The beginning. A warning !

[Crankshaft]

The sudden onset of my Copd Dear friends, I am just posting this as a warning to people working with Wood . I am an Engineer , now 80 years old , born in 1942 . All through my childhood I suffered from asthma and during those years I j had very frequent attacks of it so much so that I got frequent bollokings from the school attendance officer . My parents and grandparents dosed me with prescribed and in prescribed home remedies , none of which worked . It was not until a drug called Alupent ,which is no longer available that I got immediate relief . When I was 18 I got assigned to work in London which was in the early sixties , I come from Northern Ireland and was on the ferry when I virtually panicked . I had forgot my Alupent inhaler. The fact is that during my two years in London ( smog and all ) I hadn’t a single attack . I think the term then was that I had grown out of it . Anyhow I had a pretty healthy life until about 10 years ago ,when as part of my occupation I was tasked with developing a woodchip blowing system of a truck into a silo. This proved to be an incredibly difficult task and a truck which I was working on had an inspection hatch into the body . With modifying various features inside the truck after about 6 months of trial and error we eventually succeeded in conveying it . I was so elated that in my enthusiasm I lifted the small hatch to have a look at the evacuating material forgetting to don a protective mask and was met with a blast of air laden with ultra fine wood dust .Immediately I realised the gravity of the mistake I had made . I had an attack of my old respiratory condition which required me to go to my grandchild’s home and use her inhaler . Thank god I am now 80’ and to a lesser extent am still fit to work . The quality of my life has changed dramatically and I am now living on a cocktail of monthly prescribed drugs to enable me to function . Have frequent courses of antibiotics and steroids , but they enable me to function . My own diagnosis of my condition is that the ultra fine dust I inhaled got into the small airways of my lungs and will remain there until the day I die. I write this as a warning to anyone working in the wood machining business to never start machining it or whenever dust may be created as you will impose upon yourself a lifetime of near misery . I had never heard of a condition termed COPD until I went to my doctors surgery and they announced that I was a recipient of this condition through my own carelessness . Hope this post prevents someone from contacting this terrible crippling disease . After deciding that in my case ventolin was not very effective I seem to get a bit of relief from an inhaler called Fostair . I know we are all different but after trying different ones this is the best one in my case . Hope this sharing saves someone from suffering the same fate as me .

[Alberta56]

That's very thoughtful, Crankshaft. I'm afraid in our younger days working men were not too careful of their own health. I know my dad, a bricklayer, was always ready to work in all sorts of unhealthy places, either enclosed and dusty or up high without a scaffold. I hope the younger generation are more aware of the hazards. Best wishes.

[Izb1]

I think these things should be taught in school and warnings given. Crankshaft I know I have made my lungs worse by sanding down wood/plaster (decorating in the home) and inhaling the dust, not knowing the damage it would cause to my breathing. Thank you for posting this warning, it may help some younger ones to take heed x

[LiveSalt]

Health and Safety wasn't really a thing in our youth. My dad was an inveterate handyman evenings and weekends (full time builder/bricklayer) never seeming to stop. As a child I loved to stand by him and watch. Many's the time I got involved with concrete mixing and woodwork. My dad thought nothing of sawing, drilling and sanding asbestos, and if it was a Saturday I was sure to be there "helping" too. When I think of all the awful environments my lungs were subjected to; unbelievably huge quantities of mouldy hay, getting drenched in sheep dip annually, house full of birds for many years, even working in a backstreet perfume factory where we filled many hundreds of bottles of "aftershave" by dipping them in a bucket of the noxious liquid, well, I don't know how I survived 😂 However, I believe the rot set in during my first 3 months of life, when I had bronchitis twice. Our housing situation was dire, cold and very damp, so my mother said. I dread to think how many small children are going to suffer the same fate with the energy crisis.

[syntax]

Completely agree about Ventolin does very little to ease my breathing.And Wood

is a problem with people and their log fires.As soon as I step outside I know there is a

log fire burning because it effects my breathing badly.They talk about cars but log fires are worse,the sooner we can get them banned the better for people with lung problems and

the Environment !!

[Radancer]

Similar story for me only this time it was making a wooden rocking horse for my first grandchild and stupidly not wearing a mask as we 70 year olds are invincible although I should have known better as working in the construction I always wore correct PPE including masks when required.

Can I suggest you read my other post entitled "Air Physio"

The above little gadget has been a gamechanger for me.

John