barbara skelton-or on tue 28 nov 00
Hannah----See a pulmonologist now. Proper fast treatment will help and will
stop the progress if you have COPD,I do and am on 02-24-7--huge
nuisance....and many meds.
Been an artist all my life and potter more recently--worked with all
possible chemicals, and all before anyone spoke of toxicity. All materials
are toxic to some degree.
And we should all always be careful using our masks with dry materials.
Barb Skelton...in Oregon
Hannah on tue 28 nov 00
There have been a number of postings off and on about the dangers of =
ceramic fiber, perhaps too late for me. Thirty years ago when I built =
my first kiln using a layer of fiber behind softbrick, it was hailed =
as the safe replacement for asbestos. Three years ago I built another =
kiln the same way, and I still hadn't heard of the dangers (wasn't on =
Clayart yet). To make matters worse, when I first began studying =
ceramics at Ohio State in the early 60's, there was almost no talk =
about safety in regard to breathing dust from clay and chemicals. =
Consequently I never got into the habit of using a mask. Now I'm =
getting worried.
Recently I was spending more than the usual amount of time in my little =
studio getting ready for a craft fair, when I came down with a cold that =
wouldn't go away. After 4 weeks I began to wonder if I had "walking =
pneumonia", since it was said to be an epidemic at Lake Tahoe. But =
after spending three days at the fair away from my studio, I began to =
feel better. As soon as I went back to the studio, I felt that =
slight tightness in my chest again. I think I have become ultra =
sensitive to dust of any kind. =20
Terrible to have to learn the hard way, but perhaps it will help =
emphasize the importance of caution to others. What I'm wondering now =
is if there are tests to determine what might be going on inside my =
chest, and if there is even anything that can be done about it except =
perhaps constantly wearing a mask to prevent more irritation. If money =
were no object, I would have gone to a good respiratory doctor =
yesterday, but since this is still mild, I haven't made the move yet. =
Besides, if I have permanent gunk in my lungs, is there anything that =
can be done anyway, short of waiting for an actual diagnosis of =
cancer?? Horrible thought, but as somebody said, the incubation =
period for that fiber might be about 30 years.
I would be grateful for any and all comments.
Sincerely,
Hannah
Carol Sandberg on thu 30 nov 00
Hi Hannah,
Before you work yourself into a full blown anxiety attack over the
possibility of lung damage due to ceramic fiber, ask your physician to test
you for a Mycoplasma Pneumoniae infection. Some people call this "Walking
Pneumonia", but the important thing is that it is not responsive to some
antibiotics. It's really typical to have a cough which persists for a long
time, and does not seem to get better. Here is what MSN Encarta says about
Mycoplasma : " One common type of pneumonia, formerly called primary
atypical pneumonia, is caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a tiny prokaryotic
organism (a single-celled organism that lacks a distinct nucleus) that is
neither a bacterium nor a virus. Epidemics of mycoplasma pneumonia occur in
schools and in the military. The disease usually resolves spontaneously, but
treatment with antibiotics can be helpful."
I thought I had bronchitis from dust in my studio several times and twice in
three years I actually had a Mycoplasma infection. The Doc said it was
"going around" and that it only responds to specific antibiotics. He put me
on "Z-Pac" which did the trick!
Of course, there are a lot of other possibilities (allergy, virus, smoke,
No-see-ums in the air (Ha!).......)but definitely see your doctor and have
tests done.....you can have your lung oxygen uptake tested, get blood tests
and ask your doctor to do cultures on anything you cough up.(sorry it sounds
gross)
Good luck, and I hope all the coughing doesn't untie your shoes!
Let us know what you find out.
Carol, in Indiana, not coughing yet this year
----- Original Message -----
From: Hannah
To:
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 7:08 PM
Subject: My lungs, ceramic fiber and dust
There have been a number of postings off and on about the dangers of ceramic
fiber, perhaps too late for me. Thirty years ago when I built my first
kiln using a layer of fiber behind softbrick, it was hailed as the safe
replacement for asbestos. Three years ago I built another kiln the same
way, and I still hadn't heard of the dangers (wasn't on Clayart yet).
To make matters worse, when I first began studying ceramics at Ohio State
in the early 60's, there was almost no talk about safety in regard to
breathing dust from clay and chemicals. Consequently I never got into the
habit of using a mask. Now I'm getting worried.
Recently I was spending more than the usual amount of time in my little
studio getting ready for a craft fair, when I came down with a cold that
wouldn't go away. After 4 weeks I began to wonder if I had "walking
pneumonia", since it was said to be an epidemic at Lake Tahoe. But after
spending three days at the fair away from my studio, I began to feel
better. As soon as I went back to the studio, I felt that slight
tightness in my chest again. I think I have become ultra sensitive to dust
of any kind.
Terrible to have to learn the hard way, but perhaps it will help emphasize
the importance of caution to others. What I'm wondering now is if there
are tests to determine what might be going on inside my chest, and if there
is even anything that can be done about it except perhaps constantly wearing
a mask to prevent more irritation. If money were no object, I would have
gone to a good respiratory doctor yesterday, but since this is still mild,
I haven't made the move yet. Besides, if I have permanent gunk in my
lungs, is there anything that can be done anyway, short of waiting for an
actual diagnosis of cancer?? Horrible thought, but as somebody said,
the incubation period for that fiber might be about 30 years.
I would be grateful for any and all comments.
Sincerely,
Hannah
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