What would be the resultant by-products of a completely decomposed dead skin cell? What would be the size of each of the by-products of a decomposed dead skin cell? How long would it take for a dead skin cell to begin to decompose? I am curious because anything below the 10 micron range can enter the alveoli of the lungs and cause emphysema. I have had eczema since early childhood, and therefore have breathed in more dead skin cells and by-products of dead skin cells than those without eczema, principally during sleep.
The epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin, sheds corneocytes. Corneocytes are 30-50 micrometers in diameter. http://www.nanoscience.de/richter.old/corn.html