Hamilton Lung

Hamilton Lung is a medical condition that has been branded by many as being completely isolated to one geographical area. That area is Hamilton, Ontario.
Symptoms:
Hamilton Lung normally describes a wheezing, similar to that of people who suffer from Asthma, paired with a slight, but hoarse cough. It is commonly mistaken for allergies, or a slight case of asthma, but research has shown that it is in fact a curable disease that is a direct result of living in, and breathing in the air in Hamilton.
History / Origins:
Now, of course, it is not Hamilton that produces the air, but the many factories and mills that are the backdrop to Hamilton's landscape. It is believed that the high concentration of pollution and dirt in Hamilton has a lasting and negative effect on its inhabitants. Clearly there are more severe ill effects from living in Hamilton, but this article is regarding Hamilton Lung, and will be focused on that.
The first cases of Hamilton Lung arose in 1987 when Julia Holt went to the doctor complaining of a wheeze and persistent, yet slight cough. Upon examining Julia, as well as inquiring about her line of work, as well as her activities outside of work, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Throughout 1987 there were several other cases of this that were written off as allergies, or a slight case of asthma. This continued until 1993 when a man who was born and raised in Hamilton, Devon Shear, visited a doctor in Toronto for the same condition. This doctor could find no reason for Devon's condition, nor could he find any evidence of asthma. Devon was sent home with some allergy pills and a recommendation of getting more rest.
Having never been concerned, or affected by allergies before, Devon began to question doctors within his place of birth, Hamilton, and found an alarming number of similar diagnoses. The one thing they all had in common? Being born and raised in Hamilton. It also appeared as though many people who were believed to have 'grown out' of the disease had simply left the town for at least 1 year and upon their return had no symptoms. However, these same people (normally students moving away for school, or contract steel workers) began complaining about their wheeze and coughs within 2 weeks of arriving back in Hamilton.
Devon then labelled this disease as 'Hamilton Lung'. After presenting his findings to several doctors in Hamilton doctors were able to more accurately diagnose Hamilton Lung, although were unable to cure it. As before, Asthma inhalers were (and still are) prescribed.
Treatment:
As described above, the normal prescription doctors will give out for Hamilton Lung is Asthma inhalers. For slight cases of Hamilton Lung a strong allergy pill (singular for example, which was originally released as an asthma medication) is prescribed, and is quite effective.
The only fully effective treatment for Hamilton Lung is to move to a city with cleaner air. As mentioned above, there are several notable cases where Hamilton residents left the city for 1 year and returned without any symptoms. Sadly the symptoms return soon after these cases returned to Hamilton. It is important to also note that all of these cases were also found to have no symptoms soon after leaving Hamilton.
Side Effects:
Cases of Hamilton Lung are also associated with very bad dental hygiene and severely misguided hairstyles and clothing.
Sources:
* http://www.inform.hamilton.ca/record/HAM0248
http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/firh/
http://www.on.lung.ca/Page.aspx?pid=467

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