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Warning-sign checks

Silicosis: when to get help

Go through these in order and stop at the first one that applies. If you are reading this for someone else, answer for them.

  1. 1

    Is any of this happening now?

    Call 911

    Call emergency services for severe difficulty breathing, blue or grey lips, confusion, fainting, severe chest pain, or more than a small streak of coughed-up blood.

    Do not drive yourself if breathing is severely affected.

    Other emergency signs, for anyone
    • Someone who is struggling to breathe, gasping, choking, or cannot get words out
    • Someone who has chest pain, tightness or pressure lasting more than a few minutes
    • Someone who has sudden weakness or drooping on one side of the face or body, slurred speech, or sudden confusion
    • Someone who is unconscious, or cannot be woken
    • Someone who is bleeding heavily and it will not stop with firm pressure
    • Someone who has had a seizure that will not stop, or does not wake up afterwards
    • Someone who has lips or skin that look pale, blue, grey or blotchy
    • Someone who you believe has taken an overdose or swallowed something poisonous
  2. 2

    Is any of this happening?

    Be seen today

    Seek urgent same-day assessment for a sudden change in breathlessness, fever with worsening cough, new blood in mucus, or chest pain.

    These symptoms may be caused by infection, a blood clot, a collapsed lung, or another problem that needs prompt evaluation.

  3. 3

    Does any of this apply?

    Book an appointment

    Arrange a routine medical appointment if you have persistent cough or breathlessness and have worked with stone, concrete, sand, mining dust, or another source of silica.

    Mention all relevant jobs, including work from many years ago.

    If you have already been diagnosed, attend planned reviews even when you feel well.

    Seek earlier advice if your breathing is gradually worsening, you are losing weight without trying, or respiratory infections are becoming more frequent.

Every sign above is quoted from the sofidex article on Silicosis. If you are not sure, err upward — it is always reasonable to be checked.