The Hidden or not so Hidden Health Cost of BJDs

I don't own a car, either, so I walk everywhere as well. It's nice to see other people making that choice since I get a lot of grief for it. :[

I have wondered about my eyesight in regards to faceups, too. Do you have perfect vision or do you wear glasses? I'm near-sighted so I don't need glasses to do faceups, but sometimes I feel like it's having a negative effect on my eyes.

 

Well, I did a bit of sanding a while back, and accidentally inhaled some of the resindust, which resulted in choking, gasping, coughing, spitting it out (most of it, fortunately), and then scrambling for my inhaler... bandages from pinched digits... a bloody nose from one doll smacking into me... Cracked, dry, and bleeding hands from setting them in the water and scrubbing them so much...

And yet, through all of that, I still love and want them. ^_^

 

*shrug* I'd rather risk burning myself with a gluegun or inhaling resin dust than playing with the LiPo batteries that can explode violently in my father's RC planes.

Short answer: as hobbies go, I don't think BJDs are that dangerous, if you're intelligent about your modding and wear a mask, etc. Still, accidents happen to the best of us.

 

If you live within a mile of all your needs, and/or have decent public transit, a vehicle is just a hole you dump money in, imho. Yet it is amazing to me how many people are utterly convinced it is a necessity...
...but if someone is offering a ride, you can bet I say 'yes' in heartbeat, lol!

I have good vision and have never needed glasses, though I am more near-sighted than anything: not a 'hawkeye' with the distance vision, me! However, the pattern on both sides of my family is to need glasses sometime after 40 or 50.

My eye doctor said using your close-up acuity has no ill effect, and recommended when I said I found my close-focus on extremely fine work wasn't what it used to be, and I was getting headaches if I worked close for too long, was to use a weak set of 'readers' (those dorky-looking things you find at drugstores and airport shops). He gave me a lens recommendation and I luv my 'geek' glasses (DH, bless him, even sez they look 'cute' on me, lol) and wear 'em faithfully when doing tiny stuff. The ones I have are safety lenses, so are also protection against those freakish 'bits flying off' incidents that happen once in awhile, so really it was a sound investment of less than twenty bucks, imho.

However, he also said the reason I could do this was my eyes were 'well-balanced' - corrective lenses are more required if one eye is significantly different from the other. It was kind of amusing, he tested for a lot of the things we check for when setting doll-eyes: alignment and 'tracking' and when I mentioned this, he showed me a few tips for checking these things without fancy equipment.

Not many people do close work anymore, so it's probably a good idea to ask about it at your regular eye exam, and follow the recommendations the doc gives for your situation.

 

In spite of all the customising dangers, I think my health has actually improved from laughing at the various pecularities expressed on this board.

 

Well, when winter rolls around and I'm stuck with 2 feet of snow and -30°C, all sanding/spraying tends to stop for 5-6 months, until warmer weather appears. So I probably have less exposure to resin dust and sealant than those with milder weather.

I'm a bit paranoid over my health and safety so I always use; gloves, dust or respirator mask, and a large magnification light (a flexible circular florescent lamp with large magnifying glass in the center of the light).

I think that self-education, common sense and safe practices are essential in any 'craft' hobby that uses tools or chemicals. And, if one is really concerned about the hazards that come with customizing dolls, one can always send a doll to a customizer who is prepared to handle the job safely for us.

 

Hahaha, I'd have to agree with you there!

I would also like to reiterate that hot glue guns hurt.

 

As long as I take good care of my body, any further health risks posed by dolls are FAR outweighed by what they do for my SANITY and happiness.

 

No offense but if it was a "VERY slippery, snowy morning in February" why wouldn't you just wait until the weather cleared and not risk injuring yourself? And I just don't see how that whole story relates to BJDs other than the fact you mentioned your doll in the first sentence....

I think this thread has lost its original purpose. Maybe it would be more helpful to start a list of directly related health hazards in the first post so people have a quick reference guide to refer to.

 

I guess I've become pretty numb to the health risks involved. I've been an artist working with various chemicals for years. Yep they are hazardous but as long as you take the proper precautions you should be okay . This is coming from somebody who also has severe asthma hehe.

 

Many if not most forms of art involve working with dangerous chemicals, tools, or other risks. I've done metal, glass and enamel work, and you have to deal with dust (some of which is toxic), tools that can slip and cut you, torches and kilns and hot materials that can burn you, noise that can screw up your hearing, etc. etc. You use safety equipment and take reasonable precautions and all is generally fine. Same goes for dolls.

My glass teacher begins the beginner course by telling everybody, "You WILL get cut. You WILL get burned." It's part of the trade off for doing the activity, no matter how careful you are. Just like if you ran every day you'd likely get some injury at some point, whether it was bruise or twisted ankle or broken bone from tripping and falling, getting hit by a bike (or worse yet a car), pulled muscle, bone spur, whatever. Basically everything we do has risks. You have to live your life though.

I suppose I would be more worried about health risks of dolls, or art, if I did it all day long 24/7 for a living. But it's just a hobby for me, I don't spend that much time on it. So protecting myself with masks and ventilation and goggles and the things you're supposed to do works fine for me.

 

*sigh* accidental stabbings anyone? i was modding my sleepy MNF elf/vamp shiwoo's eyes at the time....the knife slipped, chipped his nose, scraped his cheek and got me in the palm of my hand, OWWIES! Since then he's been gassing up his box at my BF's house until we get some more supplies...like a RESPERATOR! and bending over too much to see what i'm sewing isn't good for my bad back and I'm only 18! Despite all the hazards, I do go in the customization forum daily and will have help/protection so I'll still keep collecting my resin babies

 

I had the scare of using MSC once without a mask but thankfully I was outside and ran away before most of the fumes got near me so no damage done. Still never doing that again O_O

Same can't be said for using Mr Colour, the fumes of which I inhaled a bit too much of. Just to remove a few last bits of face-up before a doll head was sent off to its new owner. *Sigh* I regret bothering. The doc said I had likely ended up with slight chemical burns but the main damage was mental as now I am so paranoid around chemicals >.>.
This wasn't helped by the fact I was using turps to help me paint with oils as well, my art teacher was not exactly helpful in telling me how to use it. I gave up using turps when the fumes got too much >.<.

I also seem to get a slightly scratchy throat around my dollies too, might be sensitivity to the resin or something, idk.

Wait...why do I collect these guys again? Haha, because I love them!! These days I leave the painting and customising for others. I know I could do it myself but it isn't worth me stressing over. xD

 

I've used MSC once (on a porcelain doll for testing, lol XD) and I did it outdoors in windy weather, running towards the wind after spraying. I don't think I inhaled anything at all.
What creeps me out is resin dust. You can't help inhaling some whatever you do; the joints will scrape. I just hope I won't develop any allergies or something. I'd hate to give up dolls. ...But I'm still so stupid as to already plan on sanding off nipples and boobs etc... XD
In the end I think the pros weigh out the cons of this, or pretty much any, hobby. I've been in scouts since I was a kid, and that's not exactly one of the safest hobbies out there either (fire, knifes, axes, saws, running in the forest...). But if it's a thing you enjoy, it's not good to worry about the health risks too much (granted you take the proper precautions). It'll just ruin the fun.

BTW, this seems to be a surprisingly little-discussed topic. The Finnish forum might have more discussion about it. People don't want to think of it or something?

 

Lots of things have risks from hobbies to everyday normal activities -- heck driving a car, crossing a busy street, cutting up veggies etc can be potentially dangerous activities. I use equipment at work that could potentially cause injury. With dolls you can do things to lessen your chance at being seriously harmed (as others have already mentioned). I've done some things dollwise I probably shouldn't have, but you live (hopefully!) and learn and go about things differently the next time around.

 

Hmm... Well, besides what other people are saying about the resin fumes and chemicals sprays, maybe another toll on my health could be from "sitting at my laptop all day looking at dollies instead of going out to play/exercise." (Quote my mom)

xD

 

I'm going to be a little harsh here, but a lot of people seem to be a little too cavalier with their health. Self-education and research should be everyone's first stop before they do anything regarding customization, including sealants. The affects of resin dust and sealant fumes build up over time, which means that even though you were able to do it once, twice, fifty times without any noticeable affects, like any harsh chemical, it's still there and will still affect your health in some small way or other.

I was taught from a very young age that any aerosol could possibly coat my lungs and cause me to stop breathing, and I still keep this in mind with anything that is meant to seal or coat, irregardless if there's any truth to that or not. Sometimes this means that I just hold my breath and keep holding it until I'm far enough away (and upwind) of the area. Sometimes this means that I wear a mask. I always, always, always wear a mask whenever I'm to be sanding resin or around resin dust, and have bought a spare mask for my boyfriend and girlfriend to wear should they need anything in my work area. I'm rarely strict about anything, but I'm strict about this.

You only get one pair of lungs, and believe me, you do NOT want lung disease(s). If you think asthma is bad, and having to rely on an inhaler is frustrating, try being hooked up to an oxygen tank 24/7, which is honestly what you could be looking at if you continue to ignore the health risks and warnings. I don't mean to sound accusatory, and I don't mean to point fingers, but this is serious.

The majority of the serious health risks and concerns can be prevented if we just researched what we could and applied what we learned. There is an excellent thread, which touches on what you should do to prevent the health risks and concerns, which can be found here ---> http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...bout-respiratory-protection!&highlight=safety




Too Ranty; Didn't Read - Do your research, apply what you've learned, and you won't be eligible for an oxy tank in your twilight years.

 

I should probably worry more about fumes and stuff. I feel like it's a drop in the bucket compared to the years I was a pack-a-day cigarette smoker, although I've been more aware of health stuff in the year since I've quit.

That's nice if you live in a city where your needs are within a mile, or has public transit, but I can only think of about a half-dozen cities in North America where that's true for more than about 5% of the population.

 

I think the physical hazards of the hobby aren't particularly hidden and people use proper protection should they do the proper research.

also, I think it's both off topic and pretty unfailingly RUDE to comment on peoples walking habits. Just because it's not a problem for one person doesn't mean it's not a problem for another.

 

There are risks in everything you do, but just as you wouldn't drive a car without a windshield you can see through, there are things you can do in the doll hobby to remain healthy and safe.