Allergic

[Henk]

Hello,

It seems I have become allergic to one of my darkroom chemistries.
I'll guess I have to wear gloves from now on 🙁

I use Ilford multigrade developer, Ilford Ilfostop and Ilford Rapid Fixer.
Anyone has the same problem ? Which of the products is most likely to cause
the problem ?

Thanx.

 

[Al Kaplan]

I recall that a lot of people are allergic to metol, a chemical in SOME developers. If it's just causing a problem where you come in contact whi it then gloves, frequent rinsing in clean water, and print tongs should solve your problem nicely. Check with your doctor next time you go for a visit. An allergy might create problems elsewhere in your body.

 

[payasam]

Al is right: the effects of "metol dermatitis" are not limited to the skin as was once believed. If your developer is phenidone based, you must look elsewhere for the cause of the trouble.

 

[Freakscene]

The MSDS for Ilford Multigrade developer is here:
http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2007117133512849.pdf

It mentions hydroquinone but not metol, but this does not mean that it does not contain metol because an MSDS typically lists chemicals that comprise over a specified percentage of the product.

The MSDS does say: "Contact physician if irritation continues". That is VERY good advice.

Marty

 

[minoltist7]

Once during the darkroom printing session, I found some irritation feeling in the throat , similar to "common cold" symptoms. I think it was caused by inhalation of developer fumes from the open tray.
Developer was of metol-hydroquinone recipe, I think (smells the same as D-76 ).
So i'm interesting, what developer recipes are more safe to health ?

 

[Al Kaplan]

Some people develop film in tea. For real!

D-76, Dektol, and a whole bunch of other developers, both paper and film, use metol and hydroquinone. All that differs is how much of each and how dilute the solution is made.

 

[MartinP]

Ventilation is always a good thing in a darkroom - it is just so much more comfortable apart from anything else. With a temporary darkroom (without purpose-made light-proof fans etc), even leaving the door open during a half-hourly tea-break is beneficial. For the OP, concerning gloves, get the disposable nitrile ones. The latex sort, as found in d.i.y. stores, are not resistant for long.

It is also worth repeating that one "should" be using print tongs, and not fingers, when handling the paper around the trays. For film developing there is no need to ever touch a drop of the chemicals, and careful work in printing can be pretty close to dry too - at least until the wash.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I stopped printing in the darkroom because of respiratory and skin allergies. Wearing gloves fixes skin problems but no amount of ventilation helped my lungs, so I quit after 12 years of darkroom printing. The allergies developed over time and eventually got so bad I couldn't do it anymore. I scan my film now.

 

[minoltist7]

It is also worth repeating that one "should" be using print tongs, and not fingers, when handling the paper around the trays. For film developing there is no need to ever touch a drop of the chemicals, and careful work in printing can be pretty close to dry too - at least until the wash.

Yes, it's possible to stay dry - if you have 3 tongs for each tray.
But I found that tongs sometimes leave scratch marks on the prints :-(
(I have tongs made from plastic )

 

[Henk]

I'm going to try gloves and tongues first, see if it solves my problem.
I've been too uncareful about that, so eventually, I got allergic.

Should the problem continue, then my doctor proposes to find out which
of the products causes the allergy. When that is found, maybe I can find
a replacement.

But first I hope that staying dry will solve the problem.
Also I hope that it is not an "airborne" allergy !

Thanx for the replies.

 

[MartinP]

I used to use plastic tongs too, but then I tried some hefty stainless steel ones with rubber tips. Those work much better as they are more rigid, and they seem to be much softer tipped than the plain plastic ones too.

One pair of tongs from dev-->stop, and one pair to do both stop-->fix and fix-->rinse. From rinse to wash happens when a couple of prints are ready and I change the rinse-water at that point so hopefully the amount of fixer carried over is very small.

Long ago, about twenty years, I did have a problem for a while with lith developer, but nothing at all since then despite not using gloves myself. (Touch wood).