Different Types of Silicosis
The majority of workers filing for industrial disease compensation are suffering from different forms of lung diseases. A good example of personal injury at work lung problems is Silicosis. Silicosis is a continuous condition which is caused by inhalation of silica particles. Silica is a naturally occurring substance usually found in sand, quartz, flint, and other minerals used to fabricate a number of different materials such as glasses, abrasives, concrete, and so on.
Silicosis usually affects the people working in mines, stone cutting, glass fabrication, and construction workers, etc. This condition results to nodular lesions and lung fibrosis. It takes about 10 to 15 years for the symptoms and signs to manifest. Silicosis also has many classifications such as: simple chronic silicosis, accelerated silicosis, complicated silicosis, and acute silicosis.
Simple chronic silicosis is the effect of breathing in small quantities of silica particles for extended period of time. It often causes lung inflammation and the growth of chest lymph nodes. The patient may experience shortness of breath and chronic coughing. The symptoms may show after 10-30 years from the first contact with silica particles.
Accelerated silicosis sets in 5 to 10 years after the first contact with high quantity of silica particles. The symptoms are the same with simple chronic silicosis, but the progress is personal injury at work at a quicker rate. Accelerated silicosis patients are in danger of acquiring a more complicated disease.
Complicated silicosis is the severe type of silicosis leading to progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) or the buildup of thick fibrosis around the upper lung zone. Extreme cases of fibrosis can reach more than a centimeter in thickness. Complicated silicosis has a probability to acquire other types of lung problems such as some specific autoimmune diseases, fungal infection, and lung cancer. A person suffering from accelerated silicosis is probably to suffer complicated silicosis.
Acute silicosis is a result of being exposed to massive amount of silica dust in a short period. It also starts within a matter personal injury at work of weeks to 5 years time, starting from the first contact with silica dust. The symptoms will start to manifest rapidly, causing shortness of breath, weight loss, coughing, and sometimes resulting in death.
Silicosis may take decades for its symptoms to manifest, initial symptoms could be weight loss, loss of appetite, cyanosis, difficulty in breathing, and so on. An X-ray test can settle the possibility if the person has silicosis. This is an irreversible disease; the use of mask and other protective measures is important when handling materials which contains silica.
Silicosis usually affects the people working in mines, stone cutting, glass fabrication, and construction workers, etc. This condition results to nodular lesions and lung fibrosis. It takes about 10 to 15 years for the symptoms and signs to manifest. Silicosis also has many classifications such as: simple chronic silicosis, accelerated silicosis, complicated silicosis, and acute silicosis.
Simple chronic silicosis is the effect of breathing in small quantities of silica particles for extended period of time. It often causes lung inflammation and the growth of chest lymph nodes. The patient may experience shortness of breath and chronic coughing. The symptoms may show after 10-30 years from the first contact with silica particles.
Accelerated silicosis sets in 5 to 10 years after the first contact with high quantity of silica particles. The symptoms are the same with simple chronic silicosis, but the progress is personal injury at work at a quicker rate. Accelerated silicosis patients are in danger of acquiring a more complicated disease.
Complicated silicosis is the severe type of silicosis leading to progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) or the buildup of thick fibrosis around the upper lung zone. Extreme cases of fibrosis can reach more than a centimeter in thickness. Complicated silicosis has a probability to acquire other types of lung problems such as some specific autoimmune diseases, fungal infection, and lung cancer. A person suffering from accelerated silicosis is probably to suffer complicated silicosis.
Acute silicosis is a result of being exposed to massive amount of silica dust in a short period. It also starts within a matter personal injury at work of weeks to 5 years time, starting from the first contact with silica dust. The symptoms will start to manifest rapidly, causing shortness of breath, weight loss, coughing, and sometimes resulting in death.
Silicosis may take decades for its symptoms to manifest, initial symptoms could be weight loss, loss of appetite, cyanosis, difficulty in breathing, and so on. An X-ray test can settle the possibility if the person has silicosis. This is an irreversible disease; the use of mask and other protective measures is important when handling materials which contains silica.