Farmers lung

[casemx 270]

Anyone on here diagnosed with it? I ve been in hospital for over two weeks now with pneumonia and they are wondering if I might have picked something up at work we don't have any animals and no hay so if I have I assume it's come from grain

 

[Gadget]

I had Cryptococcus once, they think that it was caused by breathing in dust from pigeon faeces and were surprised that I didn't have a pigeon loft.
I first was aware of it when I had pains in my back, it turns out that the fungus had destroyed 1/3 of my lungs and the pain was from where it had eaten through a rib! I was on fluconazole tablets for six months, my rib has healed up but I still have reduced lung capacity.
It showed up on xrays.

 

[casemx 270]

I had Cryptococcus once, they think that it was caused by breathing in dust from pigeon faeces and were surprised that I didn't have a pigeon loft.
I first was aware of it when I had pains in my back, it turns out that the fungus had destroyed 1/3 of my lungs and the pain was from where it had eaten through a rib! I was on fluconazole tablets for six months, my rib has healed up but I still have reduced lung capacity.
It showed up on xrays.

Sorry can't like that

 

[Sharpy]

I had Cryptococcus once, they think that it was caused by breathing in dust from pigeon faeces and were surprised that I didn't have a pigeon loft.
I first was aware of it when I had pains in my back, it turns out that the fungus had destroyed 1/3 of my lungs and the pain was from where it had eaten through a rib! I was on fluconazole tablets for six months, my rib has healed up but I still have reduced lung capacity.
It showed up on xrays.

Holy f**k! Thanks for sharing.

 

[TheTallGuy]

Father had it back in '96 I think it was. Combination of dust & spores etc from onions was the prime suspect.

 

[puppet]

Anyone on here diagnosed with it? I ve been in hospital for over two weeks now with pneumonia and they are wondering if I might have picked something up at work we don't have any animals and no hay so if I have I assume it's come from grain

Farmers lung is an allergy rather than infection which leads to increasing breathing problems. You would need some regular exposure to moulds

 

[casemx 270]

They are wondering why I have been so poorly with pneumonia when I m normally fit and well

 

[An Gof]

They are wondering why I have been so poorly with pneumonia when I m normally fit and well

I was unfortunate to contract psittacosis

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacosis

I had been “up country” shooting and on returning home had some shot duck in the car. Problem was that the car was a Lotus Elise and the duck were in the passenger footwell. 4 hours driving breathing in the same air space wasn’t good and I contracted the disease. It was pretty serious, I was off work for 6 weeks, and my lungs never properly recovered. It presented as an “atypical” pneumonia.
It is a serious condition and is, I believe, a notifiable disease.
My sister had a work colleague who contracted it when auditing duck producers in France, it put her in hospital.
To the op Have you been in contact with birds or areas where birds roost etc. May be a possibility as the cause. Good luck, it can be VERY nasty.

 

[Henarar]

The retired farmer in the next bed to me in hospital when I was in the year before last had farmers lung it was slowly growing up the sides of his lungs, it killed him a few weeks later, lovely bloke

 

[davieh3350]

Anyone on here diagnosed with it? I ve been in hospital for over two weeks now with pneumonia and they are wondering if I might have picked something up at work we don't have any animals and no hay so if I have I assume it's come from grain

what were your symptoms?

wonder if I have something after cutting up sterling board covered with muck and dust without a mask

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Always wear a mask...a good quality one

 

[Bury the Trash]

https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/farmers-lung.25650/

I was unfortunate to contract psittacosis

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacosis

I had been “up country” shooting and on returning home had some shot duck in the car. Problem was that the car was a Lotus Elise and the duck were in the passenger footwell. 4 hours driving breathing in the same air space wasn’t good and I contracted the disease. It was pretty serious, I was off work for 6 weeks, and my lungs never properly recovered. It presented as an “atypical” pneumonia.
It is a serious condition and is, I believe, a notifiable disease.
My sister had a work colleague who contracted it when auditing duck producers in France, it put her in hospital.
To the op Have you been in contact with birds or areas where birds roost etc. May be a possibility as the cause. Good luck, it can be VERY nasty.

Yes it is nasty one a farmer I know nearly died of that type of Pneumonia caught it from birds but didn't really know how.
ended up it intensive care after previously thinking it was the Flue.

 

[DrDunc]

I've got farmers lung. Diagnosed 2 years ago after three winters struggling with bouts of "pneumonia" that didn't improve with antibiotics. It was a Chinese doctor that eventually diagnosed it.

In addition to the crackles in the lungs and an oxygen saturation level of around 85%, I had very high fevers and sweats. Used to feed the cattle then sit shivering wrapped up in the living with the stove roaring hot.

I have one shed where the straw bedding needs rolled out by hand. The high fever allergic reaction would coincide with rolling out a mouldy bale.

I now wear a mask whenever working with straw for bedding, even when driving the straw blower tractor. My O2 saturation has improved to around 95%, and though I get breathless very quickly, the improvement is wonderful!

My lungs are scarred and will never be right, but I can continue farming. My fitness and stamina was buggered after being able to do so little for so long, but it's steadily improving.

Farmers lung isn't a death sentence, provided it's diagnosed early enough. Although it took the ,"professionals" years in my case, I'm happily living and working wearing a mask when necessary, and by getting fitter to compensate for the impaired lung function.

It was on an MRI scan that the consultant saw odd coloured dots all over my lungs. These dots were the swollen areas caused by the allergic reaction to the dust mould. They were in addition to the fluid that was in the bottom of the lungs which had caused the incorrect pneumonia diagnosis so many times.

 

[Brisel]

I was unfortunate to contract psittacosis

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacosis

I had been “up country” shooting and on returning home had some shot duck in the car. Problem was that the car was a Lotus Elise and the duck were in the passenger footwell. 4 hours driving breathing in the same air space wasn’t good and I contracted the disease. It was pretty serious, I was off work for 6 weeks, and my lungs never properly recovered. It presented as an “atypical” pneumonia.
It is a serious condition and is, I believe, a notifiable disease.
My sister had a work colleague who contracted it when auditing duck producers in France, it put her in hospital.
To the op Have you been in contact with birds or areas where birds roost etc. May be a possibility as the cause. Good luck, it can be VERY nasty.

I could make a remark about cars & shooting being bad for you, but that would be in bad taste

 

[devonshire farmer]

I've got farmers lung. Diagnosed 2 years ago after three winters struggling with bouts of "pneumonia" that didn't improve with antibiotics. It was a Chinese doctor that eventually diagnosed it.

In addition to the crackles in the lungs and an oxygen saturation level of around 85%, I had very high fevers and sweats. Used to feed the cattle then sit shivering wrapped up in the living with the stove roaring hot.

I have one shed where the straw bedding needs rolled out by hand. The high fever allergic reaction would coincide with rolling out a mouldy bale.

I now wear a mask whenever working with straw for bedding, even when driving the straw blower tractor. My O2 saturation has improved to around 95%, and though I get breathless very quickly, the improvement is wonderful!

My lungs are scarred and will never be right, but I can continue farming. My fitness and stamina was buggered after being able to do so little for so long, but it's steadily improving.

Farmers lung isn't a death sentence, provided it's diagnosed early enough. Although it took the ,"professionals" years in my case, I'm happily living and working wearing a mask when necessary, and by getting fitter to compensate for the impaired lung function.

It was on an MRI scan that the consultant saw odd coloured dots all over my lungs. These dots were the swollen areas caused by the allergic reaction to the dust mould. They were in addition to the fluid that was in the bottom of the lungs which had caused the incorrect pneumonia diagnosis so many times.

I'll pm you

 

[DrivingDig]

Thanks for sharing these stories; I don’t think farm workers are aware of the risks from everyday jobs

 

[egbert]

i was hospitalised as a youngster with it -steroids cleared it quick enough luckily.

It was continual working with dusty hay, late in that godawful wet summer of 85 (?)
The quacks advised me to never work with hay again....which seemed unlikely.
Now I can taste the smell of dangerous stuff whenever i come across it -currently got a few odd bales of barley straw with the same mould- and treat it with a bit of respect.

Wrapping bales whenever conditions close in has saved me.

 

[An Gof]

I could make a remark about cars & shooting being bad for you, but that would be in bad taste

Don’t worry, I can take it
Mid engined sports cars will be my downfall ...... Lotus Elise isn’t the most practical car to turn up to a shoot with especially when you’re 6’3” ...... I did get some strange looks at the service station when I got out of it in full shooting suit.

 

[The Seeker]

Hi sorry to hear your condition, I was struck with a massive case of undiagnosed phenumonia last january being a farmer i though give it a few more days it will be fine but i realised i was in the sh*t when i was sleeping in a chair as i couldn't lie down without coughing serious amounts of nasty stuff. Long story very short 3 courses of anti biotics and be sure they are targeting the virus you have and push for more than one or two courses. by august the runny noses had gone but wheezing in the chest was awful, after referrals and appointments I've been diagnosed with asthma ands an inhaler 2 breaths before bed and after getting up and I'm thankfully right as rain... for now. good luck with your treatment. i think the trauma of lambing in the "spring" really hammered my body this year.

 

[ollie989898]

I was unfortunate to contract psittacosis

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacosis

I had been “up country” shooting and on returning home had some shot duck in the car. Problem was that the car was a Lotus Elise and the duck were in the passenger footwell. 4 hours driving breathing in the same air space wasn’t good and I contracted the disease. It was pretty serious, I was off work for 6 weeks, and my lungs never properly recovered. It presented as an “atypical” pneumonia.
It is a serious condition and is, I believe, a notifiable disease.
My sister had a work colleague who contracted it when auditing duck producers in France, it put her in hospital.
To the op Have you been in contact with birds or areas where birds roost etc. May be a possibility as the cause. Good luck, it can be VERY nasty.

That sounds very very nasty.