My son works for a company that manufactures extruded fiberglass pipes. He has hundreds of little tiny red marks on his arms from carrying these pipes. It is my understanding that it is tiny bits of fiberglass embedded in his arm. He was told to put cold packs or ice on his arms and then apply tape to pull these out (kinda like waxing your legs but you guys wouldn't know about that ). Any other suggestions? It's hard to wear a long shirt 'cause there's no AC and the temps are pretty high around the machines. Other than scratching, are there any known health risks to this?
When I worked as a capenter's helper as a kid, whenever we worked with fiberglass insulation, we were told to go home and take a cold shower. Apparently, little bits of fiberglass stick in the pores, and if one takes a hot shower, it closes the pores and then you itch for a long time. A cold shower is supposed to wash the bits out of the pores. But this is fifty-year-old knowledge.
Architect (NY) and Home Designer (PA)
Posts: 2449 | Location: Tobyhanna, PA | Registered: 24 October 2005
Actually Richard, its the other way around. If you take a hot shower, it opens the pores. A cold shower will close them. If you are dealing with fiberglass, take a hot and soapy shower and it should get rid of most of the fiber.
). Any other suggestions? It's hard to wear a long shirt 'cause there's no AC and the temps are pretty high around the machines. Other than scratching, are there any known health risks to this?
