Silicosis is a long-term lung disease caused by inhaling unsafe levels of silica dust, usually over a period of many years. People who work with certain materials may inhale a very fine dust that contains silica. Once inside the lungs, the dust particles can scar the lungs. This scarring is known as silicosis.
These commonly include bronchitis-like symptoms such as persistent cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. People also suffer from weakness, fatigue, fever, night sweats, leg swelling and bluish discoloration of the lips.
There's no cure for silicosis because the lung damage can't be reversed. Treatment aims to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition may continue to get worse, leading to further lung damage and serious disability, although this may happen very slowly over many years.
One of the most common forms is black lung disease, also known as miner's lung. It's caused by breathing in coal dust. Another is brown lung, which comes from working around dust from cotton or other fibers. Other types of dusts that can cause pneumoconiosis include silica and asbestos.
Silica dust particles become trapped in lung tissue causing inflammation and scarring. The particles also reduce the lungs' ability to take in oxygen. This condition is called silicosis. Silicosis results in permanent lung damage and is a progressive, debilitating, and sometimes fatal disease.
Dust reactions for non-high-risk individuals can include eye irritation, sneezing, coughing, hay fever, and asthma attacks. Individuals with adverse effects from dust may experience allergic reactions, asthma attacks, or severe breathing problems. Adverse long-term effects can result in heart or lung diseases.
In some studies, sneezing, coughing, eye irritation, lung tissue swelling, asthma and throat infections were found to be more prevalent among individuals exposed to occupational dust. Moreover, the symptoms associated with impaired lung function may lead to occupational lung diseases (6, 7).
Its water content is further absorbed down in the large intestines. This is not the route taken by a dust particle inhaled in the body. Therefore, the reversal of inhaled dust by swallowing milk is physiologically impossible.
Warm water with a pinch of black salt is effective in flushing out toxins from the body. It helps in dislodging dust particles from the throat.
Dust Allergies. People who have dust allergies are familiar with sneezing—but sneezing isn't the only uncomfortable symptom. Dust allergies also give many people a stuffy or runny nose, or cause their eyes to itch or become red and watery.
What are the symptoms of silicosis? The main symptoms of silicosis are shortness of breath after exercising, chest pain, a harsh, dry cough and tiredness. But in the early stages of silicosis, there may be no symptoms. The symptoms become severe as the condition gets worse.
If the person avoids further exposure to moldy dust, the signs and symptoms usually decrease after 12 hours, but they can last up to two weeks. Serious attacks can last as long as 12 weeks. The symptoms are sometimes confused with pneumonia.
Grate ginger (a medium-sized piece), add a tsp (or more) of honey and a few drops of lemon juice in water and put it to a boil. Reduce the mixture to half and strain in a cup. Sip it warm to detoxify your lungs naturally.
Honey and warm water: The honey warm water drink is effectively great to help your lungs fight pollutants. This is so because honey has anti-inflammatory properties, which is effective in reducing inflammation.
Paint and milk
Back in the day, painters used to drink milk in the morning as a matter of course. This was not to line their stomach prior to a drinking binge. Before my time, they drank milk to coat their stomachs as protection against lead paint fumes.
Dust buildup can cause serious health problems, according to Johns Hopkins Hospital lung expert Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, including serious lung infections and in rare cases, even death. “A good inhalation of dust could be life threatening depending on someone's asthma exacerbation,” Galiatsatos said.
“Long-term health is intertwined with sleep.” When you breathe in allergens like dust, your body recognizes these tiny particles as unwanted intruders and launches an inflammatory response. This causes uncomfortable swelling and irritation in your nasal passages — aka allergic rhinitis.
Your lung function improves within two weeks to three months after the last cigarette. During the first year after quitting, coughing and shortness of breath decrease, and your lungs become better at cleaning themselves to reduce the risk of infection.
Dust particles and dust-containing macrophages collect in the lung tissues, causing injury to the lungs. The amount of dust and the kinds of particles involved influence how serious the lung injury will be. For example, after the macrophages swallow silica particles, they die and give off toxic substances.
In the Dust Bowl, about 7,000 people, men, women and especially small children lost their lives to “dust pneumonia.” At least 250,000 people fled the Plains.