I don't know if this has ever been brought up in the community, but I think it should be addressed. I recently met up with a former stuffed animal maker who worked with a lot of faux fur for many years. She informed me that later on, she found she could no longer work in the faux fur environment, because she got horrible respiratory problems! I had never heard of such an issue, but I do have many instances while cutting furs where I do get sneeze-y, or get it trapped in my mouth. No fun!
It seems that working with faux fur for long periods of time, especially with the luxury shag type, could possibly damage your upper respiratory. Kind of like black lung, except with plastic fur fibers (though not as harsh as black lung, but it could cause chest issues later in life).
I'm pretty certain that if you're only going to make one or two fursuits in your lifetime, it won't harm you. But if you're thinking of building fursuits for a living, or ARE building fursuits for a living, you HAVE to take in effect that you could possibly be breathing in fibers into your lungs, and it could cause you to have a somewhat chronic cough later in life!
I've known a few fursuit builders that use a respirator to help prevent fur from getting trapped in their lungs when cutting, but I still have the feeling that a lot of craftsmen don't realize this and are at a risk of not being able to do their job as years go on.
I just wanted to post this to alert community members that there is a certain risk if you consider building these costumes! Please make sure you take care of your lungs and protect your body while building these wonderful costumes, or you could risk never being able to do this type of work again!
It seems that working with faux fur for long periods of time, especially with the luxury shag type, could possibly damage your upper respiratory. Kind of like black lung, except with plastic fur fibers (though not as harsh as black lung, but it could cause chest issues later in life).
I'm pretty certain that if you're only going to make one or two fursuits in your lifetime, it won't harm you. But if you're thinking of building fursuits for a living, or ARE building fursuits for a living, you HAVE to take in effect that you could possibly be breathing in fibers into your lungs, and it could cause you to have a somewhat chronic cough later in life!
I've known a few fursuit builders that use a respirator to help prevent fur from getting trapped in their lungs when cutting, but I still have the feeling that a lot of craftsmen don't realize this and are at a risk of not being able to do their job as years go on.
I just wanted to post this to alert community members that there is a certain risk if you consider building these costumes! Please make sure you take care of your lungs and protect your body while building these wonderful costumes, or you could risk never being able to do this type of work again!