Home from the Hospital

[Hawaiilad]

Finally got released from the Hospital last night. Been in there for 8 days with a bacterical infection of the lungs...from what???? could be shop dust, could be air..they are not sure. Turns out I had a reaction to many of the meds. they were using to help me, so it took much longer to clear up. I am still on very strong meds. for a period, but at least I am at home...sure don't like Hospitals much!!

I have been wearing the DustBeeGone mask allot, but not all the time as I should, but I will now have to wear a mask all the time. Not really sure just how good this mask will be. I have other types and will try them as well. I bought the totobobo mask to use, but right away found out it can not be worn by anyone with facial hair as I have. I tried to return it, but they do not offer returns for this reason....I feel they should have mentioned this "before" I purchased, and perhaps now they do, but they did not before....so be aware. How good is it?? really not sure since I can't obtain a good seal around my beard...yea, I know, shave it off and save my lungs....had this thing for 25 years and who knows, perhaps I will have to do just that.

I looked into the Trend systems, but $440 seems a bit high and they don't have good writeups. I wanted to ask if anyone out there has in the past or does use any of these helmets systems and what your results were.

What every you do, wear a mask...I guess it does help....Been a woodworker for about 30 years off and on and wore a mask the last couple of months off and on when I started all the close in sanding on the bandsaw boxes....have a feeling I should have been wearing one before as well.

[Dan A]

Glad to hear you're feeling better. I wish I could be more consistent on wearing a mask when I cut but I don't

Dan

[handibunny]

Glad you're home from the hospital, but sorry to hear about your lung infection.

I don't have anything much to offer by way of advice, just the hope that you find a good dust mask, use it without fail, and stay well so you can enjoy the stuff you like to do.

And maybe you'd look really nice without a beard?

[lkbraa]

Larry, so sorry to hear about your extensive stay in the hospital, but really glad to hear that you are finally home! Make sure to follow up and take ALL your meds!!!

Regarding the dust mask, I am just as guilty and have been paying more and more attention after a three day long dust cloud of MDF put me down for almost a week...a very hard lesson learned! Fortunately, it did not send me to the hospital (probably should have if I wasn't so stubborn) but seeing more and more posts regarding our lungs, I do not cut and/or sand without protection. I have been paying close attention to the different posts regarding the different ones out there and will probably upgrade to the Dust B Gone instead of the totobobo due to the high humidity here in the south.

Please take care of yourself!!!

[Hawaiilad]

I have spent many hours on the net reading what owners of the Trend system have to say, and unless I find something else, I am going to Amazon to order it tomorrow. I know that $400 with an extra battery is a hard nut to crack, but every time I have tried to take in a breath of fresh air today and am still having problems, I think I will spend the $$ What the heck, I can wait a bit longer on the other sanding tools I wanted to buy. I walked into my shop a little while ago to check things (before the wife yelled at me to get out of there) and the smell of the dust really got to me...so I think it's time.

Again, any of you that have this system, I would love to hear from you.

Kim, I have the DustBeeGone and no doubt it works better than nothing or the throw aways, and I agree, it will be better than the totobobo because the the humidity factor like we have here in the Islands, but if you are having problems with your lungs, please be careful...guess I should have listened when someone said that to me about 30 years ago...but at least I have a second chance at this.

[Jan]

Sorry to hear about your problems, Larry and glad to know you're home and giving careful consideration to protecting your airway and lungs. Hang in there and be careful.

Jan

[Hawaiilad]

Thanks everyone for the very kind words. I was laying in the **** bed the other night wishing I was able to be on line at least to see what others were doing in their shops...good to be back

[Forester21]

Glad to see you back and posting Larry! Like the others said, take all your meds and stay safe in your shop when you are able to get back there. Don't rush things getting back to cutting. A few extra days off are better than a relapse.
T

[Rolf]

Larry,
I am glad to hear that you are better.
I wear a half mask, it fits real well, breaths easy and doesn't fog my glasses.
But it will not work with facial hair. I would be interested to know how you like the trend.

[Frenchie]

Larry; Glad to hear you're home. These posting has got me thinking. I already have lung problems and I'm not been wearing a mask because they fog my glasses. So I ordered the dust be gone mask. I've started a scrollsaw club in the area, and I'll pass the word on to the members. Thanks everyone. Don

[wood-n-things]

Glad to see you back posting. Hope the new mask does the trick. You may have to move your sanding out doors and down wind. Take care of your lungs we only get the two of them.

[ubgoofy2003]

Sorry to hear of your lung problem, Larry. Glad you are home & better. Just be sure & take care of yourself. I have a habit of not putting on my mask & should be more careful. That's the reason why I don't like to do Intarsia, because of all the dust from sanding. Hope everything goes well for you. Take Care.

[jim_mex]

Hi Larry - sorry to hear of your misfortunes and here's hoping that you make a full recovery.

Regarding the DustbeGone. In view of the comfort factor and the fact that you can even wear it wet, plus its washable and with care will last a really long time its a great mask. I like mine a lot and am pleased to wear it most of the day which is more than I can say for most other of the simpler masks. But, and its a big but, it won't filter out the very very fine dust that is likely to cause problems when dealing with the more dangerous materials, especially to folks with allergy problems.

I'd be interested to know how you get on with the Trend mask.

Take care pal!

[Mick Walker]

Larry, glad to hear you are back home. There is no place like home.

[Hawaiilad]

I once again thank everyone for your concern...it is really nice to have friends around the world that care. I did order the Trend today...got it through Amazon and of course I made a mistake and ordered 2 of them....called them on the phone and ended up receiving a discount and 1 day free shipping...was not expecting that.

I was in the shop today..giving a trivet to a friend that came to check on me, and boy the dust was really hard on me and I was only walking around. Needless to say, I have allot of cleaning to do once I feel better and get the Trend to wear. I have different dust systems just setting there that are going to be hooked up as well...I was also thinking of setting up a box fan with attached filters to suck up the close in dust that I run into with the bandsaw boxes and intarsia....so much to "relean" I guess.

Again, thanks for your concerns