Sorry it took some time to get back to you, but I've been moving and such. For the allergy, unless I see it I wouldn't know for sure. What I *can* say is that eczema (sp?) is common amongst wood-workers, but also that the osage (Maclura pomifera) is a pretty bad allergen. There are a bunch of "exotic" woods that have the same effect, all commonly known as "hedge apple" trees. I doubt that you would work with them, but in general, a lot of wood-related allergies come from the family Anacardiaceae, most of which have a small to excessive amount of Urushiol (the nasty stuff in Poison Ivy) exuded from them. Interestingly (at least for me), the cashew plant is part of this family, and exudes a very minimal amount of Urushiol - so little that it would ALMOST never affect anyone who comes into contact with the plant.
Just my 2 cents on what it could be. If it's eczema, the local doc can prescribe a steroid-based creame; if an allergy, then they can give a steroid or some other topicals. I'm no doctor (but I play one on TV...), but if I were you I'd see what could be done about it, whatever it is. Sorry for the lecture... just showing concern, is all... Tight wraps, Pete ___________________________________________________________________ Speed up your surfing with Juno SpeedBand. Now includes pop-up blocker! Only $14.95/month -visit http://www.juno.com/surf to sign up today!
