Anyone else get headaches when reloading?

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I agree with Eagle103 on the lighting as a more likely cause of the headaches. Just hang around your load bench without any powder exposure and see if you get an ache. Reading load manuals and such in too much or poor lighting could certainly be a problem.
 
Give yourself a little self-medication. If it really is related to the nitro, have a dip of snuff while you're reloading. :D The nicotine is a vasoconstrictor and should balance out the nitro. ;)
 
Well, I am pretty sure it isn't the lighting. I do my reloading in my taxidermy shop, and I have been working in that same light for 7 years with no problems. It only started when I began reloading. I noticed that in the last three times at the loading bench I got a headache, migraines at that.

Rock Steady, I had thought that very thing! I quit dipping over a year ago when I had a granuloma tumor taken off my tongue, and I figure I'll just stay that way. I guess I could smoke, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea while reloading!
 
Regarding the possible adsorption/ inhalation of nitrates - don't take Viagra within 24hrs if exposed- could cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure. Half sarcastic/ half real.

Ether is also a common solvent in smokeless powder. It smells good but can cause a headache.

Isn't reloading an interesting hobby?

Nitrile disposable 5 mil gloves are the most effective and economical solution to contact exposure. They also work for those allergic to latex.
 
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What kind of reloading equipment are you using?

Single stage? progressive?
Are you using a powder measure on a press or as a stand alone with a single stage?
My bet is on eye strain as the cause of your headaches, but if it is the nitroglycerin, you would also suffer a drop in blood pressure.
 
Ain't that sumthin'...Right there in front of us all alone...Still don't get headaches and my blood pressure is still at 120/70 (last physical)
 
I went down this morning and deprimed about 50 cases and reprimed them. Fooled around with some other stuff in the shop for a while. Then I got out the powder and reloaded about 18 shells, and what do you know: Cracked vision which is classic sign of migraine coming on. Someone asked what equipment I am using. Lee Classic turret and a set of scales. And, of course, Alliant powder, like Ol' Joe shows above. I never even read the back of my can. "Causes severe headaches." How about that.
 
Ha! krochus, just what equipment do you suggest I buy to stop these headaches?

Now, if it your suggestion is more expensive, then that will give me a terrible headache! :D
 
Agree with jrumsey about the headaches with dynamite, as a young man I worked one year for a company digging new sewage lines. Loading the holes with dynamite, tamping it and hooking the wiring to the blasting caps. Each day I worked with it I had terrible headaches. In all my years as a reloader the only headaches I've had was a few of the dumb mistakes when I first started. Luckily nothing ever serious, just aggravating.
 
the nitroglycerin in the powder isnt volatile, and if you are handling it correctly (hint not with your bare hands, and why would you touch the powder, if you are pouring it into a powder measure?) you are not touching it with your bare skin. Are you snorting it? throwing some over your shoulder for luck??.

Are you using lee dippers to measure, and spilling some on your hands???

You could try some Vitvouri Oi powders, they are expensive but are all single base with no nitro glycerin IIRC.
 
"You could try some Vitvouri Oi powders, they are expensive but are all single base with no nitro glycerin IIRC."

The 500 series of 'high energy' are double base.
 
Tylenol, not asprin.

Okay, allow me to be overly technical for a little bit; after all, I did get my masters from a department that focuses on cardiovascular physiology.

Anyway, the reason that you get headaches from powder (probably the fumes, you would have to stick powder in your mouth to absorbe enough nitroglycerin to give the above effect;Under no circumstances should this ever be done!) is because nitroglycerine degrades rapidly into nitrous oxide (NO) in the blood stream. NO is a very powerfull vasodilator that effects the smooth muscle of the vasculature, causing them to relax, and therefor, expand. This is a great thing if you are having a heart attack, but it gives you a serious headach because it also dilates the vessels of the brain.

Asprin is a member of the class of drugs known as NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs). These drugs lower swelling, and also thin the blood, slowing the clotting reaction. If you get a headach from reloading, and then take asprin, you will probably make the headach worse, not better.

My $0.02 would be the increase in ventilation that others have mentioned, and some tylenol for the pain, if necessary.

D

p.s. I can provide overly boring and hard to understand chemical reactions for how all of this happens if you would like, but that sounds way to much like work for right now.:)
 
wolfe28,
Agreed. I would still vote for the residual solvents for the reasons you have stated.
 
Wolfe28, thanks for that informative information! I have been opening my window and leaving the door open, and it seems to help. I can't take tylenol. Bad interaction with other meds I take. But thanks for that. And thanks to everyone for all inputs. I learned some stuff. :)
 
Other meds

......hold 'er right there, pardner. In my practice, medicines are always near the top of the list of suspects when problems develop. Since so few people get headaches from gunpowder, I'd check and see whether any of your meds render you more susceptible. Just a thought.
 
How are you charging the cases and handling the powder ? Are you using the Lee dippers and perhaps touching the powder at times when reloading rifle rounds ?

If you are loading pistols I suggest getting the Lee ProAuto disk measure and the powder stays contained in the hopper and then in the case as you charge it .

I would think if the fumes from powder is the cause , a lenghty session at the range would also result in a headache from powder fumes .

Could you perhaps be new and are stressed about the safety factor of reloading ?
 
KHornet is absolutely correct.

An interaction between the medication and the fumes could very well be the cause of the headaches. When I posted the info above, I was operating on the assumption that there are no pre-existing pathologies (heart conditions, or anything else requiring the use of medication to alter heart rate or blood pressure). An interaction with the fumes could easily increase the action of some of those drugs. It is kind of the same thing as why you should never mix pain medication and alcohol, you get the multiplyer effect.

The other reason I sight the fumes as the cause (instead of contact with the powder) is because of the rout of administration. Nitroglycerine will pass through the skin, but at a fairly slow rate (nitro patches are often worn by people with heart conditions as a preventative measure). If someone is having a heart attack, they put the nitro pill under their tongue. From there, the nitro is absorbed directly into the blood stream. If you inhale the vapors, the nitro will go directly into the blood stream as well, absorbed through the lining of the lungs (many ALS drugs are often administered through a controlled air way, to get them into the blood stream and heart very quickly).

Anyway, if you are getting a headach when reloading, espically if you are on some sort of blood pressure or heart med, talk to your doctor ASAP to make sure there isn't an interaction going on that could put you more at risk.

Thanks again KHornet, your keeping me honest.
D
 
Thanks for the heads up Khornet and Wolfe28,

I definately see a connection with the powder, and I see that the meds could play a role in that.
It evidently is fume related, because I have had better air flow into the area lately and haven't been bothered by headaches during the last couple times.

I will ask my doctor what he thinks about the situation. A shame I might have to give it up and I just was really getting into it. I am having to cut out a lot of things in my life lately due to health problems. *sigh* I wonder what will be next. :(
 
I had the same problem.

I then started using Nitrile gloves, and the problem has gone away- I believe it was caused by exposure to powder on my skin.
 
The only problems I have experienced while reloading have manifested themselves in a lower region.:)

RJ
 
Only when I think about how much the price of the components has gone up.
 
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