Silicosis is a disease of the lungs brought about by prolonged exposure to silica dust, especially in crystalline form. The dust is inhaled and settles in the lungs, where it causes scarring. This results in the lungs not performing to capacity and can even lead to death. It is estimated that more than a million people in the United States alone are at risk of developing silicosis and hundreds will perish from it each year.
Potential
Crystalline silica is common in concrete, sandstones, masonry, paint, rocks and many abrasives. Any occupation that involves breaking, drilling, cutting, crushing and cutting these types of materials puts you at risk for silicosis. The tiny particles of silica become airborne and are breathed in, precipitating the disease in some individuals. Since 1968, more than 14,000 people have died from the effects of silicosis. Professions involving highway and bridge construction, masonry, demolition work, mining, drywall and concrete finishing and rock crushing have the potential to lead to silicosis.
Types
Physicians classify silicosis into three types. One is chronic silicosis, which normally happens after 10 or more years of exposure to crystalline silica. It is the most common type of the disease. Accelerated silicosis comes about quicker, within five to ten years of exposure to higher levels of the dust. Acute silicosis can develop much more rapidly, after months and even weeks of breathing in very high levels of silica, with death often the result.
Effects
The silica dust particles embed themselves in the tiny sacs and ducts in the lungs, where they cannot be removed by the tiny hairy cilia or expelled by coughing like most foreign bodies that enter the lungs are. This will trigger a response from the lung's immune system with the result being scarring and lesions that make the lungs lose their elasticity. This makes breathing a chore.
Considerations
The symptoms of silicosis are a chronic cough along with shortness of breath. Like other lung diseases that involve fibrosis, the scarring of the lungs, there can be moderate to severe difficulties in breathing. A fever and weight loss can accompany these symptoms, which can worsen over time depending on the amount of silica particles the patient is still being exposed to.
Prevention/Solution
Your doctor will diagnose silicosis based on your work history and a number of tests. One will be a chest X-ray, and you may have to have a CT scan or an MRI or both to get a better look at the lungs. Breathing tests designed to measure your lung capacity will be warranted. There is no treatment for silicosis beyond making sure the exposure to silica dust is stopped right away. Attempts to ease the breathing problems with oxygen, cough medicines and inhalers will be made. Smokers will be told to quit immediately. People with this disease are at an elevated risk from tuberculosis because the body's immune system is compromised by the silica and has a hard time fighting off the bacteria that causes TB.
Related posts
Concrete Dust RemovalWhenever you work on a project that requires cutting, grinding or chipping concrete, you will make concrete dust. The primary ingredient of concrete dust is crystalline silica...
Black molds grow naturally in moist soil.Black mold, also referred to as mildew, can lead to a number of health problems even though the mold, and its microscopic spores, are natural parts of the...
Plaster can be used for arm casts, but compound shouldn't be.Plaster, also known as plaster of Paris, is a product with many uses, which include uses within the building industry. Merely mixing it...
Symptoms such as an inflamed nasal passage, body aches and a cold that worsens usually suggest a sinus infection caused by bacteria. However, sometimes sinus problems aren't due to bacterial infec...
Replace Chinese DrywallAfter hearing about Chinese drywall again in the news and what people are having to do to repair it is disheartening. Some are saying some have to replace the whole interior...
