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anybody get sick after reloading?

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beeenbag

beeenbag

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Feb 10, 2010
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Grayson, Ky
Im pretty new to reloading and I have started to notice after I reload I get sicker than a dog to my stomach. Does anyone else do that? am I doing something wrong somewhere? And no im not eating the powder or nothing.:neener:
 
Never heard of anything like that.

Maybe lay off the leftover bean burritos for lunch?

rc
 
Very sorry to hear that.

Assuming you are a) not smelting lead indoors, b) observing general personal hygiene principles and washing your hands after reloading, c) not tumbling or working with tumbling media in a confined indoor area, and d) not snorting the spent primers and their dust, then there should be no such issues.

I've never heard of such.
 
what are you reloading? what components are you using?
 
what lube are you using? some people can have an adverse reaction to certain lube bases
 
Wow - sorry to hear that.

I've been reloading for about 7 months & have not gotten sick.
I hope it's just a coincidence & you can continue to reload.

Please make sure that you wear hospital type gloves or wash thoroughly with cool water afterwards. (No smoking or eating while reloading and if you have a beverage, don't touch the part that goes into your mouth)
 
Do you have black mold in or around your loading area?

Are you reloading next to a leaking natural gas appliance? (water heater, furnace, stove, fireplace)

Are you in a basement full of radon gas?

But sometimes its the thought that you have thousands of dollars tied up in reloading equipment.:)
 
To answer the Op question, no, I have never gotten sick after reloading. I do it all in one room, air circulating, door open, fan going when not weighing charges, (throws the scale all off!). I also cast in the garage, door open, fan blowing any and all fumes outdoors, no issues.
I would ditto the possible allergen to the lube or the ether like smell in some powders?
 
Sorry to hear this...


Bad lighting?


Incorrect Corrective Vision Aids? ( Glasses no longer right for your Eyes?)


The room itself? Carpeting, stale, indoor, central heat Air, full of Nematode Husks and old Pollen and Dog or Cat dander, and ( as previously asked, ) Mold Spores?


Leaning forward in a Chair after a big meal, and operating the Press?


All of the above?


It's hard to imagine that it could be anything intrinsic to Re-Loading itself...


Try some other activity in the same setting...at the same time-of-day, fixing old Cameras or other tedious sitting leaning forward stuff...and see how you feel.


That'd be a good test...


It's possible you are sensitized to compounds related to those which can off-gas slightly from Smokeless Propellants.

Years ago, I used to build small, U-Control ".049" Model Airplanes, thin sticks of Balsa and Tissue Paper and Nitrocellulose 'Dope'.


Anyway, new girlfriend, she comes home from work, takes one step inside from the front door, and instantly was throwing up.


The Dope fumes of painting the Tissue Paper Wings and Fuselage were merely faint, I had the backdoor open, Kitchen Windows open, Livingroom Windows open...a nice Breeze, Summer...me at the Kitchen Table...but, her system was sensitive to those Nitrocellulose related aeromatic compounds.

Never bothered me a bit ( the fumes I mean ) .
 
Abslouty!! I get sick every time! When I go to the range and my handloads don't shoot at least a quarter MOA, like everyone else's on the net, I get very ill. Is there some medicine for it? Do I need a prescription for it? Is there a pill? Or does the poor accuracy of my loads mean I haven't "done my part?" Please explain how to do "my part" and I'll feel better.
 
Well, to try to answer all of the variables here, I'm not in "that" bad of shape, im no track and field contestant but im not in that bad of shape. I set very comfortably while I reload, The room is carpeted and most of the time the door is open. I do not have a fan in the room but after reading this I will probably place one in there. Central heat and air is duct into the room. I do not make my own bullets, I buy already molded bullets. I also have great vision, so I think, haven't been to the optomitrist since I was a child. The components to my reloading is everything that comes in the stock rockchucker master kit, including the case lube. The room I load in is the same room I have always cleaned, stored, worked on guns in ever since I've lived here so I doubt there is black mold or anything of the sort. Lastly, the only powders I use are IMR 4350, and reloder 10x. Like I said im new to this so I only reload two calibers at this time, .223 and 7mm rem mag. Maybe this will help paint a picture. One thing that did spark my train of thought was

(No smoking or eating while reloading and if you have a beverage, don't touch the part that goes into your mouth)

Yurko, I do not smoke but I do use smokeless tobacco. I do not put a chew in, or take one out while reloading but I do spit in a bottle while reloading. Im going to try not doing that and see what the results are.

Thanks for all of your input, I really love reloading and hope to not get sick from it.
 
beeenbag,

Could it be nerves?

For most of us, it seems, reloading is a stress reliever but maybe since you are new to the hobby it might be that you are a little apprehensive or something.

Do you have a buddy that reloads? If so, try going over and watching him without actually handling anything and see what happens then.

After you finish your next reloading session go wash up good. Then go right in and drink a glass of milk and eat a few plain ol' saltine crackers. That helps to settle my stomach sometimes.

I don't know but I sure hope you figure it out so you can continue to enjoy loading.

ST

:)
 
I'm wondering if it may be the lighting? Some people are very sensitive to various modes of light...you might want to check with your eye doctor especially since you said you haven't been to one since you were much younger.
You may think you have great vision when in fact you don't! :what:
On the other hand, you might be swallowing some smokeless/chewing tobacco w/o realizing it...refrain from useing it during reloading and see what happens.
 
Last edited:
Beeenbag,yes I've noticed some mild headaches during long load sessions with dual base powders such as your 10x powder,it never seems to happen with the single base powders.
 
"""""Lastly, the only powders I use are IMR 4350, """" I would buy another keg or two of 4350 then send it all to me! U will feel better and i well feel Great! haha (there is something else,did u spend alot of time in this same room 'before' u took up this hobby?)
 
It's getting close to Valentines, maybe yo wife would like for you to come out of the man hole for a little while! May be slipping you a little stuff to get you out of there! :D

Jimmy K
 
I have a good friend who helped another fellow reload lead 38 WC ammo by the thousands a couple times a week over an extended period of time. After some years he got really sick when loading said ammo but not when loading any other ammo. All the other was FMJ or JHP hunting ammo. He smoked as he dropped lead and crimped the rounds. His fingers would be black from the lead for a couple of days and he could not get it off by washing. He went to the doctors and found that the lead in his body was off the chart. Using gloves helped with the problem but he had problems with the gloves and dexterity. Now he does not reload any longer. Still sensitive to lead to this day. Get your lead levels checked. Also could try opening the propellant and being around it in another similar area for same amount of time to see if fumes are bothering. Exposure to one variable in a controlled environment at a time might solve this for you.
 
If your in a basement or near gas appliances, I would seriously check them out. I load next to my furnace and water heater (not RIGHT next to them but in the same room). In the fall I was running a batch of .45 and the furnace kicked on, I got a little dizzy about 30 min later. I left the house and flipped the furnace off. There was a 1 1/4 hole in the heat exchanger, my hvac guy said if i had left the furnace on and gone to sleep that night I probably would have died! At first when I got dizzy I thought LEAD LEAD LEAD OMG TOXIC POWDER RESIDUE!!! Then I called my father and he said my symptoms sounded more like carbon monoxide then reloading related issues...
 
Try eating before you do it. I used to feel sick while doing all kinds of stuff and I found that it was usually because I hadn't eaten in a while.
 
Keep the fingers out of the Cope until you wash up...sounds like a good idea. The lip is a direct shot to the bloodstream.
 
All the other was FMJ or JHP hunting ammo. He smoked as he dropped lead and crimped the rounds. His fingers would be black from the lead for a couple of days and he could not get it off by washing. He went to the doctors and found that the lead in his body was off the chart. Using gloves helped with the problem but he had problems with the gloves and dexterity. Now he does not reload any longer. Still sensitive to lead to this day.
Click to expand...

Well it wasn't because he absorbed the lead through his skin! Metallic lead is normally not absorbed through the skin. An environmental toxicologist put a post on a lead poisoning thread here about a year ago. He stated that .06 of ONE PERCENT of lead exposed to skin was absorbed by the body! 6 tenths of ONE percent! He may have had a high lead blood level, but it wasn't because he was touching lead. Besides, lead poisoning is a slow insidious process, it never makes you immediately sick.

Alliant 10-X and other powders have nitroglycerin in them. Some people are real sensitive to it. If you actually touch the powder, you can get a pretty bad headache from it. Ask any heart patient who relies on nitro pills to help with angina!
 
Inadvertently hold one's breath when doing precise tasks...

Carbon Monoxide levels too high in ambient Air if a Furnace or Gas Water Heater is not vented right ( as a previous post alluded)...


I always Smoked when doing re-loading...but, I keep the Ash Tray on a different Table, to the side, and, to the rear of me...next to the Cuppa Coffee.

Talcum Powder on the just Soap and Water washed finger tips will pretty well prevent any Lead transfer when inserting Lead Bullets into Cases...far as that goes...as would a light coating of Hair Spray...if one wants.


Usually it's the ALOX or other which would impart a dark stain hard to wash off, rather than the Lead proper, I think...
 
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