What is Occupational Lung Disease?
An “occupational lung disease” is a lung disease connected with someone’s occupation – their job. It is a disease caused by something you come into contact with at work. The term “occupational lung disease” covers a group of different lung conditions. Each condition is different, and affects your lungs in a different way. Some occupational lung diseases affect the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs (our ‘airways’). Occupational asthma is an example of this sort of problem. Other occupational lung diseases may affect the tiny air sacs through which oxygen is transferred into the blood from the air we breathe. ‘Farmer’s lung’ is an example of this. Other conditions may affect the thin lining between our lungs and our ribcage. Asbestos can cause a number of different occupational diseases here. The factor which links them all is that they have been caused by something in the working environment. The type of treatment you receive will depend on the type of lung disease you have.
