Symptoms of Farmer's Lung

What Are The Symptoms of Farmer’s Lung?

There are three different kinds of allergic reactions involved in Farmer’s Lung, and the associated symptoms are as follows:

An acute attack is an intense allergic reaction that can often happen within four to eight hours of inhaling the spores or microbes. Symptoms can include:

• A sudden feeling of sickness
• A dry, irritating cough
• Rapid Breathing
• Increased heart-rate
• Shortness of breath
• Fever and Chills

A Sub-Acute attack can be less intense than an acute attack, and in many cases comes on more slowly than an acute attack. Symptoms for this include:

• Shortness of Breath
• Mild fever with chills
• Lack of appetite
• Coughing
• Weight loss
• Aching in muscles and joints

Chronic Farmers Lung generally occurs if you spend long periods of time in the presence of the mould and often after you have had many acute attacks. At this stage it is likely that your lungs will have been permanently damaged, and symptoms include:

• A cough that won’t go away
• Night sweats
• Fever
• Shortness of breath that gets worse over time
• Weakness and loss of energy
• Depression
• Reduced appetite and subsequent weight loss
• Aches and Pains

In most cases people who suffer from acute or subacute farmers lung will get better with a combination of time and avoidance of the irritants, and only a minority will go on to develop Chronic Farmer’s Lung. A lot of sufferers notice that their symptoms become worse in winter when the environment is damper, and crops are more likely to be stored inside where there is less ventilation and so they can remain moist for longer periods of time, hence allowing the spores to develop.

If the symptoms are noticed early enough, a reduction in exposure to the allergens can be all it takes for the condition to be eliminated. Sadly in many cases people do not take the symptoms seriously – or in many cases blame them on other things, such as a cold or the flu. If Farmer’s Lung is allowed to become chronic, there is no cure, although there are treatments to help in reducing some of the more unpleasant symptoms.

Contact us today for free, no obligation advice regarding your Farmer’s Lung claim – either by calling us free on 0800 122 3130, or by requesting a free call back, whereby one of our team will contact you at a time of your choice, to discuss your situation.

We’re here to help – contact us today.