Types of Occupational Asthma

The Different Types / Stages of Occupational Asthma

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a disorder of the bronchial tubes that can cause difficulty with breathing. Most asthmatic attacks are mild, but the condition is chronic (long-term) and if it remains untreated the consequences can be very serious. When an asthma attack occurs the muscles surrounding the airways become tight and the lining of the airways swell, making breathing more difficult and reducing the amount of air that the lungs can process. In mild attacks this can lead to wheezing and coughing, but in more serious bouts it can severely restrict the airflow to the lungs and cause the sufferer to feel like they are suffocating. In some cases the face of the patient may turn slightly blue due to the lack of oxygen getting into the lungs.

Occupational Asthma can be broken into two distinct types:

Work-Aggravated Asthma

People who suffer from work aggravated asthma usually have a history or suffering from asthma, either during childhood or during their adult years before working in a specific environment that triggers the attacks. Factors that may increase the risk of attacks include dust, fumes, gases and vapours within the workplace. The issues can often be reduced or eliminated by improving the working environment or avoiding specific irritants.

Occupational Asthma

Occupational Asthma is caused directly by workplace exposure to certain dusts or chemicals, and there are two forms of this:

Irritant Induced Occupational Asthma usually develops following a single, high-dose exposure to a chemical irritant. This effectively burns the airways and has no relation to the person’s immune system. Frequently these high levels of exposure are as a result of some kind of industrial accident; a chemical spill, an explosion or fire, or some other major failure of control during which large quantities of irritant chemicals are released, often in confined spaces. Symptoms usually manifest themselves within 24 hours of the exposure and while in most cases they will reduce over time, some persistent problems are possible, depending on the nature of the irritant and the volumes that have been inhaled.

Allergic Occupational Asthma is caused by sensitisation to a specific chemical over a period of time. This is the most common form of occupational asthma – more than 90% of cases develop in this way. In these cases the sensitisation of the lungs to specific irritants within dusts, vapours or gases occurs over a period of time called a Latency Period. These periods can be variable; some people might develop issues after very little contact, whereas others may work for years in an environment before developing any signs of occupational asthma. If exposure is consistent then the greatest risk is within the first two years of exposure, but that’s not to say that some people may become sensitised over far longer periods. Once someone is sensitised to an irritant even very low levels of exposure can bring on an asthma attack.

Contact us today for free, no obligation advice regarding your work-related asthma claim – either by calling us free on 0800 122 3130, or by requesting a free call back, whereby one of our team will contact you at a time of your choice, to discuss your situation.

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