to it or become allergic to it- I don't have many allergies, but I can't just pop a benadryl or something because many allergy and cold medicines interfere with my antidepressant. x.X

 

It was the casting. Specifically, it was the French resin she was using at the time.

Transparent resin is nasty stuff before it cures, I have bad rections to it myself (just the clear stuff, though). I had a sunburn-like rash on my forehead, nose, chest, and upper arms from getting tiny bit on my hand. No trouble at all for me once it's cured, even when sanding. Regular resin doesn't do that to me, cured or not.

 

Thanks, glyndon! That really makes me feel somewhat relieved *phew*
Of course I feel bad something like that happened to her, I hope both her and her doggie are better now!

Torren, I don't have a clue, I guess it was coincidence too, the funny thing is it has happened only with DOCs ^^;;
Of course each dead bug was found dead with one year of difference, but I was starting to get worried ^^;;

Just to be safe, I covered those wire shelves where I keep them completely covered with random fabric and this old thick cotton bed sheet, I'll only take them out whenever I play with them. Safer for them too, even less light and dust and all, and it gives me a bit more of peace of mind ^^;

Oh, and safer for the mosquitoes too :P

 

Gah, looking at this thread makes me especially paranoid. I'm one of those people who gets so paranoid about their health they bring symptoms on

I received my Soom Heliot yesterday who had resin dust in his sanded hoof joint parts which I tried to blow out (not good I know but I did hold my breath) of the back door and wipe with a wet cloth. It didn't get rid of it all though but I just thought I was paranoid and so strung him together with the help of my mum. She's had no problems at all.

Later that evening I gave into my fears and unstrung him and washed all his parts in water then left them to dry before stringing him back together. He definately still has a faint 'new resin smell.'

Was this washing enough to get rid of any harmful dust, I am so scared of having him in the same room as me now