Help! DS with bad headache (Day 3) - VOC exposure??

[Return2thebasic]

I'm not sure if I'm overthinking this.

DH bought a desk on Etsy and had to varnish it himself. So he's done a few coats and left it to dry/air for about two weeks (as I insisted) before he put it into DS's bedroom where he work during the day. He didn't tell me when he moved it in. If he did, I would have asked him to give it another week or two just make sure the smell goes away completely.

I couldn't ask him to take it apart without a good reason. It did smell a bit, but not overwhelmingly. I was just not happy DS would sleep in a small room with the windows shut at night for 11 hours with this piece emitting harmful gas. But I let it be, hoping it's not enough to do anything.

Two nights in,DS (10) suddenly complain about headache Saturday morning. We gave him some Calpol and thought it would go away on its own like how usually it happened. But he fell quite unwell in the afternoon, shaky, cold, feeling sick and tummy a bit achy. This carried on up to now. He has to skip school and still feeling the headache and the nausea, but at a lesser level. We have to leave bucket next to him day and night just in case.

He's drunk lots of water as I encouraged him, but barely had much food since Saturday evening. Just a little here and there. He's not terrible as he was in the first two days, but it seems dragged a bit too long as just a headache.

I'm aware there are some flu virus and some powerful tummy bugs circulating around at the moment. But this does feel like any of them...

It sounds a bit silly to come over here to ask, but is there anyone who has some insights to tell me if this might be related to the VOC emission from that desk? (I asked DH to disassemble it and put it in our bedroom to air since Saturday. We don't have spare room to do it.)

Thanks

Is his temperature up? That would indicate a viral infection if it is. Otherwise, it could very well be the VOCs. I'm chemically sensitive and would react in a bad way if I had to be in a room with them. Make sure he's in a well ventilated area from now on. Stick the desk outside, covered up to protect from rain, and make sure it's safe before moving indoors.

@BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation, thanks. He doesn't have temperature and I tested him for Covid too (he had it already back in early Jan).

I don't think DH would be happy to leave it outside. He's quite precious about this desk and has already felt unhappy with my making fuss about the voc. But I told him I would sleep on the sofa, as the air really irritates my throat and makes my couch worse...

My cough, I meant.

There are warnings on the sides of the tins and your dh should take it seriously. I hope you and ds recover soon and dh learns his lesson.

The varnish product doesn't state any healthy effect/implications. I tried to find more information, but all I found was a statement that VOC level is high (20%-50%) for this product. There's no information about how long it shall be left to air.

DH still doesn't believe the varnish was something worth so much concern. He put all down to bugs and flu. He got agitated and even said to me I shouldn't persuade him to varnish the desk to begin with! Utterly irrational!

It says in the Health & Safety part that maximum ventilation should be used. It's no use him being butthurt, some people react to these things more than others. It's just logical that something with strong fumes is going to cause a headache and sickliness.

Perhaps he's high off the fumes and not thinking clearly 🤔 😄