Doctors warn of danger of 'feather duvet lung'

[KY_EnviroGuy]

Doctors warn of danger of 'feather duvet lung'
Medical team say people’s unexplained breathlessness could be down to bedding dust
Nicola Davis
@NicolaKSDavis
Mon 18 Nov 2019 23.30 GMT

One of the report’s authors said many cases of feather duvet lung could go undiagnosed

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/nov/18/doctors-warn-of-danger-of-feather-duvet-lung

(snip)

As winter approaches it might be tempting to curl up under a thick feather duvet, but experts have warned it might lead to more than just warm toes. Doctors have reported a case of “feather duvet lung” – a lung inflammation caused by breathing in dust from the feathers in bedding – and have called for medical professionals to be on the alert if patients turn up with unexplained breathlessness.
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The condition, they say, is a rare subgroup of “bird fancier’s lung” – itself a form of hypersensitivity pneumonitis – which is caused by exposure to feathers and droppings. Other forms of hypersensitivity pneumonitis include “farmer’s lung” , “bagpiper’s lung”, “paprika slicer’s lung” and even “mummy-handler’s lung”, reflecting the wide range of activities that have been linked to breathing in substances that can cause serious lung inflammation.

“There are several hundred different types of hypersensitivity pneumonitis,” said Dempsey. “For medical professionals it is really important to be nosy and take a meticulous history and ask people about exposures because there are lots of things people do that we don’t always appreciate when we are sitting in a clinic or surgery.”

Perhaps folks should think twice before ordering that comfy comforter as a gift for friends.

My big issue is more brain related, a clear case of contamination from tRump detritus every day.......

[dewsgirl]

1. Yikes, I have used them for the last 15 years. I also

sleep with feather pillows. I can't sleep without them.

[NJCher]

2. oh nooooooooooo

I love my down comforter.

[Liberty Belle]

3. I doubt this. Feathers are contained inside the duvet or pillow.

I actually got these after having allergy issues with other types of bedding and have done much better with the natural products.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

5. The feathers are but not dust particles created by frequent pounding that.....

pillows and covers receive. In the microscopic world, fabrics are like a mesh or screen through which fine particles can escape.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feather

Structures and characteristics

Feathers are among the most complex integumentary appendages found in vertebrates and are formed in tiny follicles in the epidermis, or outer skin layer, that produce keratin proteins. The ?-keratins in feathers, beaks and claws — and the claws, scales and shells of reptiles — are composed of protein strands hydrogen-bonded into ?-pleated sheets, which are then further twisted and crosslinked by disulfide bridges into structures even tougher than the ?-keratins of mammalian hair, horns and hooves.

If you take a cloth bag of feathers and gently pound them with a mallet to simulate months of use, we would find quite an amount of keratin dust escaping from the bag. I believe that's what some folks are allergic to.

Obviously, you don't have that form of allergy mentioned in this article so that's good.....

[NCLefty]

4. Wait, this is bad for me?? *spits out feathers*

[Chemisse]

6. It says 'hypersensitivity' and mentions immune response.

That suggests that only certain people will have this problem.

The rest of us can enjoy our feather pillows without fear.

[oldsoftie]

7. Feathers have never been comfy for me anyway. Too easily flattened.

Especially pillows. Ugh

[FM123]

8. Interesting article!

[CousinIT]

9. I quit using down. Cruelty involved is unacceptable.

They tear the bird's skin off.

I use down alternatives now, and flannel sheets.

[ret5hd]

10. Your condition is named "drumpmentia".