Can the chemicals give you allergy?

totifoto

totifoto

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i just turned my bathroom into a darkroom tonight like I have done lots of times. So far no problems and I have been having fun.
But tonight was different. After about an hour my throat and lungs were killing my and I started coughing and in the end I had to get out of there. :( All the chemicals are ok, not out of date and diluted as always.

is it possible to get allergy from the chemicals?
 
totifoto said:
i just turned my bathroom into a darkroom tonight like I have done lots of times. So far no problems and I have been having fun.
But tonight was different. After about an hour my throat and lungs were killing my and I started coughing and in the end I had to get out of there. :( All the chemicals are ok, not out of date and diluted as always.

is it possible to get allergy from the chemicals?
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Yes, it is possible. Most people I know have skin problems, not breathing problems, but it could also be a tissue irritation and not an allergic reaction. Still, you should see a doctor.
 
Oh, yes. But proper precautions, starting with gloves and good ventilation, should help a lot....

I have gotten your symptoms mixing stop bath. The acid bothers me. I usually skip the stop bath nowadays...
 
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Possible, but unlikely. Where you using any different chemical to what you have done in the past ? I have heard of itchy skin showing up after years of previously problem-free use, but not a throat irritation. Generally one can avoid all skin contact fairly easily and there are usually no troublesome vapours from standard chemicals, but such a reaction is not impossible.

Just because there is something unusual, after only an hour in the darkroom, I would also recommend seeing your medical practitioner.
 
No different chemicals than usual.
I get a little itch if the chemicals hit the skin put nothing shows on the skin. This is the first time I have problem in my lungs although I have a good ventilation :(
 
totifoto said:
is it possible to get allergy from the chemicals?
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Absolutely, and it is a recognized professional disease for lab workers at least hereabouts (just like hairdressers and nurses, who handle - or used to handle - some closely related chemicals). However, chances that you develop an allergy that soon are rather slim, usually it will affect people after many years on the job.

And the thing that might be dangerous is not the stuff that smells - the smells are mostly ammonia, sulphur dioxide, acetic and formic acid, all harmless in the emitted concentrations. The thing to watch out for is airborne dust from dried up developer - but that cannot have built up to noticeable dimensions within a single instance, and bathroom labs tend to be returned to normal conditions after use, so that there is a very low risk of accumulating lab dirt. Besides, most modern developers have eliminated the high risk components - unless you cook your own chemistry, chances to form a new allergy purely through a casual amateur lab hobby are rather small nowadays. But lab is not hobby or profession you should take up if you already have a established dye, perm or disinfectant allergy.

Sevo
 
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I've mixed D76 powder in open air outside and still felt burning in my nostrils. The powders can be a bit insidious.

A guy once told me he developed a skin irritation the 100th or so time he worked with chemicals after 99 incident-free occasions with the same stuff.
 
totifoto said:
No different chemicals than usual.
I get a little itch if the chemicals hit the skin put nothing shows on the skin. This is the first time I have problem in my lungs although I have a good ventilation :(
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The point made in a post above about dust might be a possible cause. Breathing in powdered chemicals can be unpleasant (though is also easily avoidable) so did you perhaps mix any of the chemicals from dry before the darkroom session ? Maybe the fixer for example ? I would expect that powder could be irritating for a while if you breathe it in.

For future readers of the thread, I'd repeat that taking the same basic precautions as if you were working with any household chemical product (gloves if it stings, avoiding breathing the stuff etc etc) should enable you to have a long and happy darkroom hobby ! These things are generally less nasty than de-greaser or drain cleaner for example.
 
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Absolutely -- I have skin sensitivities to nickel, and to something in the fixer / developer. If I handle chemistry, my hands become dry and the skin develops cracks -- very ugly and irritating. I have to wear gloves if I do any darkroom work, which is why I take *all* my film to a local lab.
 
snausages2000 said:
A guy once told me he developed a skin irritation the 100th or so time he worked with chemicals after 99 incident-free occasions with the same stuff.
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Yep. He probably became sensitized, so from there on he probably had always this reaction if he continued working in the same manner. The thing is, with chemicals, once you become sensitized there's no way back. The fact that 99 persons out of 100 do not get to that stage does not help much if you're that one out of 100. We're all different - hence it's always sensible to have good ventilation and respiration and skin protection even if it feels it's not necessary. Like working with seemingly harmless powders and liquids.
 
Some people are bothered , most all are not. But once you get it, you can not go near a darkroom again ever.

If you have poor ventalation, you are in for a prolem even if you do not develope an alergy.
 
One of my fingers recently developed skin fissures and tiny white dots. A doctor told me it was definitely an allergic reaction to something. I was quick to accuse my darkroom chemicals as the cause but after keeping an eye on it for 5-6 weeks I now believe the culprit to be a liquid soap at my girlfriend's house
 
Ronald M said:
Some people are bothered , most all are not. But once you get it, you can not go near a darkroom again ever..
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Many years ago I used to work in a lab where we did a lot of lith-film stuff in trays, always without gloves. Eventually I had an allergic reaction on one hand, just soreness and dry skin. I removed the symptoms by using nitrile gloves for handling the sheet film and there was no re-occurrence of the problem. Changing work practices to something that is sensible does not involve a big change for most people.
 
Short answer: Yes. Any substance you are repeatedly exposed to can give you an allergy.

As has been said, wear nitrile (not latex) gloves.

You can significantly reduce your risk by your choice of chemicals. Avoid powders if you can. It doesn't sound like metol is your problem, but I'd stay clear of it, anyway. Use 1% vinegar for stop, or plain water; acidic stop mainly serves to protect your fixer. If you're not reusing your fixer much, you might as well stop with water. Try plain sodium thiosulfate for fixer. As chemicals go, that one is pretty benign. I understand the admixtures in commercial fixer are more to blame for any trouble.

I started out last year and used D-76 because it was easily available. Not a good choice for me, it turned out. No allergies yet, thank goodness, but I hate mixing from powder, and the shelf life once mixed is too short for my once-in-a-while use. I'll move to Rodinal and the occasional Caffenol-C once it's used up.
 
The big thing is cuts on your fingers. Getting the stuff into your blood system while not toxic (at low levels) will provide you with a bit of a problem much quicker. Never experienced any problem with air and my darkroom was not vented in any way. But then I was young an immortal back then. What's your humidity level in there? I suspect high to normal as it's a bath but need to ask. If it's very low this might do a number on your throat.

Most of the time my hands were in developer, not so much stop or fixer so I worried more about developer.

Were you mixing chemicals just before use? All my chemicals were mixed long before use.

B2 (;->
 
batterytypehah! said:
I started out last year and used D-76 because it was easily available. Not a good choice for me, it turned out. No allergies yet, thank goodness, but I hate mixing from powder, and the shelf life once mixed is too short for my once-in-a-while use. I'll move to Rodinal and the occasional Caffenol-C once it's used up.
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You can help the shelf life by putting it into dark brown glass bottles and not having any air in them. The key really is no air (plastic is not as good as glass) as they are in the dark the vast majority of the time.

B2 (;->
 
Thanks Bill, I appreciate it. However, I want to get away from powders, and metol, and having to store a gallon (or half gallon, as I was doing) of solution.
 
If you do color, its even worse as that stuff truly is toxic. I had a friend, he is dead now, who spent decades doing cibachrome printing. Exposure to the chemicals (he did not put his hands in it and had good ventilation!) damaged his immune system.
 
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