What should you know about metal fume fever?

The illness can follow welding, cutting, brazing or other work that heats metal and releases fine fumes. Symptoms may begin after leaving the work area and can include a metallic taste, cough, chest tightness, tiredness, nausea, fever and shivering. The timing and the type of metal involved help a clinician distinguish this illness from [Acute Bronchitis](/conditions/acute-bronchitis/), a viral infection or another inhalation injury. Fumes can irritate the airways even when fever is absent. Tell the clinician what task you were doing, whether ventilation or respiratory protection was used, and whether anyone else became unwell.

Move into fresh air and stop the task. Do not return to the area until the source has been identified and workplace controls are in place. Rest, drink fluids if you can, and use only medicines that are suitable for you; a pharmacist can advise on fever or aches. Avoid smoking and strenuous activity while coughing or feeling feverish. Arrange medical advice if symptoms are significant, last longer than expected, recur after workplace exposure, or you have asthma, heart disease or another lung condition. Keep the product or metal safety information available for the clinician.

Get emergency help for severe breathlessness, blue lips, confusion, fainting, chest pain, or swelling of the face or throat. Seek same-day assessment for worsening cough, wheezing, chest tightness, repeated vomiting, dehydration or a fever that is not settling. A clinician may check oxygen levels and listen to your lungs, especially after heavy exposure. Do not assume every fever after welding is metal fume fever; infection such as [COVID-19](/conditions/covid-19/) can occur at the same time.

Ask: Which fumes could explain my symptoms? Do I need lung or oxygen checks? When is it safe to return to work? What ventilation and respiratory protection should be reviewed?