Asbestosis Symptoms

Asbestosis is a chronic lung condition that causes damage to lung tissue. Symptoms tend to start to happen asbestosis after fifteen or twenty years after the first exposure to asbestos occurred. Symptoms begin very little, but then more and more break time shortness of breath is a common example of this.

At first breath could be caused by physical activity, but as time goes on it will start to occur during periods of rest too.

Another common symptom is chest pain, chest pain should be examined by a doctor immediately to find the cause.

Another symptom, which is slightly less common is that the ends of the fingers becomes swollen and red due to accumulation of fluid in the tissues. This symptom is called clubbing and is much less common than other symptoms.

Your doctor will ask you the symptoms you have, and probably listen to the chest with a stethoscope. If you have asbestosis, your doctor hears a noise characteristic crackling noise when you exhale.

A medical history will be taken and your doctor will want to know if you have been exposed to asbestos and if so the time they were exposed. It also raised questions about safety precautions (if any) taken.

Cough is another symptom of asbestosis, unlike asbestosis normal cough cough does not improve, instead of worse.

If asbestosis is suspected, then the following three tests are carried out - Spirometry, which measures the amount of oxygen you breathe in relation to the amount of carbon dioxide you exhale. X-rays can be taken into the lungs and chest wall. If asbestos is intended initially, then CT can be performed to obtain an accurate picture of what is happening.