The Rural Voice, 1988-04, Page 38OCCUPATIONAL
HAZARDS
Farmers are consistently subjected to respiratory
problems as a side effect of feeding livestock.
Writer Cathy Laird has looked into the complex
F
by Cathy Laird
arming has its unique bene-
fits; it also has its unique
occupational hazards. One
of those hazards is a set of respiratory
diseases which are a by-product of
feeding livestock.
Perhaps the most familiar of these
respiratory problems is Farmer's Lung
Disease (FLD). Two other diseases
go hand in hand with FLD, Silo Un -
loader's Syndrome and Silo Filler's
Disease.
FLD is an allergic reaction to
material in silage or hay. While most
farmers aren't at risk, between five
and ten per cent of the agricultural
population is sensitive to the bacteria
or spores in hay or silage, and even
tiny amounts of these spores can cause
an allergic reaction. FLD is most
prevalent in northern temperate zones
in the winter and spring.
A member of a large family of
related lung diseases, FLD is shared
by workers in other professions, and
shows up as woodworker's lung
(caused by spores in moldy wood
chips), cheese worker's lung (caused
by spores in moldy cheese), furrier's
lung (caused by spores in hair dust),
duck fever (caused by spores in
feathers), and grain measurer's lung
(caused by spores in cereal grain).
N. of respiratory
diseases associated
with farm work.
She discusses
not only symptoms,
but prevention —
the best cure.
How does FLD affect the system?
In the first place, the respiratory
system, with its 100 square metres of
airways, lung tubes, and air sacs, is the
most vulnerable in the body. All
together, it is the size of a tennis court.
By contrast, the digestive system
involves 10 square metres of tissues,
and the skin 2 square metres.
In hay or silage, heating occurs
when there is moisture. Bacteria and
spores grow and reproduce, producing
more heat and, m turn, producing dust.
This dust of bacteria and spores cir-
culates whenever the feed is moved or
disturbed. Since the dust particles are
so minute, they reach the smallest
parts of the lungs when they are
inhaled. If a farmer is not allergic to
this dust, his system cleanses the Lungs
through sneezing or coughing. But the
defense system of a farmer who is
allergic to the dust actually backfires,
producing an irritation or inflam-
mation.
The allergic reaction will occur
between four and eight hours after
inhaling the dust. The first signs are
fever, chills, coughing, pain in the
chest, muscle aches, and shortness of
breath. FLD is hard to distinguish
from flu or cold. In more severe
cases, the symptoms are similar to
those of pneumonia, and include a
high temperature, rapid, shallow
breathing, and "crackling" breathing
sounds. Both illnesses show up sim-
ilarly in tests: there are higher white
blood cell counts, lower blood oxygen
levels, and X-rays of the lower two-
thirds of the lungs are patchy. Only
detailed X-rays can differentiate
between severe FLD and pneumonia.
After a thorough work history of
an FLD victim is taken, the relation-
ship between the symptoms and re-
peated inhalations of hay or silage
spores is made evident. But the more
acute forms of FLD are diagnosed
more easily than the less serious
forms. After any exposure, an indi-
vidual may experience nights sweats,
occasional fevers, and chills, often
accompanied by shortness of breath
and coughing.
Additional symptoms may be
weight loss, weakness, and even
depression.
FLD is sometimes further confused
with asthma, hay fever, or bronchitis.
A small but daily dose of dust can
compound the problem, and a farmer
may be unaware of the relationship
between the dust and the symptoms he
is experiencing.
After repeated reactions, the lungs
will begin to form scar tissue which
hardens areas in the lungs and reduces
the lungs' ability to expand and con-
tract. As the disease develops, short-
ness of breath increases with even
mild exertion and begins to occur
continously, even with no exertion on
the farmer's part. The scarring of lung
tissue cannot be reversed.
The treatment of FLD may require
hospitalization and the use of fluids,
oxygen, and medication to reduce
fever. A type of cortisone medication
36 THE RURAL VOICE