Pulmonary Fibrosis

Pain 10/26/2011

Question:

I sand blasted parts for 3 weeks about 2 yrs ago and have been having trouble breathing,maliase,fitful sleep,pain in lower lung area.I have had ct,bronscope,x ray all clear but still having pain,does silicosis its self cause these symptoms are is the other diseaes you get from being exposed to silicosis making you weaker

Answer:

Silicosis can occur in patients who are exposed to silica dust over a long period of time. Generally, exposures longer than a few weeks are necessary to develop silicosis.
 
Typical symptoms of silicosis are cough and shortness of breath. Pain is not a normal symptom of silicosis.

Silicosis is diagnosed by a chest x-ray or a chest CT scan. Patients with silicosis severe enough to cause symptoms almost always have readily apparent abnormalities on chest CT scans. A normal chest CT would make silicosis highly unlikely.

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Response by:

James N Allen, Jr, MD Clinical Professor of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine College of Medicine The Ohio State University