Symptoms of silicosis, these are the most typical

Silicosis is a common manifestation of pneumoconiosis, which is caused by long-term inhalation of dust. It will cause lesions in the lungs. This disease is more common among miners. People with silicosis will experience symptoms such as difficulty breathing, coughing and sputum, chest tightness, hemoptysis, and physical weakness.

1. Dyspnea: It is a gradual and slowly progressive dyspnea, which occurs most often after activities. Patients first feel shortness of breath or chest pressure when exerting force, and then with a little effort. Similar symptoms are rarely seen at rest. It is mostly due to pulmonary fibrosis, especially combined with emphysema, and may also be caused by combined infection. The presence and severity of shortness of breath are not necessarily parallel to the degree of lung function damage and X-ray manifestations. In the late stage, patients may have extremely severe dyspnea, and feel short of breath during slight activities or even at rest, and cannot lie flat.

2. Cough and sputum : People with a history of smoking may have symptoms of bronchitis such as cough and sputum. The cough mainly occurs in the morning, and sometimes occurs intermittently during the day and night. In the later stage, there are often persistent paroxysmal coughs, which may be caused by the stimulation of silicotic nodules on the nerve receptors in the trachea and bronchus. There is no sputum, or only a small amount of sticky sputum. Purulent sputum may appear in secondary infection, and the cough worsens. Simple silicosis with hemoptysis is rare, and there is generally no wheezing, unless it is combined with chronic bronchitis or allergic asthma. However, some patients have tracheal stenosis, twisting, and fixation due to fibrosis, especially in the late stage patients or when breathing hard.

3. Hemoptysis: Hemoptysis occurs occasionally, usually with blood in the sputum. When combined with tuberculosis and bronchiectasis, there may be repeated hemoptysis or even severe hemoptysis.

4. Chest tightness and chest pain: mostly needle-like pain in the upper and middle part of the chest, or persistent dull pain, often occurs on rainy days or when the climate changes, and has nothing to do with breathing, exercise, or body position.

5. Systemic damage : Not obvious unless combined with pulmonary tuberculosis or congestive heart failure. Shortness of breath at rest should be suspected of having severe emphysema or extrapulmonary diseases. In addition to respiratory symptoms, patients with advanced silicosis often have symptoms such as loss of appetite, physical weakness, weight loss, and night sweats.

Signs:

There are usually no physical signs of silicosis in the early stages, but in the late stages, patients may develop signs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: such as barrel chest, clear percussion sounds, prolonged expiratory sounds on auscultation, weakened breath sounds, etc. When combined with infection, dry and wet up sounds can be heard in both lungs. In the late stages, when combined with cor pulmonale and heart failure, a series of corresponding signs can be seen.