hayfever helmet

[mike]

A few years ago I saw a news item about a chap who was selling "hayfever helmets". Basically a plastic bubble with filtered air supply. Not exactly the thing one wants to walk about with! But it's not such a bad idea because it gives the body time to recover. Ok as soon as you take it off the immune reaction starts again but even an hour break can be benificial. I'd like to try an make a similar helmet but getting the (few) parts needed is the problem.

Needed... Large plastic helmet (it's surprising how big this has to be to go over the head). Where the heck can I get one of these?

Pollen filter.I suppose I can now get one of these from a car parts place? Any recommendations as to where/type etc Are there different grades? Short length of plastic tube and and motor - both of these I have.

The idea is simply to build a slight positive pressure inside the helmet using the filtered air. Plenty of gaps around the base for safety ventilation of course and rigid bubble so it cannot collapse on the wears face.

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT suggesting anyone else makes/tries out one of these things because of the obvious risks to themselves. Especially DO NOT try using plastic bags or anything of a similar nature.

[Bert Coules]

Mike,

Surely only the nose and mouth have to be covered? That should be rather more achievable.

Bert

[Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)]

How about a filtered air fed mask for paint refinishing? Everything you need for the job there.

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , Bert Coules writes

I'm not sure, hayfever really gets your eyes too, but I don't know if that is a reaction from inhalation of the pollen or from direct eye contact with the pollen.

I find dunking my face in bowl of very cold water helps.

[AlexW]

This

is pricey, but might do the job 'as is', dependent on whether the filter is suitable for pollen etc.

Also, it will probably be a bit more aesthetically pleasing than a homemade job?

HTH,

Alex.

[Sam]

Im not sure, hayfever really gets your eyes too, but I don't know if

You could always use a S10 respirator.

will certainly keep out the pollen!

[TheScullster]

Could be worth looking at vacuum cleaner filters. Some of the more expensive makes claim to have pollen level fitering I think.

Phil

[Andy Dingley]

Mine is an aircraft fire-fighter's helmet (eBay, naturally). It's excellent for casting molten metal, great for amusing the kids, and appears to be the same helmet worn by the aliens in UFO (Ed Bishop, RIP)

You can even get a surplus rocket fuel handling suit

this is ridiculous for pollen - why cover your head ?

I don't even think you need to cover your eyes ?

So what you need is a lightweight, comfortable half-mask respirator. Get yourself down to Arco - there's a big range. 3M do good ones, pay the extra for silicone if you're going to wear it for a long time. Masks with good exhale valves (i.e. not breathing through the filter both ways) are comfortable. As for filters, then any half-decent particle filter will do - a good mask has these interchangeable.

If you want motorised blowers, then Racal or Trend have sold these for years - used by woodturners to pharmaceutical workers. They're expensive though. The Trend "Dan Dare" Airshield

the Racal Airstream (expensive, heavy, but better balanced) you want half-head coverage, get a 3M mask

If you want robust half-head, get an Avon S10 mask (any UK mil-surplus shop - cheap)

you want full head coverage, get a Soviet "chipmunk" mask. UK mil-surplus shops - still cheap)

[bigcat]

Thats what I call extreme solutions! I had hay fever real bad one year, what worked was to drape wet towels around a room and re-wet them when needed. Dont let them dry out or they can let go of the dust. It filtered the whole room, worked well.

NT

[Steve Firth]

Well, in truth it's a really bad idea, because the allergic response is rather odd if one keeps cycling between presence and absence of the allergen the symptoms are likely to be worse, rather than better. Continual exposure damps down the response, so it may be miserable, but it's not as bad as it could be.

The effect is noticeable for people with allergies to animals who have a pet. Often they will say that it can't be an allergy to (cats/dogs/mice etc) because they have no problem at home. Take them away from home for a few hours or days and return them and their symptoms appear.

Anyway, if you want to do this, repirator helmets which can filter out pollen already exist. They are used by steelworkers and many other trades to protect the wearer from fine dust particles. A helmet has a fan and filter unit at the back of the head ana a full-face mask with a rubber flange. Air is pumped over the top of the head and exits over the forehead and across the face exiting through gaps in the flange. It's powered by a rechargeable battery pack and the entire unit is compact.

[Steve Firth]

Back when I did research into this stuff, a colleague had a paper rejected from a journal because it was "misleading and potentially dangerous." He had discovered that leaving a vacuum cleaner running in a room would extract all the pollen quite quickly and was suggesting this as a way of filtering the air.

[Mary Fisher]

I saw this in another post, long preamble snipped:

"Nasaleze.

"For those that don't know what it is, according to the blurb, it is an "inert celulose powder derived from vegetables". It is supplied in in an eye-drop style bottle.

"On contact with moisture, the powder turns into a gel that covers the area that it is applied to. It effectively creates a barrier between the pollen and your nasal tract. What is more, because it is Gel like and "sticky", it also acts as an aid to the natural function of your nose by trapping other particulates that a healthy would nose normally trap but causes sneezing and irritation to hayfever sufferers.

"I use nazaleze in combination with my standard eye-drops and hayfever tablets. Since using it, I have not had an asthma attack. Not one (I do however still keep an inhaler ready for if I do have an attack but I have not used it since I started using Nasaleze). I can't remember the last time I sneezed due to hayfever and I haven't had a nosebleed in two years.

"For me as long as I have a good pair of wraparound sunglasses on when I go out now, I can actually enjoy the summer which I would never have thought possible. For me, it has delivered the liberation that I have always wanted in the summer. I am no longer trapped indoors, under siege from the outside world. It's GREAT!

"I believe that you can get Nasaleze at most good health shops. If you have hayfever then for under a tenner, it's worth a try. I can honestly recommend it."

Now, I don't have hay fever and have no experience of the above but it seems eminently sensible and I I WEREa sufferer I'd try it.

Mary

[mike]

Because pollen affects eyes too. Quite severely too in some cases.

Eye irritantion is one of the main problems.

Actually I don't get HF anything like as badly as I did as a child. Then, in some years I got it so badly I could hardly see! Not rubbing eyes was well-nigh impossible and a basin of cold water helped - until you surfaced at which time the returning blood flow made it total hell!

[mike]

I don't entirely agree with this. You are I'm sure correct about the way the response might cycle - but a secondary effect of HF is the irresitable rubbing of eyes, blowing nose etc. If ever this gets so bad (during a season) that the skin becomes inflamed it's almost impossible to recover the situation until the end of the season. Same thing for nasal congestion. I do take your point though and think there may be a optimum time for best effect. If only say 1/2 hour relief, it can make a huge difference to these "secondaries".

[mike]

a try. Thanks.

Getting OT but one thing I know WILL work is corticosteroid injection. Several years ago, I had one of these - HF stopped withing 12 hours and I had the first HF-free season of my life! Trouble is of course it's a risky business for obvious reasons.

[Mary Fisher]

If you do, let us - or me - know how it works please.

Mary

[Andy Dingley]

But is pollen absorbed by that route ? Or is it merely a symptom of nasal pollen ?

[John Rumm]

How about something like the airshield:

is supposed to keep out sub-microm MDF dust and the like, so it ought to work for pollen. The cooling down draft on the face might be good in summer as well.

[John Rumm]

In much the same way I have noticed that for people with bad HF, a half hour or so spent in the car with the AC on will also give respite for not only the time in the car, but also for a couple of hours after.

[<me9]

I find early season tree pollen particularly bad for eyes and throat.

I find a regular dousing with water works wonders. I also find sodium chromoglycate(SP) eye drops effective to extend the releif.