That's so awesome! Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately I haven't been able to wear a mask while working. I tend to get hot so easily and just find it nearly impossible to function while wearing a mask at work. Since I started working in my own little shop right outside my house, I have cut back quite a bit and I don't have as many clients that shed badly, plus most of them I know well and they come often, so the horrible skin issues aren't common. After reading this article and your reply, I'm definitely going to put in all of my efforts into wearing a mask while blowing out a shedding dog and any with skin issues and get a small fan to help blow anything away from my face. One thing that I originally thought would be better for me, is a cool air cage dryer that's used with a wire cage that is completely out in the open (so there is no closed in area. The air moves through freely like a windy day). It cut down on my time using the forced air dryer which forces EVERYTHING to fly all around in the air. I worry now that having particles floating around for longer periods of time (even if they're being blown around with less force) may be making things worse for me. Plus, I normally brood chicks in the bathroom of my shop, but leave the bathroom door open unless I'm working. So there's chicken dander, dog dander, dust, and who knows what else flying around for the majority of time that I'm out there working. Between that and my chickens outside, I'm a little worried. Maybe that explains why I feel significant pain lately in the same lung that was so sick over 2 years ago, anytime I yawn or attempt to take a nice deep breath. I am certainly not excited to visit with my pulmonologist but I am enthusiastic about taking some information with me that I feel is truly relevant. My GP, the hospitalist, and my pulmonologist (never seen a pulmonologist before I got so sick) worked really hard trying to figure out what happened and how I became so sick. They never figured it out. I'm so curious if this could be the answer, especially because my lung seems to be flaring up again.
