anybody get sick after reloading?

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Wow!

Only time I ever felt sick was when my Dad would tell me to get in the shop and resize a thousand casings before you go out
 
In addition to the things mentioned you might try wearning a dust mask and nitrile(sp) gloves while loading to see if that makes a difference.

I found that working at the bench in my garage gave me slight headaches as there was a very subtle flicker on the cheapo fluro light fixture over the workarea. Replaced it with a a 'balanced daylight' light with a better quality light fixture an no problems since then.
 
I have reactions to alox , esecially when shot the smoke stops my head up tite!!!
I also have reactions to ATF fluid , sorta like afflactic , it was bad enuff 1 time I went to an urgent care!!!

If ya can`t seem to pinpoint the cause my bet is nerves!! We all went through it at 1 time or other some just never put the 2 together??
Just take your time & think it thru & load at your own pace , I only worry `bout impressin myself anymore!!!

A set of scale check weights are good for easin the mind!!!!
 
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snuffy said:
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!
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If he truly said .06 of 1%, that would actually be 6 one-hundredths of 1%.

I would actually find six tenths of 1% a bit worrisome . . . not in regards to immediate effects, though, but over time as you've stated.
 
My first thoughts were eye related and skin allergy to something used. If you have a Harbor Freight or some other big box retailer nearby they sell a great 100 count box of nitrile gloves (NOT latex, cuz some are allergic to that too).

Just to limit my exposure to some chemicals I've taken to throwing on a pair of the nitriles workng on my minivan, motorcycles, gun cleaning etc.

And eye strain can cause some folks mild nausea.
 
"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?"

There is no medication for you and no pill that will make your ammo any better. But, some mood altering chemicals can help relieve the post-firing line anxity, at least for those of us over age 21. I prefer black Jack Daniels, sipped through very cold chunks of clear ice.
 
This has got me thinking. Over the years I have done the following:

1. As a youngster during the Depression years of the 1930s cast great amounts of toy soldiers by pouring molten lead into home-made plaster of Paris molds (couldn't afford store-bought ones).

2. As a schoolboy carried a glass vial of mercury (from broken thermometers) in my pocket so that I could impress the girls by rolling it around in the palm of my hand.

3. Incessantly chewed the (lead) painted yellow pencils in class at school.

4. Treated the plants in our Victory garden during WW2 with DDT without wearing masks or gloves.

5. Ate vegetables from our Victory garden after a only a perfunctory water rinse.

6. Cut sheet asbestos (without masks, etc.) to use for heat insulation mats under lead bullet melting pots.

7. Continuously forgot to wash my hands after handling lead (bullets, etc.) while handloading.

Now that I am in my eighties, I am beginning to worry that I may suffer ill-effects from all this in my old age.
 
No one has suggested opening a can of the powder you use and taking some big whiffs for a minute or 2.

If it is the powder you should know right away.
 
I got really sick once after loading a bunch of .30-06 and realized that somewhere along the line I had run out of powder! Really sick! But I haven't done that in a reeeeallllly long time and I feel much better now.

Seriously, may be the nitro based powders. Are they fresh? Any signs of deterioration? Otherwise I haven't a clue.
 
Maybe you should take down your 2010 Dillon calendar from over your reloading bench, and hand it on the wall BEHIND your reloading chair.

That always helps to improve my concentration. :rolleyes:
 
Try a simple hardware store dust respirator mask. I am sensitive to the lead dust when depriming, and also the dust from the tumbler when separating brass from media. The mask saves me from a headache. I
have found that I don't need it after the brass is clean and primed, though.
 
nitroglycerine affects the heart. If you're using a dual based powder and absorbing a bunch through your skin, that could be your problem. Try wearing gloves and a mask next time, see if that helps.

Seriously, this is nothing to screw around with. You may be inducing a near heart attack. I've had one of those, and never felt nausia like that before or since.
 
If he truly said .06 of 1%, that would actually be 6 one-hundredths of 1%.

I would actually find six tenths of 1% a bit worrisome . . . not in regards to immediate effects, though, but over time as you've stated.
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I'm the "he" that snuffy references. The dermal absorption factor for lead referenced by ATSDR for use in risk assessment is in fact .06% (i.e., six one-hundredths of one percent). The applicable citation, for those interested is contained in: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/AssessingRisk/upload/chap7.pdf. The .06% figure is based on a 1980 study by Moore et al.

Dermal absorption is notoriously difficult to measure, and my point in mentioning the .06% figure (which is reasonably representative of other values in the scientific literature) was not to endorse that particular value, but only to indicate that simply handling lead does not in and of itself represent a significant health risk.

Personally, I wouldn't be concerned if the rate were ten times higher (i.e., six tenths of a percent), but each individual has to determine that for him or herself based on the amount of personal exposure and other risk factors that may be present.
 
I have gotten sick when working with some solvents/chemicals that seemed to be absorbed through my skin.

The fumes were not a factor as when I wear gloves, I do not feel sick.

Like someone posted above, an easy experiment would be to try wearing gloves and see if you see an improvement.

Bob
 
I'm the "he" that snuffy references. The dermal absorption factor for lead referenced by ATSDR for use in risk assessment is in fact .06% (i.e., six one-hundredths of one percent). The applicable citation, for those interested is contained in: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/AssessingRisk/upload/chap7.pdf. The .06% figure is based on a 1980 study by Moore et al.
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Thanks Dick-m, sorry for the poor memory and the error in writing. I tried to find that thread, got sidetracked reading other threads while searching. I just bookmarked this thread, so I can refer to it again.

I mentioned that because as you said, even if it WERE ten times worse, I wouldn't be worried.
 
Yurko:
Had never read or heard about the need to wear plastic gloves.

What could have made me sick was discovering a website (did not 'bookmark' it), for the idiotic Brit/Euro 'Arms Control' organization which gives taxpayer funds to countries which destroy huge heaps of surplus ammo and guns.

They even destroy obsolete types which are Not 'select fire'.:(
I never knew that old WW2 bolt-action Lee-Enfield rifles etc, now also being destroyed in South Africa (just the latest place), are sought by terrorist and other insurgent groups.
 
lgbloader said:
Any one use that D-lead soap?

LGB
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Yep, I do. D-Lead's liquid soap and if there's no water at the range, their wipes.

I am trusting that both products do what is claimed, hoping they're not repackaged dish detergent and baby wipes - ;)
 
It might be that you just have an adverse reaction to inhaling the ether and other solvent vapours from an open bottle of powder, maybe in a confined area.

Many solent vapours can cause a range of issues in some folks, including headaches and nausia.

The nitroglycene in the powder would really need to have prolonged exposure to the skin or injested to give a reaction, just in my opinion though.
 
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