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Show HEALTH ADVICE By Dr. Morris Fithbein direr, JmnmI Hw Anwrtc Meet-kei Meet-kei Aueclatie This I th ruth of series ef articles In which Dr. Morris Fiah-beta Fiah-beta discuss Industrial diseases and wsys In which the workers' health may be guarded. , ' In recent years the dust dis-easts dis-easts particularly prominent have been those conditions which result re-sult from employment where , there Is much dust in the atmosphere. atmos-phere. Perhaps the worst of all the dust diseases is silicosis caused by breathing silica dust. There also ars conditions such as asbestpsis, from breathing asbestos as-bestos dust: anthracosts, from. breathing roal dust, and siderosis, from Inhaling iron dust. Silicosis has been called miner's cousump- tlon, potter's asthma or atone mason's tuberculosis, according to whether It is found among work-era work-era in mines. In potteries or la the stone industry. i Silica is an element occurring In sand and in various other combinations com-binations and it is of particular importance in the glsss industry. It is used In all sorts of scouring and polishing snd in sandpaper grinding. It is found in fertiliser and in. insecticides, as a filler In rubber, in the manufacture of various insulating materials and in the grinding of lenses. When dust containing silica is Inhaled changes tn the lung occur oc-cur which involve the production In the lung of scars and fibrous tissue. The occurrence of such damage to the tissue of the lung results eventually in the greater danger of secondary infection, particularly with tuberculosis. The condition develops gradual ly, beginning with a dry cough, a tendency to. catch cold easily, shortness of breath and later per haps some fever. Of greatest importance im-portance In the diagnosis of silicosis sili-cosis is the use of the X-ray. By the use of this device it is possible' to watch the development of silicosis sili-cosis from ths early stages down to the serious changes which Insult In-sult in death. Particles of dust will cause a shadow on the X-ray plats. Gradually Grad-ually there develop certain tiny lines which changa to mottled spots. Finally there appears a so-called so-called "snowstorm" effect. Since the silicotic process Is an Inflammation, It may go on for some time even after ths worker is removed from contact with the dust. All workers in dust industries should have an X-ray examination examina-tion and a general physical examination ex-amination at least once each year to determine the extent to which and changes ars progressive. If there is .found to be any silicotic sili-cotic change "in any worker's lung, he should be removed Immediately Immedi-ately from his employment. If, however, the disease has progressed pro-gressed beyond the early stages, removal is useless. Beyond such removal, the treatment treat-ment of this condition is related wholly to control of the secondary Infections and the other serious symptoms. Next: Other dust diseases. |