Pneumoconiosis, for us, should not be very unheard of.
This is an occupational disease, which is caused by the long-term inhalation of productive dust by workers, and the systemic disease mainly based on fibrosis of lung tissue can be cured at present, but can only be prevented.
Even if you get rid of the dust work, the condition will not get better, and even gradually worsen.
Therefore, most patients with pneumoconiosis can not be treated and intervened in time, the condition gradually worsens, not only can not get out of bed to move, or even can only be in a semi-recumbent state, relying on oxygen concentrators to maintain life.
According to the data, there are currently 60 million pneumoconiosis patients in the country, and about 20,000-30,000 new cases are added every year.
Pneumoconiosis, what are the symptoms in the early stages?
1. Cough
Early cough symptoms are generally not obvious, but as the disease progresses, the patient's cough will become more and more severe, and it will later develop into chronic bronchitis and even cause lung infections.
Coughing is particularly pronounced when bronchitis or a lung infection develops.
2. Cough up sputum
Patients cough frequently because there is a lot of dust in the respiratory system, and when they cough, the patient will spit out sputum. The amount of sputum is not very large, and the color is generally gray.
If the patient is engaged in coal work, the sputum is mostly black, and obvious coal dust particles can be seen in the sputum.
If the patient is engaged in asbestos-related work, the asbestos substance can be detected in the patient's sputum. When a patient has a concomitant intrapulmonary infection with chronic bronchitis, the amount of sputum in the patient increases significantly.
3. Chest pain
Patients will have symptoms of chest pain, which is different in the location and will change. The pain is not very severe and has limitations.
This pain is mostly caused by the involvement of fibrotic lesions, especially the fibrosis, thickening and tension of the pleura.
4. Difficulty breathing
Because a large amount of dust enters the respiratory system, the patient will have difficulty breathing.
As the degree of fibrosis of the patient's lung tissue increases, the area of the patient's breathing will be greatly reduced, and the degree of dyspnea will also increase.
In addition, if the patient develops inflammation, it will also cause damage to the mucous membrane blood vessels, so that the patient's sputum carries a small amount of blood.
Poverty due to illness, returning to poverty due to illness? Most people with pneumoconiosis do not have workers' compensation
Although pneumoconiosis is currently an occupational disease that has not been medically terminated.
If patients can carry out some targeted rehabilitation training and develop good living habits, they can slow down the deterioration of lung function, reduce the daily pain of patients, and prevent premature death caused by complications and reduce unnecessary medical expenses.
However, the data shows that more than 90% of patients with pneumoconiosis have no savings, nearly 60% cannot make ends meet, and 80% of patients have not applied for statutory workers' compensation, and even if they have applied for more than 60% of patients, they have not been compensated.
In addition, because most of the patients with pneumoconiosis are young and middle-aged, they are the main labor force of the family, and once they get sick, they not only affect the family income, but also aggravate the burden of medical expenses, resulting in poverty due to illness and returning to poverty due to illness.
It is precisely for this reason that at the two sessions, the issue of compensation and rescue for pneumoconiosis patients has also once aroused heated discussion.
Where do people who are deprived of breath go?
Pneumoconiosis is also known as "exchanging life for money in the first half of life, and exchanging money for life in the second half of life".
Once they suffer from lung disease, what awaits them is: chest tightness, shortness of breath, sputum coughing, followed by chest pain, hemoptysis, gradual loss of labor, and the most unbearable thing is the breath holding on the verge of death.
For them, replacing a new lung with a lung transplant is the only way to save their lives.
But this way out is also accompanied by great pressure and risk, on the one hand, lung transplant surgery is generally 600,000-700,000, for most rural families, this is undoubtedly a huge amount of money.
On the other hand, the source of the lungs is not easy to come by, there are more than 30 people in an organ on average, and the criteria for organ allocation, geography, priority of the disease, age and other factors make patients in anxiety and uncertainty.
It is also this long wait, some patients have not yet waited for the lung source to die of respiratory failure, some patients have to wait for the lung source, but the donor's family has temporarily changed at the last moment.
Even if all difficulties are overcome and the lung transplant is successful, the patient will face two major tests of rejection and infection.
The rapid development of the city is inseparable from the efforts of a group of people, as an individual whose development has been sacrificed, pneumoconiosis patients are deprived not only of breathing, but of all they rely on for survival.
The emergence of this occupational disease is not the misfortune of "a few people", but the stubborn disease of the whole society.
We also hope that the relevant departments can improve the rescue system for pneumoconiosis patients as soon as possible to help them tide over the difficulties and return to normal life.
Whether it's an interester or a policymaker, everyone is in the same boat, and no one can stay out of the matter.
bibliography:
[1] ZHANG Yuehai, KONG Lingwei, ZHANG Gang. Differential diagnostic value of CT examination for pneumoconiosis and miliary lung metastases[J]. China Medical Herald, 2014, 11(25):4.
[2] Zhang Lijiang, Tian Donglin, Liu Jun, Liu Guitao, Yu Huimin, Yang Xinjian, Mu Lati, Lu Yaoqin. Follow-up management status and qualitative interview survey analysis of patients with occupational pneumoconiosis[J].Occupational Health and Emergency Rescue,2021,39(05):529-532+561.