Lung Disease & Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

With much media speculation involving the risk for lung disease, associated with tuberculosis, there is another concern among many American travelers known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis. When traveling this summer and fall, be mindful of the risk we all face in contracted lung disorders, either by transmission from another individual or through environmental risks.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is a condition that results in the inflammation of the lung cavities, primarily following a repeated and prolonged exposure to environmental toxins such as mold and fungus. Without proper treatment, the inflammation of the lungs, resulting from prolonged exposure, can lead to chronic lung disease.

Often confused or treated as an allergic reaction, hypersensitivity pneumonitis leads to impairment in the lungs in which the exchange process of oxygen and carbon dioxide are impaired. When traveling, this level of exposure often occurs when we venture into outdoor, rural activities or when traveling to regions of the world where environmental pollutants are not well controlled. Avoiding hypersensitivity pneumonitis can be relatively difficult as the spread of the risk runs from rural, farming communities, to urban areas where pigeon droppings may be present.

With symptoms ranging from complicated breathing to fever to change in skin color, many travelers, who acquire hypersensitivity pneumonitis while on vacation, will go untreated and misdiagnosed for many years. The result, may be, that not only is extensive treatment required to remedy the lung infection, but surgery may also be indicated to remove scarred lung tissue that is no longer offering pulmonary function, known as pulmonary fibrosis.

When suffering from symptoms of respiratory distress, either while on vacation or after vacation, considering speaking with your healthcare professional about the range of respiratory diseases that may have been acquired while on vacation. While there is risk for contracted communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, there is an equally common risk for acquiring an environmentally based lung disease, such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The key, therefore, in ensuring your health is well maintained, is to focus on the symptoms and regions of the world you may have visited and then to obtain the necessary chest x-rays and medical treatment soon after your return from vacation.

While not all lung disease cases are realized immediately after vacation, a baseline study of the chest and lungs, can provide for a starting point on which to conduct several tests in the years after your vacation. Because many lung disease conditions, such as tuberculosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, take extended periods to develop and, therefore, be recognized, seeking regular and frequent healthcare screenings will ensure your lungs are protected against life altering damage and, possibly, you are guarded against infected other individuals.