asbestosis

Introduction

Asbestosis is a chronic (long-term) lung condition caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos is a general term for a group of minerals made of microscopic fibres. In the past, it was widely used in construction.

Asbestos can be very dangerous. It does not present a health risk if it is undisturbed, but if material containing asbestos is chipped, drilled, broken or allowed to deteriorate, it can release a fine dust that contains asbestos fibres.
                                      

When the dust is breathed in, the asbestos fibres enter the lungs and can gradually damage them over time. For asbestosis to develop, prolonged exposure to relatively high numbers of the fibres is necessary. However, it is not the only factor, as many people avoid getting asbestosis, despite heavy exposure.

                                 
Symptoms of asbestosis

Breathing in asbestos fibres may eventually scar the lungs of some people, which can lead to a number of symptoms, including:

    shortness of breath – this may only occur after physical activity at first, but it can eventually become a more constant problem
    a persistent cough
    wheezing
    fatigue (extreme tiredness)
    chest pain
    in more advanced cases, clubbed (swollen) fingertips

Nowadays, most people who are diagnosed with asbestosis were exposed many years ago, before there were effective controls on exposure to asbestos fibres in the workplace.

See your GP if you have the above symptoms and you think you may have been exposed to asbestos in the past.

Read more about diagnosing asbestosis.
Treating asbestosis

There is no cure for asbestosis once it has developed, because it is not possible to reverse the damage to the lungs.
                                               
One of the most important things someone with the condition can do is to stop smoking, if they smoke. This is because the symptoms are more likely to get worse in people who smoke, and smoking also increases the risk of lung cancer in people with asbestosis.

If necessary, treatments such as oxygen therapy can improve the quality of life of someone with asbestosis.

Outlook

The outlook for asbestosis can vary significantly, depending on the extent of damage to the lungs and whether any other conditions are present.

Asbestosis can get worse over time and severe cases can place a significant strain on a person's health and shorten their life expectancy, but in many cases the condition progresses very slowly or not at all.

However, people with asbestosis have a higher risk of developing other serious and potentially life-threatening conditions, such as:

    pleural disease – where the membrane covering the lungs (pleura) becomes thicker, which can further contribute to breathlessness and chest discomfort
    mesothelioma – a type of cancer that affects the membrane that covers the lungs, heart and gut
    lung cancer

Overall, more people with asbestosis die as a result of one of the cancers mentioned above, or from natural causes, than from asbestosis itself.