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| Occupational & Environmental Allergies |
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| Contamination in air-conditioning systems may cause hyper-sensitivity pneumonitis. |
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| Many common house items cause allergy (e.g. paint, toothpaste, news-paper, cosmetics, cleaning agent etc.) |
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Occupational and environmental allergic problems are caused by industrial materials or chemicals used in the patient's job, home or other environments. |
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Industries produce or use numerous materials capable of inducing lung ailments in workers and sometimes in people living close to factories. These ailments include asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, some cancers, fibrosis, granulomatous disease, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. |
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Examples of industries related to occupational allergies include: |
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Metal-refining industry - exposure to the complex salts of platinum results in disorders of the upper or lower respiratory tract. |
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Cotton industry - byssinosis (a lung ailment caused by inhaling cotton dust) has been found in a large percentage of cardroom workers and in a small percentage of spinners. |
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Polyurethane foaming industry - chemicals used there may decrease lung function among exposed workers. |
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Industries of thermoplastic materials and polyurethane – in a US study, 5% of workers exposed to toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) developed occupational asthma. |
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People breeding or studying animals for scientific purposes – in a US study, 6% of them developed asthma. |
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Detergent industry – in worldwide studies, 2% of all exposed employees develop asthma symptoms from inhaling enzymes used in enzyme-containing detergents. |
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| Forced-Air System's Lung - common among office workers |
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| Exposure to a variety of organisms contaminating forced-air systems in homes and work areas may cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Air conditioners, heating systems, and humidifiers have all been implicated. |
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| Therefore, diseases similar to a farmer's lung (caused by inhaling mouldy hay and other fodder) can occur in urban office workers, since some organisms can grow in air conditioners and humidifiers, as well as in hay. Forced-air system's lung is thought to occur more frequently than generally recognized, and it may represent a serious health problem. |
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| Household items that may irritate the respiratory tract / provoke asthma: |
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Aerosols and sprays |
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Insecticides |
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Aromatic plants and trees |
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Lint |
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Car and diesel engine fumes |
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Medicinals |
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Cooking odours |
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Newspapers |
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Cosmetics |
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Paints |
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Deodorants |
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Perfumes |
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Household cleaning products |
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Tooth pastes and powders |
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| Industrial materials known to cause allergic problems: |
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Industry |
Materials known to cause allergy |
Bakers, farmers, grain handlers |
Flour |
Detergent |
Enzymes from Bacillus subtilis |
Metal refining |
Complex salts of platinum |
Oil and food |
Castor bean
Green coffee bean
Papain
Pancreatic extracts
Organic dusts
Molds |
Pharmaceutical |
Phenylglycine acid chloride |
Plastics, rubber and resin |
Hog trypsin
Ethylenediamine
Phthalic anhydride
Trimellitic anhydride |
Veterinarians, animal and poultry breeders, laboratory workers, fishermen, sericulture |
Animal, bird, fish and insect serum, dander, secretions, excreta, contaminated water |
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| Industrial materials presumed to cause allergic problems: |
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Industry |
Materials presumed to cause allergy |
Farmers, grain elevator operators |
Grain (including insect and grain related contaminants) |
Farm workers |
Organic phosphorus |
Meat wrappers, electrical trade |
Pyrolysis products of polyvinyl chlorides
Price labels and adhesives
Soldering fluxes |
Medical, pharmaceutical |
Formalin |
Metal plating |
Salts of nickel |
Pharmaceutical |
Ampicillin
Spiramycin
Piperazine
Amprolium hydrochloride
Antibiotic dusts |
Polyurethane, printers, adhesives |
Di-isocyanates (TDI, HDI, MDI) |
Printers |
Vegetable gums (Acacia, Karaya), natural resins |
Textile and cotton seed oil |
Cotton dust |
Wood mills, carpenters |
Wood dusts |
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