When an otherwise tidy middle - aged man suddenly began feel intense weariness , malaise , and increasing difficulty breathing , his physician were stumped . Four inconclusive visit with his general practitioner provided little resolve , and it was only a matter of metre before the 43 - twelvemonth - old would exhibit symptom so severe that his casual life was bear upon .
doctor initially attributed the enigma condition to a lower respiratory tract infection . A chest skiagraph indicated his respiratory wellness was otherwise “ normal ” , but symptom were becoming so unfit that he could only stand or walk for a few minutes without feeling like he was go to pass out .
“ Two months after the onset of the symptoms , I was ineffective to stand or walk for more than a few second at a time without feeling like I was go to pass out , ” compose the affected role in the case study . “ die upstairs to layer was a 30min natural process as I could only manage two stairs at a time and then needed to sit and sleep . I was sign off study and spent most of the time asleep ( twenty-four hours and night ) . ”
A team of doctors began to look at other potential contributors . A line of descent examination revealed that the affected role had antibodies present to bird feathering dust , but although the human beings admitted to having a pocket-size amount of mould in his toilet and owning a cat and Canis familiaris , he said he had no fowl . go - rays indicated that the man had hypersensitivity pneumonitis , a condition where the airwave sacs and airways become inflamed due to a actuate resistant response , typically by repeatedly inhaling allergens that can sometimes result in irreversible impairment . That ’s when he remembered that he and his married woman had recently supplant their synthetic bedding with a feather - occupy duvet .
The diagnosis : feathering eiderdown lung ( FDL ) , or extrinsic allergic dry socket , result from the repeat inhalation of organic debris from duck’s egg or goose feather found in eiderdown and pillow .
Doctors advised the gentleman to get rid of his feather - filled have it away straight off , as well as to cleanse out the bathroom mould and verify no birds were roost in his attic . He was also prescribed a series of steroids . Within the first month , his symptoms “ improved quickly ” and disappeared solely within a year .
" [ FDL ] is not unique – other casing have been key out – but just highlights the importance of asking about picture when occupy a history , " account author Dr Owen Dempsey , from the National Health Service , told IFLScience . " It is a very satisfying diagnosis to make , both for the clinician ( make us feel smart ! ) and the patient ( removing the duvet is a middling easygoing intervention ! ) . "
FDL is a term that is difficult to name as symptom can range from weariness to flu - similar symptoms . As the report source note , this is only one case and it is strange how vernacular it might be . Doctors often miss it because they do n’t ask about feather bedding . Due to the unsubtle compass of symptom , researchers observe it is likely many cases of FDL are either missed or diagnosed deep .
“ Our case reinforces the grandness of taking a meticulous exposure history and asking about domestic bedding in patient role with unexplained breathlessness , ” write the author inBMJ Case Reports . “ Prompt realisation and cessation of antigen exposure may preclude the development of irreversible lung fibrosis . "
The military man says that his oxygen saturation levels have since yield to normal and he has not had any “ empty-headed turns ” since recovering .
“ It does n’t affect me at all now and my life is pretty much as it was before , ” he adds .
But do n’t go thrash out your feathering - occupy duvet just yet .
" Most folk will be absolutely fine . So , mass binning of duvets and pillows is not the key subject matter , rather just that patient and their health care professionals should be meticulous in their history pickings and mindful of existing and perhaps novel exposures , yet to be discovered , " said Dempsey .
