The last 2 times my girlfriend has been out to the woods with me she has had a severe allergic reaction. Her face and neck goes red and swells badly. This is so bad that she has to go to A&E and get steroids for a week. It looks like a chemical burn. We tried to eliminate what may cause it. We thought firstly that it may be the new sleeping bag she was using. It was arctic army surplus. We washed it then she slept in it at home for a week without problem. We went out this weekend and again she had a reaction.
I did a little research and now believe she is allergic to woodsmoke. We saw the out of hours GP and he supported our beliefs. He also asked what wood we were burning. Mainly willow and a little elder. He said elder is pretty noxious to burn.
I consider myself experienced with camp fires but my research really opened my eyes. I learned a huge amount about fire-craft from doing research:
If the camp fire is smoking, it is burning inefficiently. The smoke is poorly burned wood. The smoke has some nasty toxins. They give an excellent table of chemical composition and toxicity here: http://ehs.sph.berkeley.edu/krsmith/publications/HC woodsmoke report Mar 31 05(rev).pdf
Recommendations to reduce potential health hazards:
Avoid anything damp or rotten. They may be easy to collect and looks like a large amount of fuel but you will smoke the camp out doing it. If it is damp you can remove the bark, or place the damp wood near the fire to dry out.
ID the wood you intend to burn. Avoid burning elder. There is probably a list somewhere of what else not to burn which includes Yew and such.
Burn small. Start with the small stuff and work up to maximum wrist size. Small = more heat. Hotter fires = efficient burning. Efficient burning = less smoke. The fire will need more tending to keep adding fuel.
When I am next out I will go with the recommendations above to see how much a reduction in smoke I can achieve. I thought I would share my findings in case they are helpful to others and to prevent anyone else having allergic reactions to woodsmoke. Any additions or corrections appreciated.
I did a little research and now believe she is allergic to woodsmoke. We saw the out of hours GP and he supported our beliefs. He also asked what wood we were burning. Mainly willow and a little elder. He said elder is pretty noxious to burn.
I consider myself experienced with camp fires but my research really opened my eyes. I learned a huge amount about fire-craft from doing research:
If the camp fire is smoking, it is burning inefficiently. The smoke is poorly burned wood. The smoke has some nasty toxins. They give an excellent table of chemical composition and toxicity here: http://ehs.sph.berkeley.edu/krsmith/publications/HC woodsmoke report Mar 31 05(rev).pdf
Recommendations to reduce potential health hazards:
Avoid anything damp or rotten. They may be easy to collect and looks like a large amount of fuel but you will smoke the camp out doing it. If it is damp you can remove the bark, or place the damp wood near the fire to dry out.
ID the wood you intend to burn. Avoid burning elder. There is probably a list somewhere of what else not to burn which includes Yew and such.
Burn small. Start with the small stuff and work up to maximum wrist size. Small = more heat. Hotter fires = efficient burning. Efficient burning = less smoke. The fire will need more tending to keep adding fuel.
When I am next out I will go with the recommendations above to see how much a reduction in smoke I can achieve. I thought I would share my findings in case they are helpful to others and to prevent anyone else having allergic reactions to woodsmoke. Any additions or corrections appreciated.
thank you. 
