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Location: Burns, Oregon
0 accepts/ 1 questions
Accept Rate: 0%
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While in the military in the late 60's, two different things happened that MAY have affected my long term health:
prolonged exposure to coal dust, and coal fumes in a barracks for three months. I went to sick call a few times and was told that I had "Fort Lewis Crud". No treatment, and told to get back to training. Very weak, continually coughing, and coughing up and blowing black snot.
While stationed in Belgium, after NATO had been expelled from France. We were re-building capacity, and had to make do with a lot of different functions. Our veterinary clinic had acquired a field x-ray unit, and a little lead sheeting, which we put on the walls, but had no aprons, etc. for personal protection. I performed anywhere from 1-5 x-rays per day, during the week, for just short of two years.
Any possible current health situtations from either of the above circumstances? |
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Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
Answers Given: 166
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This is definately one that you should discuss with your Physician about. Coal workers' Pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, is caused by inhaling coal dust, however, this is typically dust produced in coal mining.
With explosions, the pyramid get evenmore difficult. Nevertheless, to sum things up, your experience would be classified an Inhalation Injury. An Inhalation Injuriy is more serious and life-threatening problem in the pediatric population.
Thus, there are 3 primary mechanisms that lead to injury in SI are thermal damage, asphyxiation, and pulmonary irritation. Steam, volatile gases, explosive gases, and the aspiration of hot liquids provide some exceptions to being cooled by the time it reaches the carina, as moist air has a much greater heat-carrying capacity than dry air.
For the most part, there is a greater severity of injury to those persons with a history of respiratory illnesses, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), predisposes patients to respiratory insufficiency. For the healthly indivisual, 3 months may not be enough to cause any immediate threat to a patient's airway and respiratory status to only minor mucosal irritation.
There in no direct information of "Fort Lewis Crud" and neither is there any overseas infectious information available. Your Physician can give you more presice advice on how to treat and manage this Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult.
The black snot is nothing to worry about. This is only a sign indicating a healthy immune system. If there were any dust to get into you lung, this is the defence your immune system give to get rid of it.
Because of your immune system (blowing black snot) the dust wasn't allowed to enter into the lung and cause injury.
Hope this answers your question!
REFERENCE(S)
1. Wikipedia, Coal Dust (Online: The Wikipedia Foundation, Inc., 2006)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_dust
2. Towson University, Who Need's Medicine: 1st Line of Defense (Online: Baltimore, M.D., 2007) http://tiger.towson.edu/~rjones7/immune_system.htm
3. Christopher P Holstege,M.D., Smoke Inhalation (Online: eMedicineHealth Emergency Care Consumer Care, 2007) http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=59304&pa ge=1#Smoke Inhalation Overview
A person that won't TREAT you right, damn sure won't TEACH you right!
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