Dust inhalation affects your body in various ways. For instance, in the early few weeks or months of dust exposure, you may experience eyes, nose, and throat irritation, inflammation of the mucous membrane, and repeated coughing.
However, dust can also affect your airways, making breathing harder through your nasal cavity.
In extreme situations, rapid exposure to dust inhalation may result in the development of pulmonary diseases, including asthma, characterized by symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing, and coughing.
Others may suffer from pneumonia and likely experience fatigue, nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath, chest pain when coughing, and rapid fever and chills.
Those suffering from COPD may experience increased breathlessness, persistent cough, and wheezing.
Lastly, those exposed to silica dust, especially in the construction and mining industries, may develop silicosis that can become lung cancer after long-term dust exposure. Silicosis is mainly characterized by fatigue, fever, blue discoloration on the lips, leg swelling, and lung scarring upon diagnosis.