What Are the Lungs?
The lungs are a pair of organs in the chest which are primarily responsible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air we breathe and the blood. There are many conditions that can impact the health of your lungs; Asthma, COPD, Tuberculosis, Bronchitis, Pleurisy and Pneumonia.
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- What Is Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency?
- Who Is At Risk for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency?
- How Is Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Treated?
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- What Are Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases?
- What Causes Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases?
- How Are Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases Diagnosed?
- How Are Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases Treated?
- What Is COPD?
- What Are the Signs and Symptoms of COPD?
- How Is COPD Treated?
- How Can COPD Be Prevented?
- What Is Pneumonia?
- What Causes Pneumonia?
- What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Pneumonia?
- How Is Pneumonia Treated?
- What Is Pulmonary Hypertension?
- What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Pulmonary Hypertension?
- How Is Pulmonary Hypertension Treated?
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What Causes Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases?
Significant exposure to asbestos fibers causes asbestos-related lung diseases. "Significant" usually means you were exposed for at least several months to visible dust from the fibers.
Asbestos fibers are very tiny. When you breathe them in, they can get stuck deep in your lungs. The fibers remain in your lung tissue for a long time and may cause scarring and inflammation. This can lead to pleural plaque and widespread pleural thickening, pleural effusion, asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma.
Generally, asbestos-related lung diseases develop 10 to 40 or more years after a person has been exposed to asbestos.
Being around products that contain asbestos isn't a danger, as long as the asbestos is enclosed. This prevents the fibers from escaping into the air.
Who Is At Risk for Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases?
Until the late 1970s, asbestos was widely used in many industries in the United States. During that time, workplace rules to ensure workers' safety around asbestos weren't required by law.
Asbestos was used in or with many products. Examples include steam pipes, boilers, and furnace ducts; wallboard; floor tiles; wood-burning stoves and gas fireplaces; car brakes, clutches, and gaskets; railroad engines; roofing and shingles; and wall-patching materials and paints.
Asbestos also was used in various other items, such as fireproof gloves, ironing board covers, cooking pot handles, and hairdryers.
Anyone employed for a prolonged period in mining, making, installing asbestos products before the late 1970s is at risk for asbestos-related lung diseases. Some examples of these workers include:
- - Miners
- - Aircraft and auto mechanics
- - Building construction workers
- - Electricians
- - Shipyard workers
- - Boiler operators
- - Building engineers
- - Railroad workers
In general, the risk is greatest for people who worked with asbestos and were exposed for at least several months to visible dust from asbestos fibers. The risk for asbestos-related lung diseases also depends on:
- - How much asbestos you were exposed to.
- - How long you were exposed to asbestos, and how often during that time you were in direct contact with it.
- - The size, shape, and chemical makeup of the asbestos fibers. Different types of asbestos fibers can affect the lungs differently. For example, chrysotile asbestos - a curly fiber - is less likely to cause mesothelioma than amphibole asbestos, a straight fiber.
- - Your individual risks, such as smoking or existing lung diseases.
Family members of people exposed to asbestos on the job also may be at risk. Family members may have breathed in asbestos fibers that were brought home on workers’ clothes, shoes, and bodies.
People who live in areas that have large deposits of asbestos in the soil also are at risk for asbestos-related lung diseases. However, this risk is limited to areas where the deposits were disturbed and asbestos fibers escaped into the air.
Asbestos fibers also can be released into the air when older buildings containing asbestos-made products are destroyed. Removing the products, such as during a building renovation, also can release asbestos fibers into the air.
Generally, being around asbestos-made products isn’t a danger as long as the asbestos is enclosed. This prevents the fibers from escaping into the air.
Today, people are less likely to develop asbestos-related lung diseases because the mineral is no longer widely used. Also, where asbestos is still used, rules and standards are now in place to protect workers and others from asbestos exposure.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases?
The signs and symptoms of asbestos-related lung diseases vary. They depend on the disease and how much lung damage has occurred. Signs and symptoms may not appear for 10 to 40 or more years after exposure to asbestos.
If you have pleural plaque, you may not have any signs or symptoms. Pleural effusion may cause pain in the chest on one side. Both conditions often are found with a chest x ray. These conditions may occur earlier than other asbestos-related lung diseases.
The main symptom of asbestosis is shortness of breath with physical exertion. You also may have a dry cough and feel tired. If your doctor listens to your lungs with a stethoscope, he or she may hear a crackling sound when you breathe in.
The symptoms of lung cancer may include a worsening cough or a cough that won't go away, trouble breathing, ongoing chest pain, and coughing up blood. Other symptoms of lung cancer include frequent lung infections, fatigue, and weight loss without a known cause.
Symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath and chest pain due to pleural effusion.
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