Newton County Times' Outhouse Companion
Bruised Lung (Pulmonary Contusion)
A bruised lung can happen after a blow to the chest and may cause fluid buildup in the lungs. It's important to see a doctor if you have chest pain or difficulty breathing after a chest injury. You may need urgent treatment.
A bruised lung often occurs after a blow to the chest. The blunt impact can damage blood vessels, causing blood and fluid to build up in your lungs. Too much fluid in your lungs can reduce the amount of oxygen your body receives. A pulmonary contusion is the most common injury to the lung in people who experience blunt trauma to the chest.
A bruised lung is also called a pulmonary contusion. Left unchecked, bruised lungs can have life-threatening consequences. A pulmonary contusion is the result of injury to the small blood vessels of the lungs. It's not related to tears in the lung tissue.
Pulmonary contusions are most often the result of a direct blow or trauma to the chest. Car accidents and falls are the most common cause of lung bruising. Sports injuries or physical assaults can be other causes as well. The risks of serious complications are highest when more than 20 percent of the lung has been bruised.
Serious complications include respiratory infections, deep lung infections, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). These conditions are often accompanied by low oxygen levels as well.
Depending on the amount of lung tissue that has been bruised, the lungs can take days or weeks to heal. If the initial pain has not improved after a few days, schedule a visit with your doctor to discuss treatment.
A pulmonary contusion often shows few symptoms in the beginning. Pain is the most common symptom. If your pain is not improving or getting worse within three days or is accompanied by shortness of breath, seek immediate medical attention.
Signs and symptoms you may experience with a bruised lung can include:
More severe signs and symptoms of a pulmonary contusion can include:
Any of these symptoms should prompt you to seek immediate medical care.
Blunt impact to the chest can bruise your lungs and cause a number of other problems. Common injuries that can occur alongside a lung contusion include:
Treatment depends on the severity of the injury. Doctors will check your symptoms and may order a number of tests to determine how much fluid, if any, has entered into your lungs. These tests can also identify any additional injuries occurring alongside a bruised lung.
Some tests doctors may use to check the extent of your injuries include:
The primary goal of treatment is to increase oxygen flow and reduce pain. Time is needed for the lung tissue to heal. There is no specific medication or treatment currently known to speed up the healing process of a lung contusion.
Doctors typically recommend oxygen therapy to ease breathing. If you are unable to breathe on your own, they may put you on a ventilator to assist your lungs in breathing regularly.
Your doctor may also prescribe medication to reduce pain and bruising to the lungs. If there is any fluid in your lungs, you may need a variety of treatments, including breathing support such as BiPap or CPAP to increase oxygen flow.
Once you're home, deep breathing exercises can improve airflow through your lungs and help speed your recovery.
An intense blow to the chest or sudden impact can cause a bruised lung (pulmonary contusion). Pain and injury can range from minor to severe. If accompanied by shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, seek immediate medical attention. Any significant trauma to the chest, such as a car accident or fall, should be evaluated in the emergency room to assess the extent of injury.
Left unchecked, a pulmonary contusion can cause life-threatening complications. Discuss your concerns with your doctor.
Jeffco Neighbors' Group Proposes Moratorium On "Amazon-Type" Developments
At today's Jefferson County Board of Commissioners meeting, residents who are part of McIntyre Neighbors United — an organization formed to oppose a planned development off McIntyre Parkway and 58th Avenue — will try to slap a moratorium on "Amazon-type warehouse developments" in the county.The group says that the county's zoning code currently classifies logistics distribution centers like the one proposed near several neighborhoods in Jeffco as light industrial development when in reality, the impact they have on surrounding residential areas could be similar to that of heavy industrial projects.
"We've determined that this is a countywide issue," says Anne Laffoon, one of the leaders of McIntyre Neighbors United.
The group has bloomed, with its members now including eighteen homeowners' associations and 100 active volunteers. Many of these members spoke at a May 16 Jefferson County Board of Commissioners meeting about the idea for a moratorium. On May 23, they will officially submit a draft resolution into the record and request that the commissioners take it up for consideration.
The moratorium will ask that no logistics distribution centers within 3,000 feet of homes be approved until the zoning code is examined. Laffoon points out that in 2013, Jefferson County placed a moratorium on cannabis sales to study the issue before proceeding.
"That's exactly what we're asking for," she says.
The proposal that led to the formation of McIntyre Neighbors United sits on a site where research and development was done for the mining industry operated by Cyprus Amax Minerals. The development — from Constellation Real Estate Partners, a Texas-based development group — would turn the site into an industrial business park.
Constellation argues that it wouldn't be an "Amazon-type" project, as the group fears, seeing how it plans to preserve sightlines and build truck bays away from the edge of the site that abuts homes. However, the developer would not agree to a Good Neighbor Agreement when McIntyre Neighbors United requested one. The deal would have guaranteed that operations only took place during normal business hours and that buildings would be kept at two stories or less, among other provisions.
"Without knowing exactly who the tenants are, who the end users are, without having assurances from the developer and the county that they're going to ensure that this truly is a light industrial business park similar to what is there now...We just need to read the black-and-white print on the application that says this is going to be a logistics distribution center," Laffoon explains.
She notes that that no matter what the developers say they will do, the area's zoning could allow thousands of semi trucks to go in and out each day. "The question is, is that truly a light industrial use?" Laffoon adds. "Our position is no, it's not."
Constellation did not respond to a request for comment.
Along with the worries about how the development could disrupt the neighborhood, residents are concerned because the property has been contaminated in the past. In 2007, Cyprus Amax removed soil that was found to be contaminated with radionuclides when it closed out its radioactive materials license with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Neighbors worry that more testing for uranium is needed to be sure that developing the land is safe. Before AMAX came along, the site was owned by Kerr-McGee, which buried waste on the property.
McIntyre Neighbors United isn't just worried about old pollution; it's worried about new pollution the development could bring to the area. That's where the proposed moratorium would come into play.
"[Logistics distribution centers] are associated with increased cancer risks, pulmonary problems like increased asthma, incidences of asthma in children that are correlated with increased absences from schools," Laffoon says. Zoning regulations should reflect those risks, she argues.
The project is still in the permitting phase, as it needs to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to rework the Farmers Highline Canal on the property and work with CDPHE to be sure that the formerly contaminated land is up to snuff. McIntyre Neighbors United hopes to get the moratorium in place before the development can proceed.
The group has asked for public hearings on the development, even though none are technically required, and their lack of success with securing those meetings has pushed them to take bolder action — like proposing this moratorium.
"McIntyre Neighbors United is asking that we build for the future," Laffoon says, noting that housing, restaurants or a business park that would operate only during normal business hours would all be a better fit. "That, in our view, seems to be the opposite of a logistics distribution center."
But because the county's zoning considers those centers to be light industrial, they can be placed right next to homes, like this one would be. That shouldn't happen in a city that is planning for the future, Laffoon argues.
The group's moratorium could help other neighborhoods contemplate what sort of development is appropriate for them as well, she says. The goal isn't just to stop this development; it's also to give everyone in the county clarity in future development projects.
"Some folks, I think, will say, 'Well, you're just a bunch of NIMBYs,'" Laffoon says. "But this kind of logistics distribution center — which is a hybrid of a light industrial warehousing function combined with heavy industrial trucking and distribution operations — it shouldn't be in anybody's backyard."
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