Friday 4 October 2013

Bakers Lung: I'm doing some of my own research.

So a couple of years ago I was diagnosed with Occupational Asthma. I have Bakers Lung.
I am still trying to work out exactly what this means for me, long term. Questions remain over the long term treatment. I have no idea how long I will need to be on corticosteroids for.

Because it's such a rare thing to find in someone my age... Most people who get Industrial Asthma, Bakers Lung are older, have been exposed to the flour particles for a longer period of time (generally 20+ years).
I was working in a bakery under 2 years.

Sadly I've seen a lot of GP (doctor's) who don't know what Industrial (Occupational) Asthma is, and they'd never heard of Bakers Lung! Sadly this happens a lot in Allergy conditions as well.
Today I am still battling, I have my good days and my bad ones.

Recently I was sick with a flu type bug - it turned into a stomach bug. This is a downside for taking corticosteroids. My body is so filled with medications to prevent anything attacking, that it becomes weakened to the smallest bug. As a result, I have a constant sickness as such; from headaches, sore throat... coughing... I try to balance this with a balanced (healthy) diet. I am looking at more vegetables than meat. But it's how it goes.  (The Malaghan Institute backs my views up Here. )

Today I contacted the Malaghan Institute here in Wellington, they're a medical research place. You can find out about them here:  Malaghan Institute. They are the researchers behind the news that there's an Allergy Vaccine in the works: Vaccine for stemming Allergy Symptoms?

Sadly I may have found *another* allergy. I blew up 12 balloons for my birthday a few weeks ago, developed a cough afterwards. Plus a sore throat. I read somewhere (need to keep tabs on things I read better!) that there's a link in the allergies between occupational asthma and  allergies to Latex.
(May have been on the Allergy NZ page, Latex Allergy: HERE
Latex allergies have two forms: the inhaled form. The touch version (skin or other reaction). Looks like I may have another "lung" reaction to add to the list.  -- Will need to get more allergy tests done to see if this is the case or it was a different sensitivity reaction - perhaps to blowing up too many at once (in one go). Weirdy, condoms are also made of Latex, and I have no problems with them.

It's also interesting because I have a slight allergic reaction to Kiwifruit as well. - My mouth itches when I eat the skin.

And there's a link between Latex allergy, Kiwifruit allergy AND asthma.

We will see what my doctor says!



Sadly it's hard to find information about Occupational / Industrial Asthma in New Zealand... I mean there's plenty to be read on Google Scholar, but please. Bare in mind, I'm not a medical person. I am a researcher though, so I will persevere!

This is pretty much all the information I've been able to access from the Asthma Foundation of NZ about Bakers Lung:
Workplace Asthma

In the meantime, I read more... and wait for information to come back from the researchers and the NZ asthma foundation, Allergy NZ, and so on.

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