Sunday, June 20, 2010

Asbestosis Symptoms

By Clare Westwood

Asbestosis is a chronic lung condition that causes damage to the tissue of the lungs. Asbestosis symptoms tend to begin to show after fifteen to twenty years after the initial asbestos exposure occurred. Some symptoms begin quite mildly but then become more sever over time- shortness of breath is a common example of this.

The shortness of breath usually only occurs as a result of exercise or physical activity at first before going to appear during periods of rest too.


A cough is another symptom of asbestosis, unlike normal coughs asbestosis coughs do not get better, instead they get worse.

One other symptom commonly reported is chest pain, all chest pain should be investigated by a doctor immediately, in order to find the cause.

A less common symptom reported is a swelling and reddening of the fingers. This is called finger clubbing and occurs due to a build up of fluid in the fingers.

When visiting your GP about your symptoms he or she will want to listen to your chest using a stethoscope. If you are suffering from asbestosis the doctor will probably hear a crackling noise typically associated with asbestosis.

Your doctor will need to take a full medical history and will ask whether or not you have been exposed to asbestos, and whether you were using any protective equipment at the tie or not.

If an asbestosis diagnosis is predicted then you will probably undergo one of the following tests in order to determine it. An x-ray of your chest may be taken. A spirometer test which means measuring your lung activity upon breathing may also be taken. If the beginning stages of asbestosis are suspected then a CT scan may be performed in order to get a clearer picture.

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