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 Replies: 23 / Views: 3,064 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1161 Posts |
Here is the situation. Over the past 3 weeks I have searched 31 boxes of cents. I wanted to get in as many as I could before Feb 4th. I still have 16 boxes to go. Now. In the last 2 days when searching coins. My hands have developed a slight reddish rash that is quite itchy from the wrist to the fingers. I stopped searching the coins. Washed my hands, took a Reactin pill and put a ointment with aloe on them. After a few hours...it pretty much cleared up. The next day I decided to do some more searching. Shortly after starting the redness started to come back along with the itch. I again stopped. washed and put the ointment on. Again it started to clear up. I always wash my hands after I finish searching the coins and never eat or rub my face when searching. Is it possible that my hands have become sensitive to the copper/zinc of the cents? Has anyone ever heard of that or had it happen to them? It is very frustrating. I tried to search with surgical gloves but it is not that easy. Trying to sort through a roll of cents with the gloves is not as easy as it sounds. I thought it might have been something on the coins of the box I was searching at the time as both times it happened it was with the same box. So today I grabbed a different box and tried to search but within a few rolls I could see the redness starting again and the itch came back. Any ideas?  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2366 Posts |
Sounds like an allergic reaction to me. Yes, you can develop an allergic reaction to something you weren't allergic to before. You can take the allergy medicine in advance. If you take one daily it has a preventative effect rather than waiting for the symptoms to develope and then using it as a treatment. People can be allergic to all sorts of things. There was a 'rash' (ha ha get it?) of cases a few years back of people having allergic reactions to the metals used in cell phone cases and the manufacturers had to rejig their designs to avoid those metals.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2425 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
1161 Posts |
Argh...LOL!
Of all the thing to maybe become allergic to.
What next? I'll become allergic to plastic and not be able to carry a debit card anymore.
I will have to try again in a few days and see what happens. I will also talk to a local pharmacist and see what they recommend to take...if anything.
I hope a few days break will help as I would hate to not be able to search the last 16 boxes of cents. I need to have them finished by Feb 15th. Friggin bills to pay. LOL!
If I can not search them I will try and sell them to one of the local CRH I guess. I hope it does not come to that.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1161 Posts |
Quote:
Over exposure? I'm hoping that is all it is.  |
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Pillar of the Community
555 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
579 Posts |
Shoot you are too far away for me to be a local CRH! Hope it works out for you and you can get through your last boxes. Which type of gloves were you using? You mentioned surgical gloves which if they are the latex type they really do suck. Try using some basic cotton finger gloves, while you lose a little bit of dexterity they are a lot more comfortable than latex gloves.
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Valued Member
Canada
156 Posts |
Back in about April I would say I went dime crazy on top of all the cents I was searching. Then I noticed a pattern, when I would search more than a few rolls of dimes my nose would get really stuffed up and it would be really runny. So it must have just been over exposure to dimes because after I realized they were probably the problem I took a break and concentrated more on cents. Now I don't have a problem with dimes but I think thats just because I haven't searched them in a while.
Take a little break from searching, your 16 boxes shouldn't be going anywhere.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1161 Posts |
I will see if I can find some cotton gloves in my area. Any ideas on best place to check? I think I might be able to get them from a medical supply store.
I use Medi Touch - Nitrile Elastomer - Latex free gloves. They are XL and Blue in color and powder free.
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Valued Member
Canada
271 Posts |
MAYBE those particular rolls are contaminated with something you're allergic to. Are you allergic to any creams, air freshener, etc.?
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Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
OddCoins, I was thinking the same thing.
It is possible that the coins, the boxes, etc. got covered with some pesticide or microscopic mold/fungi (I know -- ick, ick, ick).
So try messing around with coins that you have previously handled and see if you're okay. If the old coins don't bother you then I would guess that the new coins have been contaminated.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1161 Posts |
I was thinking the same thing about outside contamination that is why I switched boxes. In a few days...I will try another box.
As far as I know the only thing I'm allergic to is fish. I can touch them or whatever as long as I do not consume them. Sucks big time as I did not grow into that allergy until I was 12 years old. I love fish...just can't eat it. SIGH.
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Valued Member
United States
294 Posts |
Quote:
I will see if I can find some cotton gloves in my area. Any ideas on best place to check? I think I might be able to get them from a medical supply store.
I use Medi Touch - Nitrile Elastomer - Latex free gloves. They are XL and Blue in color and powder free. Try using a smaller size rubber glove. They stretch, so a tighter fit would give you more dexterity. Latex would stretch more, but a lot of people have a latex allergy. Nitrile is a little less elastic, but no sensitivity issues. You could also try finger cots. These will cover only the top end of your fingers. I have only seen them in latex thought, so beware of sensitivity. White cotton gloves can be found in most drug stores. Again, size may be an issue, and if too large will cause a loss of dexterity. |
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Moderator
 Australia
16826 Posts |
A red rash certainly sounds like a metal contact allergy to me, although nickel is a far more common metal allergen than copper or zinc. Your doctor should be able to test for copper and zinc allergies.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
9159 Posts |
If you can't finish them up I will gladly step in and take them off your infected swollen can't use hands.  ...  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
745 Posts |
I got some white cotton gloves from a photo shop. They wear these when handle making photos on paper.
I also got Blood Poisoning from handling too many quarters playing 25c slot machines back when they used actual coins!
Had a small paper cut and all that nasty germs on coins got into blood system. Glad the slots only take paper bills now, but still dont win!
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Replies: 23 / Views: 3,064 |
Posted 02/06/2013 4:54 pm
