glossary

Farmer's lung

Definition Farmer's lung

Farmer's lung

Farmer's lung an occupational lung disease caused by allergy to fungal spores that grow in inadequately dried stored hay. It is an allergic *alveolitis, such as also results from sensitivity to many other allergens. An acute reversible from can develop a few hours after exposure; a chronic form, with the gradual development of irreversible breathlessness, occurs with or without preceding acute attacks. Avoidance of the allergen is the main principle of treatment.