an inflammation of the lungs and has been described for a long time with many different causes generally there are environmental causes such as the classic one with people who are exposed to moldy grain in silos or cotton fibers or certain other molds he said sometimes its certain metals like beryllium doctors band directors advise cleaning instrument these allergies can be dangerous and progressive causing fibrosis of the lung but usually its only an acute disease according to blaser doctors have long known about hypersensitivities to the brass dust in metal factories he said people always thought it was the metal itself but maybe its the mold said blaser its either due to the metal the mold or the action of the metal all three are possibilities when american researchers examined the study subjects trombone they found large number of microbacteria after immersing his instrument in 91 percent isopropyl alcohol the man saw his cough disappear and he has been symptom free for 20 months the association between disease and wind instruments such as the trombone trumpet french horn tuba and saxophone seems counterintuitive anecdotally wind instrument musicians have reported a greater lung capacity and even improved asthma because of their musical hobbies a 2009 study of orchestras in croatia suggested that these musicians may be susceptible to chronic upper airway symptoms interestingly wind instrument playing may be associated with higher than expected lung function parameters popular saxophone player kenny gcan reportedly hold a note for up to 20 minutes other wind artists practice socalled circular breathing that allows them to inhale and exhale simultaneously but professionals know the brass instrument which cant be swabbed out like a woodwind can harbor more than just breath greg mccutcheon a clarinet player and director of bands at birdville independent school districtoutside fort worth texas tell his middle school musicians to rinse out their mouths before picking up their instruments whatever they eat before they play even chewing gum all the sugar gets blown into the instrument said mccutcheon all that stuff gets stuck and is sitting there over time in high school the kids who are serious about playing brush their teeth before they play he said a hot humid climate like that in texas can also wreak havoc with brass instruments according to mccutcheon 29 when i taught in houston our schools would turn the airconditioning off and a lot of the instruments got mold on them it was gross there was mold inside and out and we had to send them in for a chemical repair arthur goodridge a saxophone and flute player from medford mass said he too is not surprised some brass players develop hp the 61yearold has been playing since he was in the fourth grade and said he would definitely pay attention to any symptoms of lung disease my brother and sister and cousin played trombone said goodridge my cousin was never hospitalized but he had some breathing problems that were never diagnosed when he