Firefighters and asthma

 

I was chatting with a friend who is a former paramedic and firefighter. And I wondered - what happens to her lungs from fighting fires?  

I know there are many jobs where someone with asthma can have irritants at their job. (Not irritating people - we all have one of those at work!) 😆

Irritants means things we breathe in that makes our lungs irritated. Known as occupational asthma, there are many things that can make our asthma lungs cranky. This includes:

• Animals (dander, fur, saliva and poop)
• Chemicals (paint or varnish, laminates, glues, etc)
• Metals (chromium, platinum, nickel sulfate)
• Plant products (flour, cereals, wheat, rye, flax, hemp, cotton or natural latex)
• Enzymes (flour conditioners or detergents)
• Irritants (smoke, chlorine gas, and sulfur dioxide)

But what about firefighters? I know they wear respirators, but if they are in a house or business that is burning -  how does that affect their lungs? I mean, that's a LOT of smoke!

What about firefighters that have asthma? Does it make their asthma worse?

The International Association of Firefighters says: 

 They also suggest having an annual lung function test to monitor the lungs. And say that firefighters can ignore their symptoms until it's too late and the lung damage is permanent. 

Meh - shake it off dude! You're fine!

But did you know that untreated asthma can lead to permanent scarring of the lungs?  When that happens, your asthma can turn into COPD. Or you can have asthma AND COPD. 

What about firefighters who DON'T have asthma? Can they develop asthma?

The Industrial Safety & Hygiene News says: