Question for the guys who have been doing this for years (personally I'm in my 13th season). Have any of you, who are non-smokers, ever been been diagnosed with COPD "chronic, obstructive, pulmonary disease"?
Thanks.
No. I quit smoking 35 years ago. Why do you ask?
John,since I had no idea of what you were talking about, I immediately looked it up. That whole thing is amazing and describes some of my symptoms very accurately. Mine would be related to asthma which they don't all agree can cause this problem. I will tell you, however, that when I smoked ( 32 years ago ) I had no idea that I had asthma and my breathing was better than it is now. That doesn't mean I'm sorry I quit. I do know that everything talked about in the COPD information could be applied to me. Since I'll be 70 in December, I guess breathing can be a problem at any time. My dad had the same symptoms. Keep us informed!
I now always try to wear a respirator, or at least a dust mask when getting in an attic. In the past I may not have been so careful. I've had a pretty rough cough lately and it was originally diagnosed as bronchitis. They took a chest x-ray just to be sure. Turns out there are "obstructions" showing up on the x-ray, which the nurse says are indicative of COPD. I've never smoked and have never had breathing problems so I'm wondering if the insulation, bird nest material, dust from under houses has anything to do with it. I have an appointment with my doctor on Tuesday to get the lowdown, but I was curious if any of us atitc and crawlspace crawlers have had these types of problems.
Paul. Yes it is pretty amazing. I was looking at some of the causes for it, and it's usually from smoking, but the Mayo Clinic does mention dust as a cause. It may be totally unrelated to our line of work, but I figured the doctor might ask me about it when I see him on Tuesday. I'll let you know what happens.
Posted By: sgs
Re: COPD - 08/12/12 02:19 PM
John, I have COPD and yes, I was a smoker for twenty years. I quit a little over twenty years ago.
Dust, asbestos, fiberglass particles, etc. can all contribute to it.
Ever see all the fiberglass particles floating in the sunlight coming through a window where someone is working with insulation?
For us old timers, who didn't get into the old asbestos pipe insulation used years ago? How many of us ripped it out by hand on our early renovation/construction jobs?
But keep in mind, a nurse isn't usually qualified to read x-rays. The doc might have totally different thoughts on the x-rays. Or not.
Either way, I wish you luck. Lung problems can be difficult.
You're right. Think of all the times you've been in a crawlspace and have seen the dust floating in the beam of your headlamp. I hope you're doing well and thanks for the thoughts.