YEW wood

[wildcat hunter]

 Some might have seen my post about my shoulder and how I am "turning wood" instead of making bows. All that aside I want to caution everybody about YEW. I had some green yew branches from a few trees / bushes at a cemetery cleanup project our church did.  Its a beautiful wood, I turned some small items from a 3" branch. It was so wet  ( I dried the items in our microwave ) the juice flew from it on the lathe. I got "sick", really sick. For over 2 weeks now my eyes red watering, head , dizzy,  blurred vision etc. Just saw the Doctor last week. I guess it will wear off in time but could have been worse. Yew is a poison. Be careful sanding etc.
Reference ; https://extension.psu.edu/toxicity-of-yew-wood-and-roots
ow Poisonous, How Harmful?
Taxus baccata, yew

Taxus baccata, yew
All parts, except the flesh of the berries, contain taxin(e) a complex of alkaloids which is rapidly absorbed. Also present are ephedrine, a cyanogenic glycoside (taxiphyllin) and a volatile oil.

Where poisoning does occur, in animals or humans, there may be no symptoms and death may follow within a few hours of ingestion. If symptoms do occur, they include trembling, staggering, coldness, weak pulse and collapse.

Yew is one of the plants where the poison is not destroyed when the plant dies. Thus, branches removed from a yew by high winds or pruning will retain their poison.

Though the berries are harmless, the seed within is highly toxic. Unbroken it will pass through the body without being digested but if the seed is chewed poisoning can occur with as few as three berries.

[Marc St Louis]

Some are more sensitive than others, which is the case with many wood species.  I've worked Yew for many years and had little to no reaction.  HHB dust on the other hand makes my eyes itch

[Badger]

   I have a bad reaction to walnut and several tropical species bother my eyes. Ipe is right at the top of the list and I use it frequently. I hate it!

[Dances with squirrels]

I've never had a reaction, but sometimes chemicals (natural ones too) only begin to affect us to the point of allergic reaction after time and prolonged exposure... and then it can make us allergic to other things we never were before... glues, finishes, solvents, other less toxic woods. I think our immune systems can only take so much of a beating. I don't ever want to be allergic to this thing I love, so need to start being more careful and proactive about protecting myself. I'm putting in a dust collection system now, and need to start wearing a dust mask too, open the big shop door whenever possible, etc.

[FilipT]

I for example have runny nose when working with hazel. My eyes are a bit "tired" too after working with it. Its smoke when burned has very sweet smoke that effects you. Anybody had similar experience with hazel?

[Strichev]

Just this weekend I was working on some small yew offcuts (making a pendant) and when I burned a few holes into the yew the smoke caused me a slightly noticeable loss of balance and slight dizziness. It's the sort of thing you don't really notice until you you suddenly walk with your shoulder into the doorframe, sort of bouncing around. Then I realised that, perhaps, yew smoke and dust isn't that great for one's health - even in the smallest of quantities. Perhaps it was just that I spent 5 hours intently working on the small pedant. Dunno. Once I also had a headache from yew. Now I strictly use dust masks.

After working with yew I always get severely runny nose and itchy eyes. During the night that turns into the worst kind of stuffy nose. Didn't have that happen with ash or hazel.

[joachimM]

Yep, take care with yew. It's one of the most poisonous plants in Europe. In some regions it used to be forbidden to plant yew where cattle grazes, as cows often poisoned themselves to death by eating it.

As you mention it, it contains a load of alkaloids. Hope you get well soon, and the effects are only temporary. Check your kidney and liver functions.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4462509/

Joachim

[paco664]

ok... in the interest of the greater good and public health... immediately send me all you guys yew staves.. for proper disposal...

i sacrifice myself to keep y'all healthy...

[Strichev]

Reading the article Joachim linked... suicide by yew is one unpleasant way to go.

[vinemaplebows]

Black locust for me, heavy on the lungs like a serious chest cold. Not much of the problem didn't think much of the wood anyhow.

[jeffp51]

two christmases ago I worked on a couple of osage staves in a small, closed in basement room--with the door closed to the recipients of the christmas gifts couldn't see. I got a cough that wouldn't go away.  In the spring I worked a yew and another osage stave--mostly outside but some in the basement again.  The cough got worse--to the point that any physical activity would send me into an asthma-like fit, almost to the point of throwing up the coughs and congestion were so bad.  I am not positive it was caused by sawdust, but the concentrations were pretty bad.  I had to go on an inhaler for several months, which cleared up the inflamation finally.  Now I wear masks and work in a newly built garage with as much ventilation as possible.  I do NOT want to go through that again. . .

[AndrewS]

I think that all  kinds of dust are not good - massaranduba burns like pepper in my nose.

[paco664]

any type of sawdust will give me an almost instant sinus infection...  i use respirator masks.. *(the good ones)... but fortunately i haven't had an allergic reaction to anything like you guys...
if i ever get a piece of YEW i'll make sure to be really protected... thanks for the warning...

[Hamish]

Any sort of wood dust is potentially harmful to your respiratory system. Add toxicity like yew, or any brightly coloured extractives from tropicals, you can get seriously ill and potentially even die from lung congestion, if not treated. Also some people can get a anaphylactic response from certain types of wood dust. Apart from chronic lung infections there is also the increased risk of cancer.

Always wear a good quality dust mask, not the basic white, nuisance quality ones. Dust extraction, air filtration is important, if you are a serious amateur woodworker. Invest in your health.
At the very least work outside or a very well ventilated space(still use a dust mask).

For acute cases for breathing and eye problems, there is a commercial nasal rinse (NeilMed), with a specially formulated salt that won't burn your sinsues like regular salt will. I swear this stuff, in conjunction with an asthma inhaler saved my life from a chronic wood dust respiratory infection. The nasal rinse clears out  the sinuses, tear ducts. Inhaler allows your air passages to dialate, and expel the fluid that collects in your lungs, from post nasal dripping.
Scary stuff guys.

[dane lund]

Look up wood database.com., it tells the effects of most species of wood. 
My first Osage bow, I developed a nasty rash on my hands and legs, particularly at the top of my socks where sawdust accumulated.  Like to drove me nuts.
As a gun builder, I've worked with a lot of sugar maple. 
Both are sesitizers, which makes the effects cumulative.
Took almost a month to get rid of it..