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Off topic- but related (Athletic shirts)

IRQVET

IRQVET

Bubbaification Exorcist
So I wasn't working on the Jeep when it occurred, but the damage I sustained well warrants the warning to others.

Athletic shirts- Like Underarmor, Nike, etc are designed to wick away moisture from your body and hold that moisture within the material. Same can be said when your working with chemicals that release vapors into the air. These shirts will wick away that vapor and lock it into the shirt just like moisture.

My accident- I was wearing one of these shirts while working with floor stripper. It was during the winter so I was indoors with the doors and windows closed, and I was working with a relatively small amount of the chemical. (Stripping a kitchen floor 10 by 10) My shirt wicked away the vapors from the floor stripper without my knowledge. 4 hours later I was building a fire in my fireplace and when I went to light it . . . . poof! I was consumed by flames as if I was standing in wet gasoline. (No kidding) My shirt caught fire and I was completely engulfed by flame within half a second.

End result, I went to the ER and then transferred to a local burn unit with 2nd/3rd degree burns over 22% of my upper body. I spent 3 weeks and underwent several surgeries to repair the damage. The burn unit folks said they see about one of these a month, involving athletic shirts and working with strong chemicals like floor and paint strippers.

Just passing along the info I wish I had at the time.

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Hand got burnt trying to pull the athletic shirt off my body when it caught faire.
 
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Sorry to hear about this but it is good information for the rest of us. You make it through Iraq then come home and set yourself on fire. It isn't funny by any means but I hope you can can see some of the ironey in it. A friend that owns an auto repair shop was was working on an old Datsun 3000. Bad fuel connection sprayed him down and then a spark set the car and him on fire. He went through several months of recovery, skin grafts, all of the fun stuff. He's on his third hip joint replacement and one of the most optomistic people I know. Keep going and take care of yourself.
 
Wow, Thank you so very much for passing on that information. I am sorry for the pain and suffering you went through. This is really important information. I never wear synthetics because I set myself on fire with grinders on the regular. I also use solvents routinely. I as a rule wear cotton and wool when cold. I have seen plastics melt onto people. its bad.

I cannot thank you enough for passing on this information.
 
I met a guy in Tampa who got burned up bad using chemical solvent. He was in his garage and was spraying down some grease-covered work shirts. His garage was open a foot or two, but it wasn't letting out enough fumes. His water heater clicked on and boom. A small spark or flame can ignite fumes fast. I have done some spray painting in my large unfinished basement. It's worth cutting off the water heater/pilot light, heater, ac unit, etc., as well as keeping windows open with fans going -- until all the fumes are gone. Even then, I know it's not a safe practice. I can't think of any worse way to get injured than a severe burn.

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully a few people will be more careful from your story. I'm certain that does not make what you went through any better, but know that all of us DIYers feel for you.
 
Damn dude.. burns are no fun.. I am well aware.. 3 weeks in a burn unit and some nice skin grafts to go with it..

Glad you are ok and thanks for the info.. I would never have thought of such a thing...
 
They cut mine off my leg, they gave me two choices, from my leg or my butt, being as they were putting it on the back of my hands I didn't think anyone wanted to be shaking my butt..
 
This is my second round with a serious burn. I was involved in a diesel tanker explosion in the sand box, but my injuries were superficial- lost my hair, eye lashes, eye brows, I was covered in black crap, and I had minor burns to the areas of my body not covered by my uniform/ body armor. They rushed me to the field hospital but it looked worse than it actually was. I still had to stay in hospital overnight, but it was nothing compared to this latest burn.

Burn care/ plastic surgery has really evolved over the last 10 years. Skin graphs are no longer the go to they once were. You still might need one, but not in every case. In my case a plastic surgeon cut away all the various layers of skin that were effected, and then treated the good skin with some silver stuff before stapling pig skin over my existing skin to insulate/ protect it while it grows back.

The whole process is extremely painful, but they have come a long way in terms of burn care. So be careful with ventilation and athletic shirts, I wouldn't want anyone to go through what just happen to me.
 
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Thanks for the post on this. I would never have thought something like that would happen. On the plus side, I can't afford to wear Under Armor brand, although I'm sure it's not just their brand.
 
Holy crap man.............Burns are awful. And dangerous (infection) not to mention painful. I hope you recover with minimal scarring. Thanks for the PSA....
 
This is good information to know...Sorry you had to endure the pain in order for us to get the message.

I'm making this a sticky...This is a year old post and it's the first I'm seeing it...It should be at the top of the list.
 
You can also get chemical burns from things like gasoline if left in contact with the skin for very long. I was heading to pickup a girl for a date when the clean out petcock on the bottom of my 52 chev pickup fuel tank got plugged up with Orange Silicone (boy lesson learned) anyway in the process of digging that crap out of the valve I ended up having a wet shirt sleeve for over 45 min. By the time I got to the girls house her mother a nurse made me strip off the shirt (even though the wet gas had dried) and when I took the shirt off my right arm it was bright red. She dragged me into the kitchen and washed the area a bunch of times with cold water. She said it was to prevent the burn from continuing and really messing up my arm.

These kinds of warning are always a good thing you never know when some ones inexperienced enough to not have a clue something they are about to do can have bad consequence's.

I always wear 100% cotton Tee's under my shop coat or coveralls.
 
Wow! Dang we have so many airline mechs at work that wear those type shirts (part of the uniform) I did earlier in life and still have some. Thank goodness the pirates disease (sunken chest) has prevented me from wearing them anymore. What a great PSA about the dangers of that type of shirt. Glad to hear your healing up.
 
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