Tuberculosis

[Guest]

My 48 yr. old husband has been told by an X-ray (read by a radiologist) that he has "mild" silicosis in all lobes of his lungs. He welded inside of huge towers used to manufacture/store concrete, for several months, maybe even a year in the '70s. His diagnosis was as a result of agreeing to legal representation if it was determined that he had silicosis. He has not seen a doctor for this. He does have a chronic cough and has for a few years. Should he see our family doctor and ask for a referal to a pulmonologist? Is there anything in particular that we should know? This is all very new. He does still weld for a living. Is it okay to continue that line of work?

[Guest]

Anyone with the diagnosis of silicosis should see a pulmonologist and specifically one who is familiar with the disease. We often recommend patients not weld after getting the diagnosis but that should be determined by his physician and the pulmonologist.
[quote] My 48 yr. old husband has been told by an X-ray (read by a radiologist) that he has "mild" silicosis in all lobes of his lungs... [/quote]