Symptoms may include:
Asbestosis can't be cured, but it can be treated. The treatment is to help you feel better and keep the disease from getting worse.
Your doctor may:
You can take these steps to help yourself:
Tests to diagnose asbestosis include:
There are things you can do on your own. If you smoke, try to quit. Smoking makes asbestosis worse. Don't let other people smoke around you. Use oxygen and medicines as prescribed. Get vaccinated against COVID-19, the flu, and pneumonia. Try to avoid more exposure to asbestos at home or work.
Asbestos is a material that was commonly used for insulating and soundproofing older homes and buildings. It was also used as a material in manufacturing. Many people have been exposed to asbestos while working in mining, construction, and the military, and by removing asbestos from old buildings.
Asbestos can crumble and send fine fibers into the air. When you breathe in the fibers, they can irritate your lungs. Over time, your lungs get scarred, which makes the lungs less flexible for breathing.
Asbestosis is a long-term (chronic) lung disease that can get worse over time. It is caused by breathing tiny asbestos fibers into the lungs. The fibers scar the inside of the lungs, which makes it hard to breathe.
Many years may pass between the time you are exposed to the fibers and when you feel the effects of the disease. The amount of time can depend on how long the exposure was and how many fibers you breathed in.
Smoking makes the disease get worse faster and increases the chances of it leading to lung cancer.
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