Been Breathing in Crap

[Ben1989]

Hi all,

Really worried at the moment. Was sanding some rusted steel parts at work.

Afterwards, I went to the bathroom to blow my nose. The tissue was nothing but black. ALL this black crap came out of my nose. I'm super worried about my lungs. Do I go to a doctor for precautionary's? What do I do?

[BlueIris]

No need, I used to work in a warehouse and my nose always blew black at the end of the day. You'll be fine, take a deep breath and get your anxiety under control

[KK77]

We breathe in "crap" all the time - our lungs deal with it. Even going on London Tube causes black crap when you blow nose.

You should use mask when sanding though.

[Ben1989]

It was dark black, not just ‘hint’ of black. And I feel it in my chest.

Yes I know I should wear a mask when sanding. Definitely in future. I was sanding rust off of a steel foot using a belt sander


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[ankietyjoe]

Sporadic exposure would cause no issues. Just wear a mask next time.

Problems arise when you inhale particulates for months or years on end. Your body is perfectly capable of processing the odd bit of crap.

[ErinKC]

Our noses are designed shield our respiratory systems from stuff like this, which is why all that black was in there. The tiny hairs in your nose are meant to catch dirt, dust, debris, bacteria, etc... so they don't get further into our systems. So, when you blew your nose you were likely blowing all the stuff that was caught right there in your nose hairs.

[RadioGaGa]

No your cilia are doing what they're (designed/evolved) to do - that is, catch 'crap' in the air and filter it out via mucus.

No need to worry

Good luck