I’ve just given myself a cold from trimming which I’m only half way through. I have a pretty sensitive sense of smell. My go to joke is I can smell shit on the wind from a mile away as I have a big fuck off Roman nose. I’ve tried wearing different types of masks from your average covid mask to industrial masks which are pretty uncomfortable especially when you have a significant amount to trim.
What happens is my nose runs uncontrollably, I sneeze, my eyes water like mad and after a while I can get a sore throat and heavy chest. Does anyone have any tips to get round this? Does any one find they have the same problems?
The other thing is that trimming is time sensitive as in it takes a while to do by hand.I don’t want to buy one of those ‘tumbling’ machines as I want trichs to stay attached to buds as much as possible.
I do take in between breaks but this just extends the time taken to trim and means bud is left to sit falling below desired r/h.
Any suggestions welcomed. Cheers
Try taking a Benadryl allergy pill first (or something similar).
Works wonders for my wife is certain situations.
Cheers
G
Cheers dude. Will give that a whirl
The trimming bowl I have doesnt knock the trics off the buds fwiw
Yeah those trimming bowls aren’t bad. They look like big salad spinners. My uncle brought one by this fall. I didn’t use it but it was pretty heavy duty and was bigger than I expected so it could probably fit a fair amount in 1 go. And I’d definitely have to second the Benadryl. My ex used to be bothered often by allergies around different types of flowers and stuff and she kept a travel pack of it everywhere. One in the car, the purse, the bedroom, bathroom…
If it’s within your budget maybe an overhead duct / ventilation fan that runs to either a carbon filter or another area?
I get the same. I’m terribly allergic to the plants. Trim days are tough. Benadryl helps. Wear gloves. A mask too. Don’t touch your face while harvesting/trimming.
Hey Syzygy. Hope you’re well. Yeah. I have two of those extracting overhead. People who trim for a living - I have no idea how they do it. This seems to be getting worse the older I get like reactions to wasp stings. That type of thing.
The tumbler idea doesn’t suit. Thanks for those suggestions.
On masks, make sure it is a N-95. could use goggles as well, at least part of the time. I have learned you do not want to mess with your immune system (which is the response you have). I am a worse case example, hate to see someone else have their lif messed up unnecessarily.
When I used to slice 100lb of onions every Monday at my job, the tricks were to dip the prepped halves in cold water and have a fan blowing from behind me or across from the side. When I wet trim, I do it when they’re still moist after washing, between the drip off and going into my drying tent. I think this keeps the volitile smells down IME. Maybe one or both of those things might help?
Maybe put a layer of carbon mesh in your masks, just a particle filter won’t remove many of the volitile compounds/chemicals from the plant that cause such reactions. Otherwise, run a carbon air filter in the room and have a fan pointed from behind or to the side of you. Short of doing it in a negative pressure type setting, like a ventilation hood or something similar. If your tent is big enough, leave the exhaust fan on and prop a table at the door of the tent and sit outside of it.
benadryl or claritin especially when dealing with pollen or say hash making though i usually take one after the fact as i was thinking i was gonna be fine.
I use a bowl trimmer also. My skin gets itchy while hand trimming even while wearing gloves. I’m fine handling it when it’s dried out and when smoking it. Antihistamines don’t help either so I’m thinking it’s not an allergie. 🤷
Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I was listening to one of my fave comedic podcasts - Tuesdays With Stories and one of the comics was detailing the value of other people who share the same symptoms when ill. So thank you all. So whether it’s psychosomatic or not, I took an antihistamine (Piriteze) which I had in my gardening tool bag in case I get stung by a wasp when in the garden (doesn’t help much with wasp stings fyi) and it greatly reduced the nose running, eyes streaming and just general congestion and I managed to get through it. I just finished trimming yesterday and have just the one day of bubbling my trim left which I’m not in a rush to do but do want it done sooner rather than later. I’m truly grateful it’s over. It was an ordeal. Thankfully I only have to do this twice a year.
@bunny That’s a very valid point about lowering the immune system especially at the moment. It did manifest in to a cold and in an effort to get it done, I tried to push through and exacerbated it.
I’m moaning but it also heightens my respect for the plant. It’s a stretch to say these are plant defense mechanisms but it certainly, certainly emphasizes it’s potent properties. I just went and said some nice words to them so they hopefully fuck with my sinuses less next go round.
Thanks all. Appreciate your contributions. Have a good weekend. Sprinkling respec’ on yo names.
No, you are right about it being the plant’s defense mechanism. Animals can run away from a danger, plants do not have the option. Some plants have chemical defenses, mainly used against bugs. Speaking about bugs, wasps in particular, I got bit by one a few years back. On the forearm, I heard a DJ (real one on the radio not pretend musicians) say he got bit by a wasp for the first time. He said it was like liquid fire, which does sound about right. Back to my forearm, it started to swell up. Even more than I expected as I had a few over the years. Finally went to the doctor, he gave me something, if it does not start go down in a two days go to the hospital. It moved up my arm and almost up to my shoulder my arm looked like a sausage. They gave me a different pill to take, if it does not go down they would need to put me on an IV. I said it is weird, I have not been allergic to wasps before. The doctor said it is infected from the wasps eating garbage. That was not something I thought of. Yuck.
Have you tried dry trimming with a silicon basting brush? Might be worth a shot, it works surprisingly well and there is less volatility of terps and such. There are brushes made for trimming, but in principle there doesn’t seem to be much meaningful difference between a “proper” trimming brush and a cheapo dollar store kitchen utensil.
One tip: The ones made for basting are longer and tend to attenuate toward the tip of the bristles, and might not be stiff enough to snap off the dried leaves. I found that just cutting them a little shorter made for a sturdier bristle and easier trimming.
Here is a link to a “real” trimming brush, but you can certainly do better than the $20+ price point in the kitchen supply area of any dollar/department store, and I would imagine most grocery stores.
That’s a great idea trimming the bristles on the brush 
Totally know what you mean. Got stung four times last year. Twice on the legs. Twice on the arms. Made my arm look like a washing up glove filled with water. And yes, it keeps expanding for around 3 days before subsiding after a week. Last time I went to the doctor who sent me straight to accident emergency and they gave me an IV, antibiotics and a steroid. Apparently if ir happens again, I just have to call emergency services straight away, especially if I get stung around the air ways. It’s an issue because I work as a horticulturist and gardener. Wasp nests are often buried so it’s an issue. Gardens can be hazardous to your health.
Yes! Yes, I do have many of the same problems.
I’ve spend the entire night looking at trimmer/trimming threads. I need to find a “reasonably affordable” machine of some type to cut the time involved way(!) down, and to cut hand trimming out of my life.
What is your current procedure (or solution) to this problem?
I take an antihistamine and put underpants on my head to cover my face. I have two large towels to blow the litres of snot into. No joke. The antihistamine works for a while and reduces the runniness of nose. I also have to stop smoking during this period because I get tight chested which I believe is from mould spores which accumulate on foliage that is trimmed. Then my sinuses are in recovery mode for about three days afterwards.
I’ve struggled with fungus gnats for the last few grows. It’s not from over watering, they just manage to get in on the compost I use. I think the plants react and produce some type of pesticide which makes me more susceptible.
I don’t like the idea of a tumbling machine though. I don’t understand how there isn’t significant damage to bud and trichomes.