Dust from sawing

I have not read much or seen photos of people using masks or other
protection while sawing or filing, so I have never done so.

But yesterday I was doing quite a bit of sawing of 22 ga silver
sheet and in the evening experienced a lot of lung
congestion/coughing. As many of you know who were in Tucson over the
last few weeks, it’s very very dry right now in the beautiful Sonoran
Desert – everything seems to go airborne instantly (let’s not even
talk regular dust and the state of my house and studio).

Any thoughts on if this was possible, or was it coincidental? I
don’t have an air filter near my benchpin.

Roseann