Pneumoconiosis

Pneumoconiosis is an occupational disease and type of restrictive lung disease. It does not involve necrotic (dead) tissue, so it is called noncaseating sometimes when reading. It is not infective, which means it is not spread between people. It is a progressive (gets worse with time) degenerative disorder.

It is caused by air pollution in the form of tiny particles. It was common among coal miners because they breath coal dust regularly during their work. Another type of pneumoconiosis is asbestosis, which is caused by breathing in asbestos fibers. Another example of pneumoconiosis is silicosis, caused by inhaling (breathing) very small silica particles in to the lungs.

All forms of pneumoconiosis shorten life, and have no cure. There is help in some countries for occupational diseases which a doctor, lawyer, or a work uni on or employer might be able to give out leaflets.

Indications

1. occupational dust risk: worked (as e.g. cleaner, insulation installer, factory or dangerous materials worker without PPE or proper ventilation)
2. shortness of breath (dyspnea)
3. chest X-ray may show the lung with a ground-glass appearance and typical signs of a restrictive lung disease, with consolidation, affecting the the subpleural space and broncovascular vessels
4. volcanoes: inside of volcanic ash or dust

Trivia

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is a fictional lung disease caused by the breathing-in of very small particles of sand or quartz dust found in volcanoes. It was first seen in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1936. It is "an artificial long word", invented in 1935 by Everett Smith, president of the National Puzzlers' League (N.P.L.), at its annual meeting.

Related pages

• Silicosis
• Asbestosis