Asthma and Vehicle fumes

Just joined the forum.

I work on a car ferry a week at a time -when I'm home my peak flow is 650 and higher, when on board it drops to 600 and below and I cough alot, get tight chested sometimes and produce loads of mucus. Seen a specialist who reckons it's the vehicle fumes on the car deck that are triggering it (imagine 30 lorries with engines running in an enclosed space and you get the idea)

Apart from regular doses of steroids and steroid tablets and using a nebuliser he recommends that I wear a mask when working. Can anyone recommend a mask designed against vehicle fumes that doesn't make me look like Darth Vader?

Much as I would like to ask the occupational health department to take me off car deck duties there is no alternative and I can't afford to lose my job either. Very cheesed off so any help on the mask front would be appreciated!

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I would have thought there would have had to be some form of fume extraction as carbon monoxide can kill you. It may be worth writing to the health and safety executive (just google it for your local one) asking there advice. These people should be able to tell you. Having said that i asked about the dust at work causing me occupational asthma only to be told no as it has no carcinogenic substance in it. My GP then said unless of course your allergic to dust. Ive had to fight to be taken off an operational role into a desk job so good luck.

Have a read of this it may be of use

press.iarc.fr/pr213_E.pdf

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Thanks for that Glenn,

Funnily enough someone has put that very report on our crew noticeboard and it's frightening reading!

We do have extraction fans on the car decks which work but I presume because I have asthma I'm more at risk. I know wear a mask with filters from a company called ""totobobo"" which filters out 96% of pathogens etc. The filters turned from white to grey in two days! i do suffer from strange looks from passengers as well as the occasional ribbing from my colleagues but I really don't care as my health is more important!