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headache after spraying for a while? Post New Topic | Post Reply

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Gary Myers
Posted: Jul 07, 2011 08:56 PM
headache after spraying for a while?
I hope to get some light shed on my problem. I have been spraying for about one year now. I have started to notice that when I have an all day job, after about 3 or 4 hours I get a headache and get light headed? I use a fresh air hood and full gear for protection. I am spraying cc 2,lb foam.(Wall Tite Eco)
mason
Posted: Jul 07, 2011 09:48 PM
The headache can be caused from a lot of things such as (but not limited to)
1. Dehydration; make sure you are taking in sufficient quantity of water throughout the day. You lose a lot of water by sweating spraying foam
2. Excessive heat; You can get a headache just from getting too hot. all of that gear you wear increases your body core temperature considerable. Consider a vortex cooler with your air hood
3. Loose fitting hood: Check your air hood and make sure it is not letting sprayfoam mists into the air.
4. Bad air from the compressor. Check out the air supply where the compressor is located. If it is a regular air compressor that is not specifically built for breathing air, you need filters and carbon monoxide monitor to make sure the air you are getting is right.
5. Over exertion. Sprayfoam application is an extremely demanding activity, you can get a headache from just the hard physical exertion.
6. You can also get a headache from worrying about the job and trying to make sure the foam application is perfect. How stressed are you when you spray?
Dennis Davidson
Posted: Jul 08, 2011 08:44 AM
How long do these headaches last?

If your spraying a lot of ceilings or even walls too, you can over stress your trapezius muscle (the diamond shaped muscle between your shoulders connecting to the back of the skull down to the middle of your back). This can cause headaches in the back and sides of the head, lasting from a few hours to a couple days. Can also cause dizziness too. If this is the case try switching arms to spray with every few mins. This way your using the muscle more evenly. I do this a lot and am almost as good spraying with my left as with my right.
If the headaches are in the front of your head then it's an airborne irritant. Check your air supply system.
Gary Myers
Posted: Jul 08, 2011 11:10 PM
my headaches are in the front of my head, so I am thinking that it is something in my air system. I was kinda of convinced that it was something to do with too high a concentration of co2 but after spraying for 3 or so hours today and starting to develop a headache (again) I switched to a portable air unit and was fine for the most part, so there must be something in the air causing it. Just cant figure out what! Coincidentally I am spraying mostly ceiling, but I have had this problem spraying a lot of wall also.
Gary Myers
Posted: Jul 13, 2011 08:40 PM
Another question about about the air system is if the oil in the air tank is not properly drained, even though I have a filter system, could there be any residue getting through to my hood? Even just the smell?
mason
Posted: Jul 14, 2011 08:30 AM
If you are not using an oiless air compressor specifically designed for breathing air, then you need filters for moisture, oil and other contaminants, plus a Co2 monitor with whistles and bells that warn you of bad air.

Check with your safety supply store for their recommendations.
John Shockney
Posted: Jul 14, 2011 08:40 AM
I use an oil-less air compressor but I know that it is recommended you use a non-toxic mineral oil based lubricant in a compressor that is used for any breathing air. Most refrigerant oils are of this type and will meet this requirement along with your filtration system. These are the oils that were used in compressors that were used to fill scuba tanks before the high pressure oil-less compressors.

Airpro
Gary Myers
Posted: Jul 14, 2011 07:48 PM
Thanks guy's. First off when we got our "rig" it came with a filter system but not a CO2 monitor. We are looking in to that right now. As for the oil, we are running a regular air compressor with regular oil. I am going to see to it that we change to some sort of refrigerant oil.

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