Occupational asthma has today become a common type of work-related lungs issues in most developed countries. If you have a look at the statistics, you will likely be found that approximately 15% of the total asthma cases in different regions of the United States are of job-related ones.
Is Occupational Asthma A Progressive Disease?
Occupational Asthma or work-related asthma is a common type of disorder and it is consistently getting prevalence, while has significant economic, social and medical consequences. The problem takes place because of many reasons and mediated via large numbers of non-immunologic and immunologic mechanisms. However, the question that comes in our mind is whether occupational asthma is a progressive disease or not.
The answer is yes, as occupational asthma may sometimes become progressive and it involves worsening prognosis if your exposure to chemicals and fumes continues. Thus, you have to take help from your doctor to think about various ways to reduce the possibilities of other exposed employees to develop the same problem. Simultaneously, employers and company owners should adopt certain prevention strategies combined with surveillance programs in the office to avoid QA progression and its development.(2)
Alternative Treatments For Occupational Asthma
Most of the people have said that alternative remedies have played prime roles to reduce the symptoms related to occupational asthma. Besides, a few allergic people have said that alternative treatments combined with medications have helped them a lot to improve their conditions. Two of the tried alternative treatments to deal with occupational asthma problem are discussed here-
Breathing Techniques: Most of the occupational asthma patients and their family members said that they have succeeded to manage or improve asthma-related symptoms with certain breathing techniques. At the same time, these patients have improved their quality of life. The breathing techniques are-
- Buteyko breathing method
- Lung-muscle training
- Papworth method
- Yoga, breathing exercise or pranayama
Acupuncture: Acupuncture technique has its roots in the traditional medicine and treatment of China. The therapy involves placing a few extremely thin needles at different strategic points on the body of a patient. Acupuncture is often painless and safe procedure, while it has proved to be helpful in treating occupational asthma to some extent.(3)
Work-related or occupational asthma mainly takes place by the inhalation of gases, dust, fumes and other potentially harmful substances while a person is on his/her job. In most of the cases, the symptoms become worse during work time i.e. days or nights. In contrast, your health condition improves when you take off from the job but starts again when you return to work. You may be a healthy person and may experience asthma-related symptoms for the first time or you had asthma in your childhood and it has relapsed.
If you are already an asthma patient, your condition may become worse because of your exposure to certain harmful substances at the work. Also, you may develop the problem of occupational asthma if you have a family history related to allergies, especially to a few of the substances, like latex, flour, and animals.
However, you may develop the problem even when you do not have a previous history related to occupational asthma if you are consistently exposed to chemicals or conditions, which may induce the problem. Along with this, if you are in a habit of smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, you bear a relatively high risk to develop the problem of occupational asthma.(1)
Conclusion
To conclude we should say that occupational asthma is a type of progressive disease and the condition becomes worse if you leave it untreated or fail to diagnose early.
However, with alternative treatments or combine it with prescribed medications, and occupational asthma patients may manage his/her symptoms and health conditions largely.
Also Read:
- Who Is At Risk For Occupational Asthma & Is There A Blood Test For It?
- Coping Methods For Occupational Asthma
- Is Occupational Asthma Permanent & Can You Work If You Have It?
- What Is The Best Treatment For Occupational Asthma?
- How To Diagnose Occupational Asthma & What Is The Best Medicine For It?
- Life Expectancy Of Someone With Occupational Asthma
- How Dangerous Is Occupational Asthma & How Long Do The Symptoms Last?