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Question: Does anyone experience skin irritation when exposed to darkroom (photographic) chemicals!?
after working in the darkroom my hands appear to be fine, however the next day the skin on my hands begins to itch and this lasts for about 2-3 days as long as i stay out of the darkroom!. sometimes the skin will turn red and become sensitive and in some cases may even blister!. does anyone else experience this reaction!? if so do you know which chemical is responsible and how to prevent this from occurring!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
That sounds like an allergic reaction of sorts!. You need to wear non permeable gloves when working in the dark room, is my guess!. Latex is medically the best!. And dont stick your hands directly in the chemicals, always use tongs or whatever!. If this is an allergic reaction, allergies tend to get worse with repeated exposure, so be careful!. You may also want to consult a doc!. Have you tried taking benedryal with this!? Does it help!?

The other person mentioned non latex gloves!. Non latex are NOT impermeable!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It seems odd that this doesn't show up more or less immediately!. Aside from wearing gloves, as previously mentioned, you should be quite careful with the chemicals!. Even when developing prints, you should be using tongs and keeping your hands away from the chemicals!.

You are working with bases and acids in the darkroom, both of which can be irritating, so it is hard to say which is the culprit here!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I've never really had a problem!. The only thing is sometimes if I get fixer on my fingers, they will get a little red and feel dry, but that's about it!. No blisters or itching or any other problems!. And paper and film developer has no effect on me at all!. I'm going to agree with the others, it sounds like you might be getting an allergic reaction or maybe your skin is just more sensitive!.

It seems like fixer is stronger, so maybe that's what you especially need to be careful with!. Use gloves and try to be sure you handle the photos with tons!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I have had my hands up to the wrist in each solution and have never had any problems!. Have you ever tried wearing gloves!? You can always try the latex free if it irritates you!. I used to do this until I got tired of taking them on and off constantly!.

edit:
I have used latex free gloves for many things and they work just as well as latex gloves!. They just don't have the white powder in them!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Wow! My hands usually get pretty dry after working in the darkroom, but I've never had anything this extreme!. You should probably talk to your instructor about this or go see a doctor!. I know some people like to wear gloves when they're in the darkroom!.Www@QuestionHome@Com