What Are the Most Common Treatments for Asbestosis?
The most common asbestosis treatments include breathing exercises and inhalers to improve breathing and a combination of general exercise, nutrition counseling and vaccines to improve overall health. Your care team will likely include experts in different fields such as a pulmonologist, respiratory therapist, exercise physiologist and licensed dietitian.
While there is no cure for asbestosis, a comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation plan can help you breathe better and feel better. Registered Nurse Sean Marchese tells us, “We can’t reverse lung scarring. But with effective treatment we can improve quality of life dramatically.”
How Doctors Treat Asbestosis
- Corticosteroids: These drugs reduce inflammation and can sometimes help with symptoms. But they can’t treat lung scarring from asbestosis.
- Inhalers: These contain a medicine called a bronchodilator that helps open and clear your airways.
- Oxygen therapy: Also known as supplemental oxygen, concentrated oxygen is delivered via oxygen tanks, oxygen concentrators or liquid oxygen to ease breathlessness.
- Pulmonary rehab: Breathing and general exercise, nutrition plans and other activities and instruction are given to improve lung capacity and overall health.
- Vaccines: These are given to help prevent flu, pneumonia, COVID-19 or other lung-related infections that can be particularly serious for people with already compromised lungs.
If you’ve been diagnosed with asbestosis, you’ll likely benefit from a combination of these treatments. If you smoke, quitting is essential. Asbestosis treatment aims to relieve your symptoms like pain, ease breathing and slow disease progression.
Because asbestosis occurs when microscopic asbestos fibers are inhaled, which leads to progressive lung scarring, it’s critical to stop any ongoing asbestos exposure. Regular doctor visits are vital and it’s important to report any new symptoms, such as weight loss or coughing up blood, to your doctor as soon as possible.
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Pulmonary Rehabilitation Treatment for Asbestosis
Pulmonary rehabilitation is an essential part of your asbestosis treatment. It’s designed to enhance your lung function and overall quality of life. Programs typically combine breathing techniques, education and ways to improve overall physical health with diet and exercise.
Core Elements of Pulmonary Rehab
- Breathing techniques: Belly breathing, pursed-lip breathing, deep breathing, gentle breathing (like in yoga or Tai Chi) and controlled coughing all help improve airflow, clear mucus and make breathing easier.
- Education: You’ll learn how to manage symptoms through proper inhaler use, oxygen therapy and recognizing early signs of infection. You’ll also learn ways to manage stress and conserve energy throughout the day.
- Exercise training: Your training will be personalized for you. It may include endurance exercises like walking or cycling and strength training with light weights or resistance bands to build stamina and muscle. Sessions may also include warmups like arm circles or leg stretches and full-body exercises such as squats or bicep curls.
- Nutritional guidance: Working with a licensed dietitian, you’ll develop a plan specific to you. It will likely include guidance on staying hydrated, getting enough protein and calories, nutrient-rich foods, managing shortness of breath during meals and addressing issues like reflux or medication side effects.
Studies on lung diseases like asbestosis show rehab programs help people walk farther, about 30 to 40 meters more in 6 minutes. These programs also improve their quality of life based on surveys.
Jerry Cochran
Navy Veteran With Asbestosis & Silicosis Has a Passion for Justice
For Jerry C., a Navy veteran diagnosed with asbestosis, managing the disease has meant years of treatment, including oxygen therapy, while he kept advocating for other exposed veterans. Jerry tells us: “I’m gonna fight with every breath that’s in me for justice for all.”
Jerry Cochran
Are There Medications for Asbestosis?
Medications used in asbestosis treatment focus on symptom relief.. Doctors use several types of medication to manage asbestosis symptoms and complications. Antibiotics treat respiratory infections promptly, while steroids and bronchodilators help reduce inflammation and open airways.
No medications can reverse the lung scarring that asbestos causes. But certain drugs can help people with asbestosis improve breathing and feel better.
Clinical trials are exploring new medication options. People often ask about biologics and immunotherapies, but no active clinical trials are investigating those treatments for asbestosis.
A class of drugs currently being studied for asbestosis, called antifibrotics, slow the rate of lung scarring. Esbriet (pirfenidone) and Ofev (nintedanib), are antifibrotics FDA-approved to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Researchers are studying whether they can help people with asbestosis. These drugs aren’t yet a standard treatment for asbestosis.
Drugs Used for Asbestosis Treatment
| Drug type | How it’s given | What it does |
| Antibiotics | Pill or IV for severe infections | Treat respiratory infections quickly; they do not treat asbestosis itself |
| Bronchodilators (for example, Ventolin) | Inhaler or nebulizer; sometimes tablets or IV | Open the airways to make breathing easier |
| Corticosteroids | Inhaler or tablets | Reduce inflammation and irritation |
| Antifibrotics (in clinical trials; possible off-label use) | Tablets | Slow the rate of lung scarring; approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and still being studied for asbestosis |
Surgery for Asbestosis
Surgery isn’t usually used to treat asbestosis. It’s only an option for the most severe cases when fluid buildup, called pleural effusion, can’t be resolved. It’s important to review each option carefully with your doctor before deciding.
Possible surgeries in these cases are pleurodesis and pleurectomy. Pleurodesis seals the pleural layers together to prevent fluid buildup. Pleurectomy removes a part of the lining around the lungs called the pleura.
In very severe cases, a lung transplant may be recommended. It can help you breathe better, but it’s a major surgery with significant risks, and not everyone is eligible.
Can Lifestyle Changes Help Treat Asbestosis?
Lifestyle changes can support asbestosis treatment and symptom management well. Making these changes can slow disease progression and improve your daily life.
Tips for Managing Asbestosis
- Avoid exposure to dust and pollutants
- Follow a low-sodium, heart-healthy diet
- Practice pursed-lip breathing to reduce breathlessness
- Quit smoking to prevent additional lung damage
- Stay active with low-impact exercise
Quitting smoking is very important because smoking makes lung scars worse and increases the risk of infections and cancer. Gentle exercise suited to each person can boost energy and help with breathing. These habits can lead to fewer flare-ups and better health over time.
These changes won’t fix the damage to the lungs, but they can help manage asbestosis and possibly reduce the risk of developing other asbestos-related diseases. For example, asbestosis doesn’t cause mesothelioma, but it’s possible that making changes that help relieve asbestosis symptoms, like avoiding asbestos, quitting smoking and improving overall health, may help reduce the risk of further irritation that can become cancerous.
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Get Your Free KitAlternative Treatments for Asbestosis
Alternative treatments like acupuncture and herbal supplements can help with asbestosis symptoms. They’re sometimes used alongside regular care to manage side effects and improve well-being. However, it’s typically not recommended to use them in place of standard care.
Common Alternative Asbestosis Treatments
- Acupuncture
- Herbal medicine
- Homeopathic medicine
- Massage therapy
- Meditation
- Nutrition
Current studies, including a clinical trial at Yeditepe University in Turkey, are looking at how well complementary therapies work. Talk to your doctor before trying other treatments to make sure they’re safe, don’t interfere with your other medications and will help. These therapies might help with symptoms, but they’re not a substitute for regular medicine.
Common Questions About Asbestosis Treatment
Asbestosis treatment depends on symptoms, how severe the disease is and overall health. Your doctor will recommend a treatment after tests and diagnosis. Options may include pain medicine, inhalers, oxygen, rehab for the lungs or surgery. In very serious cases, a lung transplant might be needed as a last choice.
The life expectancy of an asbestosis patient is about 10 years after diagnosis. How long you may live after your diagnosis depends on your overall health, how well you respond to treatment to manage it, the severity of your disease and its progression.
Survival for people in stage 1 is about 14 years; stage 2 is about 4 years; and stage 3 is between 1 and 2 years. Those who experienced high asbestos exposure levels typically progress more quickly into later disease stages. Those with lesser exposure may have a slow progression.
There is no cure for asbestosis. Once the damage to the lungs occurs, it’s not reversible. Treatments can help ease symptoms and slow the disease’s progression.
Doctors may prescribe bronchodilators to open airways, corticosteroids to reduce inflammation, antibiotics to fight respiratory infections and supplemental oxygen for breathlessness. Antifibrotic drugs are currently approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and are being studied to see if their results slowing scarring can help treat asbestosis.
Asbestosis can get worse over time, especially with continued asbestos exposure or smoking. It’s a progressive disease, but treatment and lifestyle changes can slow its development. Stopping all asbestos exposure, quitting smoking and following your treatment plan give you the best chance of keeping the disease stable.
