How do small particles we breathe in from everyday sources not harm us?

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Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the air I we breathe when washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning, etc, and wondering how the small particles from these activities don’t cause damage to our lungs. I know the body has natural systems which filter what we breathe, but wouldn’t even a small amount of chemicals being inhaled cause long-term damage?

In: Biology

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

They do. But many take 30-50 years to accumulate to a level that causes problems. But the body also has ways of protecting against these particles before they get into the lungs, and also ways of getting rid of damage after the fact.
Problems arise when the body’s natural defences are not up to the task either due to large amounts of chemicals and materials being breathed in, or from the body’s immune system being compromised.

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