is pine smoke toxic?

S

sufu

Joined
Jun 5, 2008
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my friend and i both feel weird 3 days after our pine tree fire in the woods??? crawling skin and achy joints. any thoughts?
 
You probably caught a virus in the store on the way to or from the woods. I'm not a Doc but I've burned tons of pine. Never had "flu like symptoms" from the pine.
 
protourist said:
You probably caught a virus in the store on the way to or from the woods. I'm not a Doc but I've burned tons of pine. Never had "flu like symptoms" from the pine.
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Same here, and I've never heard of anyone having any adverse reactions to pine smoke before.

And for what it's worth, I'm allergic to pine needles, and I still don't have any issues. So it's more likely that you caught the flu somehow.
 
I don't use Pine, normally, so I can't speak from experience, but I remember reading something about avoiding Pine for some heath consideration. I tried to find the reference, but no joy, so far. The only thing I saw up to now is Kochanski saying, specifically, that Pine fire wood is both an eye and lung irritant.

If I remember where I saw it, I will repost.

Doc
 
Talfuchre said:
Could it be some poison sumac or poison ivy that burned along with it?

TF
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ya that crossed my mind...im in northern Ohio and all the leaves r gone so we may have inadvertently tossed in some ivy,with leaves i can see it a mile away.
 
There are certainly toxins in any kind of smoke.It's also possible to be allergic to it. Poison ivy is an allergic reaction.When burned the oils will get into the lungs to cause an alleric reaction in the lungs which is usually very dangerous.
 
I get like this from applewood smoke (any apple tree smells awful to me when burned, but others like it), but I think it is just that I am irritated by it and I think it stinks like a burning mattress, and not that it is highly poisonous or anything. Pine is a normal fireplace, camping and cooking wood with no toxic oils (as in poison Ivy), so since you enjoyed the aroma, it must have been something other than the pine smoke that made you feel ill. You never know, you may have eaten something without first washing your hands and picked up a bug, it's so damn easy to do.
 
Well, any smoke is toxic if you breathe enough of it... but as for crawling skin and aching joints, those are unlikely symptoms IMHO, unless you were, uh, inadvertently mixing some other combustible substance with it:cool:.
 
Masteroffajitas said:
Cooked burgers over pine needles.
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Never cook Hotdogs over fatwood. My gods I did that once and woke up later in the night with the worst case of heart burn I've ever had. It lasted a long time and kept me awake for a couple of hours. Nasty nasty nasty.
 
Were you just burning chopped pine wood? Or the needles and bark as well?

I believe the needles, especially, can be irritating when burned and the fumes inhaled. Something to do with the oils or resins in that part of the plant, similar to what you find in some palms and other species.

I know for me personally, I try to keep green needles and sappy cones off the fire because it does seem to bother my eyes/nose if I'm too close to the smoke.

FWIW-YMMV
 
cssims said:
Never cook Hotdogs over fatwood. My gods I did that once and woke up later in the night with the worst case of heart burn I've ever had. It lasted a long time and kept me awake for a couple of hours. Nasty nasty nasty.
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Interesting you bring that up because as someone who suffers from the occasional bought of acid reflux, I always pack a few Tums in with my kit yet I rarely see it mentioned in any forums.
Even a mild case of heartburn can cost you a nights rest.
Easily cured with a few little tablets. ;)
 
ya my friend kept throwing in fresh pine needles and saying dosent that smell great...and it was found wood from the area and from 4 different species of pine
 
sufu said:
my friend and i both feel weird 3 days after our pine tree fire in the woods??? crawling skin and achy joints. any thoughts?
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Are you and your friend staying in the same house? Carbon monoxide poisoning should be ruled out if more than one person is feeling weird.
 
i think now that we just caught a cold at the bar before we went out...thank u everybody 4 your help
 
First i've heard of any bad effects from burning pine.
But then i'm not an expert or anything.
However 99% of camp fires i've had have been using pine and spruce.
Theres not a lot of hardwoods around here, at least in the Avalon peninsula section of the province.
Could the symptoms be a result of bad water or food?
Or maybe it just is the flu.
 
sufu said:
my friend and i both feel weird 3 days after our pine tree fire in the woods??? crawling skin and achy joints. any thoughts?
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Pine fever. Usually it takes e
sufu said:
my friend and i both feel weird 3 days after our pine tree fire in the woods??? crawling skin and achy joints. any thoughts?
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Ever hear of pine fever? Usually it would take a lot of smoke to give you flu like symptoms. I've gotten it after a few weeks of burning ponderosa pine in the woods.
 
Welcome to bladeforums. You might not realize it but this topic is almost 9 years old and the OP hasn't posted since Aug 2009.
 
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