Health Issues – Asbestosis
Asbestosis is the name given to a type of lung disease which is caused by long term exposure to asbestos. It is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the parenchymal tissue of the lung, and is most often seen as severe shortness of breath, or dyspnoea. People who have asbestosis also have an increased risk of developing several types of lung cancer, although these are separate issues in their own right and should not be confused with asbestosis itself.
The disease itself is most often seen in people who are exposed to high levels of asbestos as a result of their occupations – people who mine, manufacturer products, handle asbestos removal are most at risk of asbestosis.
The main asbestos symptoms of asbestosis is shortness of breath, especially after periods of exertion. This effect may appear slowly and with little impact at first, but can gradually become more severe over time and even lead, in advanced cases of the disease, to an acute form in which respiratory or heart failure is possible. Clinically, those with asbestosis have a characteristic ‘crackling’ noise when drawing breath and ‘clubbing’ or thickening of the fingers. Coughs are not usually associated with asbestosis unless the person also has another respiratory illness. Diagnosis of asbestosis, especially in the early stages, may be complicated by the fact that the signs often do not begin to appear until 5 years or more after the initial exposure to the material.
The shortness of breath which typifies asbestosis is caused by inflammation and scarring of the lung tissue, which reduces the area available for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide needed for efficient breathing. This effect occurs when tiny asbestos strands, (usually the straight, thin amphibole type) are breathed in and lodge deep inside the lungs. The natural defence mechanisms then try to destroy this foreign body, and this response causes inflammation around the asbestos strand. Because asbestos is extremely tough and is very resistant to being broken down by the body the inflammatory reaction may be chronic – in other words, the reaction will be relatively slow and will occur over a long period of time. As time goes on the ingested fibres are covered in new fibrous tissue which is not as flexible and is thicker than usual, making gas exchanging more difficult and resulting in the decreased efficiency of the lungs. This fibrous tissue slowly increases in size as the body continues to fight the inhaled asbestos. The more fibres that have been inhaled, the higher the potential for lung damage and the more severe the effects of asbestosis will be.
The treatment of asbestosis relies on managing the effects and alleviating the symptoms of the disease rather than attempting to cure it. Oxygen treatment is often given to relieve the shortness of breath, and nebulizers similar to those given to allergy and asthma sufferers can help overcome the loss of effective lung tissue. Respiratory physiotherapy may also be useful in more severe cases as it can help the lungs to drain properly.