allergic to wetsuit or booties?
So 2 weeks into commercial diver course my feet get covered in manky red spots which then spreads up my legs, my feet swell up like footballs that i cant even get into my work boots or booties... turns out when exposed to wetsuit booties or wetsuit (not sure which) for long periods i am allergic...
(never been allergic to anything in my life and have worn wetsuit plenty of times but not all day every day like on this course)
To say im gutted is an understatement, pretty sure my course is over as I tried to be a terry tuffy and continue diving and the allergy has now become infected and im stuck home sick and on antibiotics....
What I am hoping to achieve by this (haha its not a cry out for sypathy) :P but I purchased a full set of sharkskin socks and full body suit to wear under my wetsuit to try and create a barrier to stop this happening again if i retake the course.
Curious to know if anyone else has had the same problem or know if the sharkskins will stop the problem...might cheer me up a bit knowing my commercial diving plan isnt over forever....
Gooooone Fishin!
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
If it starts on the feet,
If it starts on the feet, then perhaps there is something else in the booties, but not the wetsuit itself. In that case, it might be possible to fix it by changing booties. It if was the wetsuit itself, I'm not sure why it would start at the feet and work up.
There is also a possibility its not to do with the wetsuit itself, but that in cramped, wet conditions, you have some sort of internal immunoresponse. In that case, the material of the booties would not matter.
Have you had any alergy tests done yet? Perhaps there are some simple tests you can do yourself (e.g. go diving with only one boot and see if it affects both legs, or just one).
Good luck with it all. Hopefully its a fixable problem.
just dhu it
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 14/05/09
CROSS DRESS
have heard of something similar, try wearing nylon stockings to give the barrier between suit etcm and see it helps , are you breathing air or nitrox mix?
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Sounds like crazy bad luck
Sounds like crazy bad luck =(
Perhaps it will make no difference if you finish the course, plenty of com divers ONLY dive dry and drysuits can come with latex, not neoprene socks.
kane
Posts: 1752
Date Joined: 07/12/08
thanks...yeah pretty bummed out about it
yeah the thought of stockings did cross my mind, im going to give these shark skins a go and do alot of extra diving over summer to try and sort the problem....if no joy with that i may have to resort to the pantyhose option...
Unfortunately cant finish the course right now, feet are too swollen to even get shoes on and extreemly sore, even bed sheets and doona touching them at night is excruciating.
Your right though till, if i can get through the course most commercial divers up in the tropics dive with overalls and work boots, just gotta get through the training, the thing is the actual course wasnt bad at all, not like i was struggling with it or anything, was going along quite happily - this really sucks balls!
Gooooone Fishin!
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
On wikipedia it
On wikipedia it says:
"Although neoprene itself is not a skin contact sensitizer, certain neoprene adhesives contain 4% rosin (CAS No. 8050-09-7, previously known as "colophony"), which is a skin contact sensitizer under the European Union Dangerous Preparations Directive 1999/45/EC.[1] Some people are allergic to neoprene while others can get dermatitis from thiourea, a compound used to vulcanize rubber into neoprene which can be left over after the manufacturing process.[citation needed]
Lead-containing compounds, such as litharge (lead(II) oxide), are used as compounding agents to prepare finished products made of neoprene, and these can have a toxic effect on human blood, kidneys, and reproductive systems.[1]"
So maybe the boots have more rosion or thiourea perhaps? Perhaps a dermatologist can do an alergen test on those, and if it does end up being one of them, then careful selection of boots could sort it out?
kane
Posts: 1752
Date Joined: 07/12/08
wow
thanks alot hlokk, really appreciate that, its definately worth looking at for sure, i gotts go collect my dive gear soon i guess so its definately worth organising that test.
The instructor said it may be the glue in either the wetsuit or booties, its just a shock because ive never had allergies, been allegic to anything, never had skin problems of any sort... anyway thanks again, ill see if i can get those tests done, but i guess first ill have to let it all heal and get back to normal before my own and the proper medical testing can start.
Gooooone Fishin!
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Yeah I was wondering if ti
Yeah I was wondering if ti was just the shoes because there is so much more glue in such a small area. All those spooky aromatics =)
fishintruckie
Posts: 198
Date Joined: 22/07/08
Not sure if this is a help
Not sure if this is a help but a mechanical fitter I used to work with had an allergy to hydraulic oil, his doctor suggested a waterproof barrier cream and now he's fine, might be worth looking into it certainly worked for him.
wayneleech
Posts: 362
Date Joined: 27/06/08
hey kane - can i ask what
hey kane - can i ask what your doing your commercial dive ticket for?
kane
Posts: 1752
Date Joined: 07/12/08
Thought it might be a nice change
Have been getting a little sick and tired of being a rig mechanic lately, commercial diving is a way to use some of my trade skills, still earn good money yet have a career change at the same time.
The idea was to keep me from getting too stale or bitter and twisted as an oil rig mechanic :D
Gooooone Fishin!