What Is Asbestosis?

A history of asbestos exposure may provide the first clue to an asbestosis diagnosis or a pleural mesothelioma diagnosis. It may take years between a persons exposure to asbestos and the appearance of early symptoms such as shortness of breath and chest pain. When these symptoms occur it is important to get a diagnosis as soon as possible for the best prognosis of asbestos.

A doctor may test for an asbestosis diagnosis by doing x–rays. They may show small irregular opaque areas, usually in the lower areas of the lungs. Pleural plaques which indicate a pleural mesothelioma diagnosis may also show up in an x–ray. However, x–rays are limited in detecting an early asbestosis diagnosis.

For a better prognosis of asbestos a CT scan might be more useful in showing an asbestosis diagnosis or pleural mesothelioma diagnosis than an x–ray, especially in cases where a person may have a normal chest x–ray. An early detection will have a better prognosis of asbestos.

All about Asbestosis
• What is Asbestosis? Asbestosis is not a lung cancer disease but is rather the inhalation or breathing in of asbestos fibers from the air.

• When asbestos fibers are inhaled into the body, the lungs are irritated and inflammed. This leads to cell damages.

• Consequently, a scar tissue (aka fibrosis) develops in the interstitial spaces around the small airways and alveoli (a tiny, thin-walled, capillary-rich sac in the lungs that facilitates the exchange of oxygen and carbondioxide).

• This scar tissue prevents oxygen and carbondioxide from travelling between alveoli and the blood cells. This leads to breathing problems.

• Asbestosis can be detected by performing x-rays or a PFT (pulmonary function test). The PFT test works when the functioning of the lungs is hindered

Asbestos Products
These products today still exist in schools, homes and old buildings. They all contain asbestos.

Take notice: most of these below products are of insulating and fireproofing nature.

• patching and joint compound
• soundproofing or decorative material, like acoustical textures
• duct insulation for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems
• asbestos and cement shingles, siding, and roofing
• thermal seals
• insulated electric and wire panels
• millboard and transite board
• pipe and furnace insulation materials
• the backing on vinyl sheet flooring
• floor tile adhesives and coatings
• fireproof gloves, blankets, curtains and stove-top pads, asbestos cloth
• resilient floor tiles
• spackling compounds
• automobile brake pads and linings, clutch facings, and gaskets

Asbestos Lung Cancer
Asbestos exposure causes lung cancer. Asbestos is the name of a group of minerals that occur naturally as fibers and are used in certain industries. Asbestos fibers tend to break easily into particles that can float in the air and stick to clothes. When the particles are inhaled, they can lodge in the lungs, damaging cells and increasing the risk for lung cancer.

Studies have shown that workers who have been exposed to large amounts of asbestos have a risk of developing lung cancer that is 3 to 4 times greater than that for workers who have not been exposed to asbestos. This asbestos exposure has been observed in such industries as shipbuilding, asbestos mining and manufacturing, insulation work, and brake repair.

People who have been exposed to asbestos and are also exposed to other carcinogens, such as those in cigarette smoke, have a significantly greater risk of developing lung cancer than people who have only been exposed to asbestos. One study indicates that asbestos workers who smoke are about 90 times more likely to develop lung cancer than people who neither smoke nor have been exposed to asbestos.

Exposure to asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer, asbestos lung cancer or mesothelioma. A potentially dangerous exposure can result from very small fibers or dust particles at low exposure levels. Most such asbestos exposure would likely have occurred prior to the 1980s, but the latency period can be up to 40 years for most lung cancer or mesothelioma to develop.