What does Pneumoconiosis do with the health of the lungs?

Pneumoconiosis Definition

Pneumoconiosis is one of a group of interstitial lung diseases. It causes breathing issues as the dust particles block the passage of air into the lungs. Pneumoconiosis is an occupational lung disease. The survivor is likely to encounter these symptoms in the workplace. It is the kind of disease that affects the miners, builders, and other workers who have to remain at the workplace where the atmosphere carries a lot of dust. Over time, the dust gathers into the lungs. It, therefore, becomes hard to breathe. Pneumoconiosis is also called “black lung cancer” and “popcorn lung”. Till now there is no cure for this kind of disease. But, the symptoms of the disease can be treated by changing the environment.

Sunshine Hospital provides you with diagnosis services at its best. Be it any hard or complex-to-treat disorder or disease, the staff cooperates to follow the treatment and provide a peaceful environment to the patient. You can consult the doctors of Sunshine Hospital. They will let you have suggestions for your treatment with timely-made treatment procedures.

How Pneumoconiosis Affects Your body?

When you breathe dust, the dust particles get into the airway or deep into the lungs. It depends on the size and shape of the dust particles and how far they reach into the lungs. After the dust particles settle into the lungs, the immune system at first tries to get rid of the foreign particles. This prevents the lung from damage. This fighting of the immune system with dust particles causes inflammation. This kind of inflammation is so severe that it causes a condition called pulmonary fibrosis. If the inflammation or pulmonary fibrosis persists for a long time, the condition starts accumulating in the larger area of the lungs creating difficulty in breathing.

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The symptoms of pneumoconiosis start showing after getting exposed to a dusty area. It takes time to develop these symptoms. The most common symptoms are:

• Coughing with yellow or green mucus
• Difficulty in breathing
• Runny and stuffy nose along with heavy chest
• Feeling tired after getting exposed to dusty area
• Having sore ribs with the persistent condition of coughing
• Inactive lifestyle
• A wheezing or a whistling sound while you breathe.

If you have any of these persistent medical symptoms, it is the best time to connect with your healthcare provider.

Risk Factors Associated with Pneumoconiosis

Being affected by pneumoconiosis will create several risk factors. Getting exposed to harmful dusty areas is harmful in itself. Few of the examples of occupations that make workers exposed to dust particles and causes pneumoconiosis, include:

• plumbers, roofers, and builders
• coal miners
• textile workers

It is not always necessary that you may develop the symptoms of pneumoconiosis. Today, there are many places where safety gadgets and preventive measures are used to help a person live a healthy lifestyle. Many occupational and safety health organizations look after the health of employees working in dusty areas. They make sure that people working in such areas are free from any hazardous or chemical use.

Moreover, you can take the following steps to prevent the symptoms of pneumoconiosis:

• Maintaining down the level of dust
• ventilating the workplace with proper windows and doors
• Keeping a track of employees and their health issues
• Initiating the use of face masks and protective clothing
• Making a regular habit of washing hands and face before or after having the meal

Having exposure to high levels of dust and working place is harmful to health. It will surely increase the chances of pneumoconiosis. Furthermore, the casual habit of smoking can also lead to such medical conditions.

What are the possible complications of pneumoconiosis? 

There can be many complications that come with the particular disease of pneumoconiosis. These are:

• Heart failure due to the pressure inside the lungs
• Tuberculosis
• Lung cancer
• Respiratory failure

How Can You Prevent Pneumoconiosis?

There is no particular treatment for Pneumoconiosis. However, the chances of developing the complications can be reversed with certain preventive measures.

• Wearing a mask
• Washing the skin with sanitizer or any specified liquid
• Removal of dust from the clothing
• Washing face and the skin of arms or hands with water
• Not smoking
• Coordinating with the healthcare provider for the symptoms of pneumoconiosis
• Having a regular check on the physical exam
• Chances of developing flu are also higher when you are exposed to dust.  You can keep a track of your health status by checking for any kind of flu or pneumonia.
• Keeping track of any kind of infection like an ear or eye infection. Pneumococcal pneumonia is the type of infection that spreads from person to person. It can develop into life-threatening lung diseases also. There are certain types of vaccines for pneumococcal pneumonia in both children and adults. Consult your healthcare provider in case you need it.

Conclusion

The outlook for pneumoconiosis depends on its specific type and exposure to the level of the dust. Long-term exposure to dust can even increase the chances of lung cancer. However, the risk is higher in smokers. There can also be chances of occurrence of asbestosis. And because many workers fill the need of their job that has a high risk of pneumoconiosis, the majority of pneumoconiosis occurs in men.

Talking or consulting a healthcare provider is the best option. The thing that matters for the occurrence of any disease is to prevent it from rising. Talk to the doctors of Sunshine Hospital and get yourself treated against the signs or symptoms of pneumoconiosis.

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