Causes And Risk Factors Of Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

Humidifier Lung

Humidifier lung is a type of virus-induced inflammation of the lungs that typically occurs as a result of breathing in air being fed by a humidifier that has been colonized and taken over by thriving bacteria. This happens from a very simple error individuals make all the time: improperly cleaning or not cleaning the humidifier at all. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis happens when whatever the humidifier is infusing into the air is inhaled regularly for a time. This could be something that sounds as harmless as dust produced from the calcified minerals from the tap water in the humidifier. Or, it could be something is as harmful as mold spores, microbes, and thousands of bacteria are being shot into the air to be inhaled. On the other hand, hypersensitivity pneumonitis can also happen when someone does clean and disinfect the humidifier, and the chemicals used to do so end up infusing into the air and are inhaled.

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Farmer's Lung

An allergy most commonly found in individuals who have an occupation in the agriculture industry is called farmer's lung. The antigen itself can be moldy grains, moldy hay, or moldy straw. The reason why individuals are exposed to these moldy materials is due to the improper drying mechanism of where the grains, straw, and hay are stored. This results in the growth of a mold colony in the material, and when the bales are separated for use, the extremely fine dust particles that shoot into the air have mold in them. Those tiny particles are so small that they can get all the way into the inner components of the lungs like the alveoli. When the body has a hyperactive reaction to such exposure, farmer's lung turns into full blown hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Each exposure to the same antigen following the initial exposure causes compounding of the severity of the allergy to it. Eventually, excessive scar tissue will develop throughout the lungs, causing permanent and irreversible damage.

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