trouble breathing through respirator

[weldrwomn]

I mentioned this briefly on another thread, but I thought that I might start a new one with this topic. Does anyone have trouble breathing through certain respirators? I fluxcore all day long and I have a very bad habit of putting my head right in the smoke about 3in from the weldment (according to the ppl I work with). The lead guy got a 3M N100 Particulate respirator for me to wear. Like a good, responsible person, I read the instructions and fitted the respirator accordingly. About 10 minutes later, I was getting so little air that I felt extremely dizzy and sick to my stomach. The respirator got put in the drawer and has not been worn since. Does anyone else have this problem with respirators?

[enlpck]

Only when plugged. If you get that close, it can plug up mighty fast. That doesn't mean I find them comfortable, but I certainly don't have a problem wearing one.

I prefer extraction to a respirator, any day of the week. I have even been known to duck tape an extractor hose to my wrist to get the smoke where it comes from. A lot more comfortable than the respirator, too.

[Burgweld]

weldrwomn,
Does your respirator have a exhalation valve? If not, that may be your problem. I've used the 3M N95 #8214 respirator with a valve before and they aren't too bad. The 3M 7500 series with the replaceable P100 #2097 pancake filters are real easy to breath through, and the silicone mask is much more comfortable than the disposables. If I do anything much strenuous while wearing them it is a bit harder to breath through. You have to be careful wearing them if you have any cardiac or pulmonary issues as it could put a strain on your system. I am looking for a AD that it will fit under though.

[Doolittle]

These things fit under your helmets?

[Burgweld]

Yes, the #8214 is a disposable one which doesn't have cartridges that stick out like the other one I use for running robotic weld cells that doesn't fit under my 9002X. Arc1 has some helmets they claim have enough room to wear cartridge type respirators under them. Not sure about any others, have been meaning to talk to the SJ Smith rep on his regular weekly stops at the factory.

[Burgweld]

I forgot to mention that people can also have problems with claustrophobia while wearing respirators. Don't remember where I read that....While we are on the subject of respirators, does anyone know if there is enough room for a cartridge respirator under a Optrel Satellite? Any other helmets? Getting tired of my snoot being all stuffed up after work.

[wallythacker]

Has anyone experimented with closing their helmet in and using filtered positive fresh air from another source? Doesn't seem to difficult. Benefit of keeping cool and expelling breath fog.

[h2oboy]

If you are having trouble breathing through respirators here are some reasons.
-You might not be medical fit. Everyone should have a medical evaluation (not a fit test, but you need this also) to measure the lung capacity if you are going to wear a respirator.
-Your filters may be plugged. The length of time can vary from material to material.
-You can all of a sudden have loss of lung capacity. You can be fine your hole life, and things can change.
-You can try another brand or model. They can contour to your face in different area's and take away from some stress.

Just remember, we need to wear respirators because our lungs can not handle the contaminates, the respirator can only work if it fits right and works properly.

[Burgweld]

Originally Posted by h2oboy

If you are having trouble breathing through respirators here are some reasons.
-You might not be medical fit. Everyone should have a medical evaluation (not a fit test, but you need this also) to measure the lung capacity if you are going to wear a respirator.
-Your filters may be plugged. The length of time can vary from material to material.
-You can all of a sudden have loss of lung capacity. You can be fine your hole life, and things can change.
-You can try another brand or model. They can contour to your face in different area's and take away from some stress.

Just remember, we need to wear respirators because our lungs can not handle the contaminates, the respirator can only work if it fits right and works properly.

Well put, very good info.......

[Jonnie Fraz]

^ Very well put...Cal OSHA actually requires a medical eval. before requireing someone to wear a respirator.
Welderwomn if you are welding fluxcore and you are in the plume you realy need a respirator. I have a 3M with the pink pancake filters and works great, not saying I like wearing it, but it is better than health issues down the road.

[weldrwomn]

I moved my fume extraction thingy right next to my head. I just don't want to see a dr about this. I have been debating whether I should go or not, but I know that they are going to do all sorts of lung capacity testing and other crap like that. I have had that testing done back in High school when I spent a winter indoors doing all sorts of fiberglass work with no respirator or ventilation. I developed asthma because of that. I have since mostly healed from that, but the testing they do is a pain...

[weldrwomn]

This is the respirator that I am having trouble with. It isn't dirty....I took it out of the package, wore it for about 10 minutes and then I stuffed it into a drawer. As I mentioned before, I also checked to make sure that it was properly fit....

[tresi]

Have you tried another brand of the same style respriator? This may sound funny but you could be allergic to glues or chemicals used to make the respriator. The glues in particle board sets my asthma off all the time.