Recently we started asking you for your health questions. Today we’re inaugurating this column with the first question. You’re welcome to keep sending your questions through here or through Twitter (@diseaseaday).

L. from Malta asks:

“I was told that I have Asbestos in my lungs. I used to serve in the royal navy. I would like to know if there is any means of getting rid of this asbestos from my lungs?”

L.,

To answer your question, I’ll just present you with the facts about Asbestosis, in the same way we usually do here on A Disease A Day.

Danger level: Medium

What is it?

Asbestosis is a lung disease caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers.

Who gets it?

The disease usually occurs in people with long exposure to asbestos (a fibrous mineral). This can occur in the following occupations: Plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, electricians, insulation workers, carpenters, laborers, boilermakers, welders and cutters, and janitors. Asbestos exposure is also seen in people working in some industries, such as construction, shipbuilding and repairing, chemicals and other manufacturing, railways, trucking, and plastic and rubber manufacturing.

You don’t have to actually work with the material to get asbestosis – people who work alongside the workers in a shipyard may get it too (which might explain L.’s exposure) and also there have been cases of wives of people exposed to asbestos getting exposed themselves through washing their husbands’ work clothes.

Today asbestos is used less (it was replaced with synthetic mineral fibers, such as fiberglass) but it’s still used in the developing world.

Usually it takes at least 10 years of exposure before the disease can manifest.

Asbestos. This mineral is made of fibers, which can be inhaled and cause damage to the lungs.

What causes it?

The asbestos fibers, when inhaled, can do one of 2 things to the lungs:

1. They have a toxic effect on the cells of the lung
2. They cause inflammation in the lung

It’s important to mention that smoking makes this worse, since it damages the body’s ability to get rid of the asbestos fibers.

As a result of the inflammation in the lung, the lung undergoes fibrosis (or scarring) – This means that its normal tissue, which enables us to breath, changes gradually to a connective tissue, that lacks the normal characteristics of the lung.

How does it feel?

This article deals with asbestosis, but it’s important to know that 2 other things can be caused by asbestos exposure as well –

1. Disease in the lung’s coverings
2. Lung cancer

In asbestosis, people who were exposed to the fibers are usually fine for 20-30 years after the first exposure (but the more fibers they were exposed to, the less time it will take for the disease to show). Then the following things can happen -

1. Shortness of breath – They will feel this when they make physical efforts. That’s because the lung can’t provide as much oxygen as it could if it were healthy. The shortness of breath tends to progress in severity with time, even without further exposure to the fibers.
2. Inspiratory crackles – These are coarse sounds the doctor can hear when they put the stethoscope on the chest to listen to the lungs.
3. Clubbing – Clubbing is raising of the fingernails. It can happen in other diseases as well.

An example of clubbing in the fingers.

With severe cases, heart failure can also occur.

How is it discovered?

There are 3 things that can help in diagnosing asbestosis:

1. A story of exposure to asbestos
2. Chest X-rays or CT scans that show the fibrosis in the lungs
3. Pulmonary function tests – These are tests that check the function of the lungs and will show that they don’t work efficiently.

How is it treated?

There is no cure for asbestosis. Stopping the exposure to asbestos will help, but the disease can progress even after the exposure is stopped. The following things can help -

1. Oxygen may be given to ease the shortness of breath.
2. Stopping smoking – It can help, since smoking makes the disease worse.
3. Treatment on time of respiratory infections – Since they tend to complicate more in people with lung problems. Also vaccines should be given when possible.

What happens after treatment?

That depends on many things, such as the duration and the extent of exposure to asbestos. Some people will have a milder disease than others.

The bottom line – How do I avoid it?

The best way to prevent asbestosis is to minimize exposure to asbestos. In the United States, by law, a worker’s exposure to asbestos may not exceed 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter of air. Federal law requires employers in industries that work with asbestos products (such as construction and shipyard industries) to monitor exposure levels, create regulated areas for asbestos work, and provide their employees with appropriate training, protective gear such as face masks, and decontamination hygiene areas.

This movie, from 1959, created by the Bureau of Mines of the US talks about the “wonders” of asbestos. Since then, of course, its use has gone down.

For further reading you can visit this AsbestosHUB, which provides updated information about asbestos and asbestos-related diseases.

What next?

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