Dust pneumonia is a serious lung infection caused by excessive exposure to dust, often from dust storms. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, cough, chest pain, fever, and shock. Treatment involves prescribed medications, oxygen masks, antibiotics, and intravenous fluids.
Dust pneumonia is a serious lung infection that develops from excessive exposure to dust. Often, this type of infection occurs when dust and dirt get into the respiratory system from a dust storm and interfere with the proper functioning of the lungs. The disease causes symptoms such as difficulty breathing, cough and chest pain. It can also cause fever and shock. If left untreated, this type of pneumonia can prove fatal.
Most people are exposed to dust and dirt on a daily basis and may inhale some from time to time. If an individual has excessive exposure to dust and dirt, however, and inhales too much of it, they can develop a lung infection known as dust pneumonia. This occurs when inhaled dust and dirt enter the lungs in sufficient quantities to stop the tiny hairs, called cilia, from moving particles through the lungs. This results in inflammation and infection which, if left untreated, can be life-threatening.
This type of pneumonia is unlikely to develop from daily exposure to small amounts of dust or even when a person cleans a particularly dusty or dirty room. Instead, it’s typically the result of inhaling dust and dirt during a dust storm. These storms cause large amounts of dust and dirt to be blown into the air, making it difficult for a person to avoid inhaling the particles.
Symptoms of dust pneumonia typically include coughing, wheezing, and chest pain. Usually, this starts as a dry cough that attempts to move dust particles through the lungs. When this does not happen, infection sets in and a person may start passing mucus that has a muddy appearance and may take on a yellowish or greenish color. Along with the cough, a person may experience progressively difficult breathing and chest pain may also develop.
Fever and septic shock can also occur when a person has dust pneumonia. While this typically isn’t the first sign a person has, it could be the first sign of a serious infection. Septic shock can also develop if the lung infection progresses. This advanced symptom is a result of the infection spreading in the bloodstream.
Treatment for dust pneumonia often involves the use of prescribed medications to make breathing easier and oxygen masks to help the patient get an adequate amount of oxygen in each breath. Antibiotics may also be prescribed to help fight the infection. Often, patients are also given intravenous fluids.
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