Lung protection For military Personnel In Iraq And Afghanistan - One Soldier's belief

Lung associated problems among military personnel have increased greatly since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Working in an environment with so much dust, it's no surprise that many of us now have allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems. Some of us are having immunity problems, nasal drip, lung infections and bronchitis.

Many of us are coughing and hacking due to the dusty, sandy conditions here. Sometimes the dust is mixed with smoke, which is well disgusting to breathe (but keeping out breath wasn't an choice either!).

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I don't even want to think about what else is blowing in the air here. Some days the air looks like a pinkish haze and over 40 percent of the local citizen have respiratory problems.

Iraq and Afghanistan are two of the hottest countries on earth. The temperatures here can exceed 135 degrees while the hottest months! In blowing sandstorms our ears well fill with sand, not to mention the finer particles sticking in our hair and skin. While living in these conditions, we were constantly coughing from blowing dust and sand.

The Veterans administration says the benefits of lung safety and early screenings for military personnel are economic as well as humanitarian. They say it costs half the price to treat someone in the early stages of lung problems as it does to treat someone in the later stages.

Personally, I'd rather not go through any of the stages.

Dust and sand particles constantly float in the air and bandanas are not efficient at all. Respirators are too heavy and uncomfortable to be worn for long periods; which defeats their intended purpose.

Dust masks are widely ready here and I think we've pretty much tried all of them. The ability varies greatly. Afghani physicians have declared the disposable paper dust masks worthless. My Mom found a well good one online and sent some for my buddies and me. (Thanks mom!) So far, it's well working well, plus we can wear it damp and that keeps us cooler.

My buddy Jason got a dust mask from home that made him look like Darth Vader. It was black with a valve to exhale through. He sweated like a pig in that thing but he kept wearing it because he said it made him look unassailable. Two nights ago he roughly crashed a truck because the brainless mask made his goggles fog up and he couldn't see the road.

It's strange being here and manufacture sure my buddies and I stay alive. Sometimes it's fun and sometimes it's scary, though no one admits it. It's something I'll never forget, that's for sure. I'm finding transmit to going home to my girlfriend and my family. I just want to make sure that when I do, I'm in one piece and don't have the Afghani version of Black Lung Disease. God bless America.

Lung protection For military Personnel In Iraq And Afghanistan - One Soldier's belief

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