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Silicosis and coal workers' pneumoconiosis

Silicosis (pneumoconiosis) · Silikóza a pneumokonióza uhlokopů

What it is

Inhaled mineral dust — silica from stone, sand and engineered quartz, or coal — scars the lungs for good.

Symptoms & signs

  • Breathlessness that worsens over years
  • dry cough
  • tiredness
  • higher risk of tuberculosis and lung cancer
  • rapid disease in engineered-stone workers

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Sudden breathlessness or chest pain
  • call 112 / 911 now Blue lips or breathless at rest
  • see a doctor soon Cough over 3 weeks with fever, night sweats or weight loss
  • see a doctor soon Coughing up blood

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Stop the exposure — the only way to halt it
  • pulmonary rehabilitation
  • oxygen
  • TB screening and treatment
  • lung transplant in end stage

Natural & lifestyle

  • Wet cutting, extraction and respirators at work
  • stop smoking
  • vaccines against flu and pneumonia

Emerging & experimental

  • Nintedanib and pirfenidone (antifibrotics) in trials
  • whole-lung lavage for acute silicosis
  • a ban on engineered stone (Australia 2024)

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Tetrandrine (from Stephania root) — Chinese trials slow scarring; liver toxicity early / small studies
  • N-acetylcysteine — an antioxidant; small studies in dust lung disease early / small studies
  • Breathing exercises and salt caves (halotherapy) — comfort; no effect on scarring anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes