Guitar players - strings and other metals

[Guest guest]

I have been putting off researching this for sometime, I know its

nothing but bad news. I can't say I know too many musicians that care

much about their health or even know if they are metal(outside of the

music,hehe) toxic.

Playing guitar leaves a horrible smell or taste of the end of your

fingers after playing guitar. It sucks. Even after washing my hands

vigorously it lingers on my fingertips rather bad. I remember the

flat stainless steel were not as bad when i used them. But the nickel

round wound sound way better. I know this is a problem... I can't

give up guitar. But I am concerned about other metals on my fingers

that I do not know of. Anyone got any ideas of other possible metal

problems in these things? I need to start thinking about this...

because it is a source of a problem(sadly). I can not keep ignoring

this. Its hard to get the metal off the tips of your fingers. It is

going to get on things and contaminate... I could keep playing time at

longer sessions, once a day and then hit the shower. That usually

does the trick removing the stink off my fingers..

On the flip side...some info for other concerned guitar players(if any

on this list) There are some strings called Elixer Nanowebs. I hear

amazing things about them. They have a coating on the strings which

prevent corrosion and make them last longer. I rarely hear bad things

about them and I hear they really do sound good for months. They are

not cheap though. I am hoping that this coating prevents or reduces

the amount of metal residue left on my finger tips.

[Guest guest]

Geesh that does suck Josh.. I would Definitely look into those

coated ones. Just a story to show how metals can affect us..

not to bumb you out , but reality is reality eh?

I heard of a man who had become paralysed ,This was quite a

while ago and he had a great progressive doctor. This doctor

did a good work up on this man and found out his aluminum

was too high..

The way he put two and two together was that this man had

been using a drying soap for his acne ,,He just put it on

his face. pretty well every day. It was just a wash, ie it was

not left on to soak. This is what had caused this man to

become paralysed..

THe moral of the story... Anything on the skin does soak into

the body.. Sorry but you cannot avoid that your fingertips

are skin.

Nanci

[Guest guest]

Just some thoughts about this. First of all, I would find out what exactly the

strings are made of, I'm assuming a mixture of metals? And I would also find

out what the coated ones are coated with, because your fingers will be in

contact with that too, and may be some sort of chemical. And second, is there

any way you could take your fingers, to reduce exposure? I'm guessing that will

probably interfere with playing, but wanted to throw it out there.

Now on the flipside of this. If you think about it, your fingertips are a very

small area of your total skin/body, so maybe there really isn't all that much

absorption going on? And if taking a shower gets it off, then that's what I

would do. I would also think that soaking your hands, like if you were washing

dishes, would take it off also.

Have you had a hair test done? I guess I'd be curious to see if any of the

metals that the strings are made of would show up in your hair test. If they're

not elevated, then the absorption is probably rather small, and may not be

anything to worry too much about.

I think it's good for us to be vigilant and look for sources of exposure, but we

also need to be practical and realize we can't avoid everything either. And I

would hate to see you give up something you love, music and guitar playing,

because of this. So look into the coated strings, wash your fingers as well as

you can, and maybe consider doing saunas to help remove some of these metals.

But don't give up your passion.----------Jackie

In frequent-dose-chelation Josh Hulgan wrote:

I have been putting off researching this for sometime, I know its

nothing but bad news. I can't say I know too many musicians that care

much about their health or even know if they are metal(outside of the

music,hehe) toxic.

Playing guitar leaves a horrible smell or taste of the end of your

fingers after playing guitar. It sucks. Even after washing my hands

vigorously it lingers on my fingertips rather bad. I remember the

flat stainless steel were not as bad when i used them. But the nickel

round wound sound way better. I know this is a problem... I can't

give up guitar. But I am concerned about other metals on my fingers

that I do not know of. Anyone got any ideas of other possible metal

problems in these things? I need to start thinking about this...

because it is a source of a problem(sadly). I can not keep ignoring

this. Its hard to get the metal off the tips of your fingers. It is

going to get on things and contaminate... I could keep playing time at

longer sessions, once a day and then hit the shower. That usually

does the trick removing the stink off my fingers..

On the flip side...some info for other concerned guitar players(if any

on this list) There are some strings called Elixer Nanowebs. I hear

amazing things about them. They have a coating on the strings which

prevent corrosion and make them last longer. I rarely hear bad things

about them and I hear they really do sound good for months. They are

not cheap though. I am hoping that this coating prevents or reduces

the amount of metal residue left on my finger tips.

[Guest guest]

I wonder if you could use something absorbent to rub your fingers

against between songs. It could be as simple as a damp cloth, or

another idea would be a ball of wax. You can also get one of those

gadgets in kitchen supply stores that is supposed to absorb the odor

of garlic from your hands, but I think those are metal, so maybe would

not absorb metallic smell.

I found this discussion - someone calls it the " stinky pinky "

http://ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1199

--

[Guest guest]

Great info, thank you to all who replied.

I doubt that elixer(coated strings) is going to give out exactly what

their trick is. It is not on the site, but i do know some people to

ask who use these strings frequently. I will do that now

I do not think something absorbent would work. I am going to try both

flat(stainless steal) and the elixer coated strings. I will see how

that gos.

The medical tape sounds like a good idea! If I mummy it up right(and

trip with scissors) I think that would do just the trick! Thanks!

Also, about that bass player and something mentioned on that thread.

I have seen that blackish stain on fingers before. Not my own, I have

dry hands. Not sweaty at all. Its the sweaty guys who get that.

Would moisture increase absorption and transport?

The only hair test I have had done was by green peace 2.5 years ago

and it was not very thorough. I can't remember what else it tested

for(besides mercury) but it was minimal. Not a good test. I think it

was just $20. But I too am very curious about seeing if these same

metals pop up in a hair test. I have always played these types of

strings. I will test in the near future and post the comparison.

Thanks a bunch!

>

> > I wonder if you could use something absorbent to rub your fingers

> > against between songs. It could be as simple as a damp cloth, or

> > another idea would be a ball of wax. You can also get one of those

> > gadgets in kitchen supply stores that is supposed to absorb the odor

> > of garlic from your hands, but I think those are metal, so maybe would

> > not absorb metallic smell.

>

> Hi I missed the initial email, but wanted to share something.

> I client of mine developed skin cancer lesions shortly after having

dental

> implants (not the first time I have seen cancer developing after this

> procedure, it is about the 5th in the last 3 years).

> To cut a long story short, he is a base player and would have black

stained

> fingers after each performance.

> He is also mercury toxic with deranged mineral transport.

> His solution was to buy some medical tape and tape each finger. This

solved

> his problem and he removed black covered tape instead.

> Since his dental cleanup he has not developed another skin lesion.

> DeanSA

>