Pneumoconiosis is a systemic disease that mainly causes diffuse fibrosis (scar) of lung tissue by inhaling productive dust for a long time in occupational activities and staying in the lung.
Pneumoconiosis can be divided into inorganic pneumoconiosis and organic pneumoconiosis according to the types of inhaled dust. Pneumoconiosis caused by inhaling inorganic dust in production labor is called inorganic pneumoconiosis.
Most pneumoconiosis is inorganic pneumoconiosis. Pneumoconiosis caused by inhaling organic dust is called organic pneumoconiosis, such as cotton pneumoconiosis and farmer's lung.
There are twelve kinds of pneumoconiosis in China: silicosis, coal worker's pneumoconiosis, electric ink pneumoconiosis, carbon ink pneumoconiosis, talc pneumoconiosis, cement pneumoconiosis, mica pneumoconiosis, Potter's pneumoconiosis, aluminum pneumoconiosis, welder's pneumoconiosis and foundry worker's pneumoconiosis.
[Edit this paragraph] Clinical manifestations of pneumoconiosis
Pneumoconiosis has no specific clinical manifestations, and its clinical manifestations are mostly related to complications.
1. The early cough of pneumoconiosis patients is not obvious, but with the development of the disease course, patients are often complicated with chronic bronchitis, and late patients are often complicated with lung infection, which can obviously aggravate cough. Cough is related to season, climate, etc.
2, expectoration is mainly caused by the continuous removal of dust by the respiratory system. Generally, the amount of expectoration is not much, mostly gray and thin sputum. If complicated with pulmonary infection and chronic bronchitis, the amount of sputum is obviously increased, and the sputum is yellow, sticky or massive. It's usually hard to cough up.
3. Patients with chest pain and pneumoconiosis often feel chest pain, and there is no correlation or parallel relationship between chest pain and clinical manifestations of pneumoconiosis. Different parts, and often change, are mostly limited. Generally, it is dull pain, but also swelling pain, needle prick pain and so on.
4. Dyspnea With the aggravation of pulmonary fibrosis, the effective breathing area decreases, the ratio of ventilation/blood flow is unbalanced, and dyspnea is gradually aggravated. The occurrence of complications can obviously aggravate the degree and development speed of dyspnea.
5, hemoptysis is relatively rare, but it can cause mucosal vascular damage due to long-term chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract, accompanied by a small amount of bloodshot sputum; It may also increase blood volume due to the dissolution and rupture of large fibrotic lesions and the damage to blood vessels.
6. In addition to the above respiratory symptoms, there may be different degrees of systemic symptoms, and digestive system dysfunction is common.
Mine dust is very harmful to human health and production. Mine pneumoconiosis, such as silicosis and coal lung disease, is the biggest threat to mine occupational health, which must be paid great attention to by the person in charge of mining enterprises and comprehensive dust prevention measures should be taken.
(A) comprehensive dust prevention measures in mines
Over the years, China's mines have accumulated rich dust-proof experience according to local conditions, adhered to comprehensive dust-proof measures combining technology and management, and achieved remarkable dust-proof effects. Its basic content can be summarized as the eight-character policy: wind, water, safety, security, reform, management, teaching and inspection. That is, ventilation and dust prevention, wet operation, dust source closure and purification, personal protection, transformation of process equipment to reduce dust production, strengthening scientific management and publicity and regular inspection.
(2) Personal protection
After taking various dust prevention measures, the dust concentration can reach the hygienic standard in most cases, but there are still a few fine dust suspended in the air. Therefore, field workers must wear dust masks, do not smoke, eat, take a shower after work, and do not take their work clothes home, which is an indispensable and very important measure in comprehensive dust prevention measures.
Pneumoconiosis complications
Long-term exposure of pneumoconiosis patients to productive dust damages the defense function of respiratory system, obviously reduces the resistance of patients, and often causes many different complications.
1, respiratory tract infection is mainly pulmonary infection, which is a common complication of pneumoconiosis patients.
2. Spontaneous pneumothorax is rare. For the rupture of lung tissue and visceral pleura, air enters the pleura to form pneumothorax, which can be divided into three types: closed pneumothorax, tension pneumothorax and traffic pneumothorax.
3. Workers exposed to tuberculosis dust, especially those exposed to silica dust, are more susceptible to tuberculosis than the general population.
4. Lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma are mainly found in workers exposed to asbestos and patients with asbestosis.
5. Chronic pulmonary heart disease is found in some advanced patients. This is because chronic bronchitis narrows the airway, increases ventilation resistance, produces obstructive pulmonary disease, and increases pulmonary artery pressure, leading to chronic pulmonary heart disease.
6. Respiratory failure, upper respiratory tract and lung infection, pneumothorax and other inducements are the main causes of decompensated respiratory failure, and the abuse of sedative and hypnotic drugs is also one of the causes of respiratory failure in pneumoconiosis patients.