Concrete Dust in Lungs

Johnny Lightspeed

Johnny Lightspeed

New member
So last June I was riding in a gondola with a somewhat fine coating of what I assume was concrete dust on the floor. For the three days after that ride I was coughing up a lot of phlegm with trace amounts of blood in it. Everyday since I've been coughing up phlegm. I've smoked a lot since I was 15 but the phlegm has never been this consistent. Anyone else have any similar experiences? I talked to a doctor about it briefly and he said if it really is concrete dust then it won't leave my lungs unless they vacuum it out. Don't have money/insurance
 
In my nonprofessional opinion, it sounds like silicosis, never had to deal with that though.
 
If you're lucky, it could just be an upper respiratory infection from inhaling weird dust of any kind.

The other options are more unpleasant, so fingers crossed, eh? Get some antibiotics, prednisone, and cough meds if you can find a way to pay for the scripts (they shouldn't be much, maybe $4 each script).

mike
 
concrete powder is fucked up, it is corrisive and solidifies with water, i would suggest to vapourize some herbal mixture, do vapour inhales and get the mucus to bring out the concrete of your system.
And the doctor is a such a twat if he says the concrete will stay there forever.
 
From my experiences with concrete dust coughing up a bit of blood after (from what I assume) was fairly minimal contact isn't normal. I've been working with concrete for the past 5 years and have done my fair share of cutting/grinding without a respirator and I can't remember their being blood. Phlegm and other colourful shit, but thats it. I do know quite a few older guys that do have silicosis and do cough up blood, but that's from 15+ years of direct inhalation nearly every day. Hopefully that's not what you're getting/got but in a completely non-medical-cement head oppinion I wouldn't lean towards toward silicosis. Good luck man!
 
cricketonthemove said:
From my experiences with concrete dust coughing up a bit of blood after (from what I assume) was fairly minimal contact isn't normal. I've been working with concrete for the past 5 years and have done my fair share of cutting/grinding without a respirator and I can't remember their being blood. Phlegm and other colourful shit, but thats it. I do know quite a few older guys that do have silicosis and do cough up blood, but that's from 15+ years of direct inhalation nearly every day. Hopefully that's not what you're getting/got but in a completely non-medical-cement head oppinion I wouldn't lean towards toward silicosis. Good luck man!
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there is unfortunately a difference between unset concrete powder mix (straight form the bag) and concrete that has already set and solidified (such as what you were working with), in which it cannot set in the lungs. (though still bad and can still over long periods of time cause silicosis)

the danger of inhaling unset mix is that it does set in the moisture of the lungs, and prettymuch attaches itself to the flesh. its like inhailing volcanic ash, essenitally the most dangerous threat of living through a volcanic eruption. (volcanic ash being a primitive component of concrete). im not sure if that is what silicosis is or not.

but what i always assumed silicosis was that silicon micro crystals in fine rock and concrete powders are actually like little shards of glass that then cut the shit out of your lungs.

either way, both diseases pretty much leave you SOL unless as the doc said, you can vaccum it out.

then agian, it might have just been dust that has infected your lungs. or even just irritated them in which case its still not good, but you might be able to fight it off. the thing about smoking is that nicotine kind of paralyzes the cellia hairs in your trachea, effectively shuting down a very important part of your lungs immune system that combats and expells irritents, and arial microbes.
 
Good point jungleboots, there deffinetly is a difference. Glad you brought up the other side. Dust of any kind can be a shitty thing. Irregardless, I'd probably get a couple 'professional' oppinions. Coughing up blood just isn't good.
 
for sure, i mean the first doc's response is kinda cold, he might be unfortunately right. but maybe someone out there has a more affordable solution.
 
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