A patient who has occupational asthma should learn what causes symptoms and how to control them, and what to do when an asthma attack occurs. Because asthma symptoms and the substances that provoke them can change, a patient who has occupational asthma should be closely monitored by a family physician, allergist, or doctor who specializes in occupational medicine or lung disease. Prognosis Occupational asthma is usually reversible. However, continued exposure to the symptom-producing substance can cause permanent lung damage. In time, occupational asthma can cause asthma-like symptoms to occur when the patient is exposed to tobacco smoke, household dust, and other ordinary irritants.
Smoking aggravates symptoms of occupational asthma.
Patients who eliminate workplace exposure and stop smoking are more apt to recover fully than those who change jobs but continue to smoke. Prevention Industries and environments whose employees have a heightened exposure to substances known to cause occupational asthma can take measures to diminish or eliminate the amount of pollution in the atmosphere or decrease the number of workers exposed to it. Regular medical screening of workers in these environments may enable doctors to diagnose occupational asthma before permanent lung damage takes place. 85 West Algonquin Road, Suite 550, Arlington Heights, IL 60005. The Thomson Corporation.