Black lung disease will take your breath away

Breathing comes so naturally that most of us take it for granted. But for those suffering from pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, each breath is hard and painful.

The disease, a common occupational hazard among miners, happens when dust builds up and remains in the alveoli of the lung, causing constant inflammation that turns the normally elastic lung wall into fibrous scar tissues, and loses its function.

As the disease advances, patients suffer from coughing, wheezing, fatigue, and eventually, difficulties at every breath.