Asbestosis is a pulmonary disease that is caused by exposure to asbestos. The illness can be present due to extended exposure or from a single incident. The symptoms for asbestosis usually don’t appear until years later when upper respiratory symptoms start to appear and gets more severe over time.

Causes of Asbestosis

When Asbestos fibers are inhaled into the lungs it causes inflammation and irritation and over time scar tissue is formed and this scar tissue starts to replace the healthy tissue. When this happens the lungs cannot expand and contract the way a healthy lung does, this causes several upper respiratory issues, like pulmonary disease.

Symptoms

The symptoms of asbestosis appear after the lungs have experienced stages of scarring. The symptoms consist of difficulty breathing during any type of activity and at rest. There may be painful breathing and painful coughing present and there may be finger clubbing present, where the fingers tend to curl under.

Diagnosis

Once symptoms start to arrive and the patient goes to see a doctor the doctor may perform pulmonary function test, a chest x-ray, a CT scan, and they may also check for asbestos poisoning in the body.

Treatment

There is no known cure for Asbestosis but there are surgical procedures that can be done, drugs that can be administered and alternative methods that can be used to relieve some of the symptoms and improve the quality of life of someone affected by this disease. Surgical procedures could consist of a lung transplant or removing some of the scar tissue. The drugs administered may be pain medicine and antibiotics. The alternative methods that may be used could include acupuncture, homeopathic supplements and herbal medicines.

Conclusion

Asbestosis is a disease that is slowly becoming more wide spread because it takes years to show symptoms and many people were unaware that they had this disease, and many wait too long to go to their physician. There is no cure for this disease but early detection and vigilance will help someone who is affected by this disease to live a better life for as long as they possibly can. Education and healthy living is the key to living a long and happy life. Asbestosis is the scarring stage of the disease and if caught early it can be treated to a degree before it gets into the advanced stages of the disease. Live and be healthy.