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Asbestosis Symptoms
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Common asbestosis symptoms include dry cough, shortness of breath and swelling in the face or neck. The latency period for asbestosis is 20 years or more, meaning symptoms don’t develop until decades after exposure. Doctors can recommend treatments to improve breathing and lessen symptom severity.
Written by Karen Selby, RN | Medically Reviewed By Arti Shukla, Ph.D. | Edited By Walter Pacheco | Last Update: May 2, 2024
Written by Karen Selby, RN | Medically Reviewed By Arti Shukla, Ph.D. | Edited By Walter Pacheco | Last Update: May 2, 2024
Common Asbestosis Symptoms
Common signs and symptoms of asbestosis affect a person’s ability to breathe, including chest pain and shortness of breath. A crackling sound in the lungs that doctors can listen for with a stethoscope is another symptom for determining a diagnosis. The severity and frequency of asbestosis symptoms can vary.
Common Symptoms of Asbestosis
- Blood in sputum
- Chest pain or tightness
- Crackling sounds in the lungs when breathing
- Difficulty swallowing
- Fatigue
- Finger deformity
- Hypertension
- Loss of weight/appetite
- Persistent, dry cough
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling in the neck or face
- Wheezing
Many of the above symptoms are also present with pleural mesothelioma cancer, which is the most common type of malignant mesothelioma cancer. Doctors look for these symptoms and perform various pulmonary and breathing function tests to reach a diagnosis. Patients can keep track of their symptoms, along with each one’s frequency and intensity, to share with their healthcare provider.
How Long Do Asbestosis Symptoms Take to Appear?
In most asbestosis patients, symptoms develop within 20 to 30 years after asbestos exposure. For some people who experience exposure repeatedly over a decade or more, the latency period of symptom development may be less.
Asbestos fibers are microscopic in size, sharp and straight. During exposure, inhaled asbestos particles can become lodged in lung tissue. The shape and texture of the fibers make them difficult for a body to dislodge and expel. Over time, the fibers cause irritation, inflammation and scarring, which leads to symptoms that primarily affect the lungs.
Asbestosis is a form of fibrosis that develops over a long period following exposure to asbestos fibers. Over time, scar tissue replaces normal lung tissue. An excessive amount of scar tissue can cause reduced pulmonary function.
What Causes Symptoms?
Asbestos exposure in any form, whether primary or secondary, can cause a variety of symptoms. Pain and difficulty breathing are common symptoms from the irritating effect of asbestos fibers lodged in the lungs. The effects of asbestosis aren’t limited to the lungs and are often felt throughout the patient’s body.
Causes of Asbestosis Symptoms
- Appetite loss/weight loss: Complications from asbestos exposure can cause fluid to build up in the abdomen. This creates bloating or tenderness and often causes the patient to lose their appetite and possibly lose weight.
- Coughing and shortness of breath: Fibrosis, or lung scarring, is the cause of these symptoms.
- Finger Deformity: Another result of fluid retention is finger deformity, also known as clubbing.
- High Blood Pressure: Because the lungs can’t fully oxygenate the blood, the heart has to work harder, causing hypertension.
- Neck and Facial Swelling: These symptoms appear after high blood pressure causes an increase in fluid around the heart and lungs. If it progresses, it can lead to difficulty swallowing.
- Pleural Effusion: A fluid buildup between the lungs and chest wall can occur from inflammation caused by a number of asbestos-related conditions.
- Pleural thickening: The lung’s lining may thicken because of irritation from asbestos, diseases or other causes.
The presence of asbestos fibers in the lungs causes scarring and inflammation over time. The lungs then have a decreased capacity to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, resulting in a reduction of lung function and fatigue. In later stages, the continued stress on the lungs and heart from lack of oxygen can lead to serious lung and/or heart failure.
Pleural thickening, the thickening of the lining of the lungs, and pleural effusion, the buildup of fluid between the chest wall and the lungs, can cause shortness of breath. Thickening and effusions constrict the movement of the lungs, and eventually the heart, preventing proper expansion and contraction. This leads to breathing difficulty and even more fluid buildup.
Survivor Story
Survivor Story
Jerry Cochran
Asbestosis
Navy Veteran’s Symptoms Lead to Asbestosis Diagnosis
Jerry Cochran felt like something else was going on since his condition was worsening. He was then diagnosed with asbestosis. He struggles to breathe because his lungs can’t expand and contract the way they’re supposed to. The paint he scraped off of the aircraft carrier he served on decades ago contained asbestos, leading to his asbestosis. The condition is incurable, but many patients can survive several decades with treatment.
Relieving Symptoms of Asbestosis
Doctors recommend several treatment options to help relieve asbestosis symptoms, including surgery, medication or breathing exercise and techniques. While there’s no cure for asbestosis, these therapies can help manage symptoms and lessen their severity.
Lifestyle changes, using inhalers or taking supplemental oxygen can make a difference in symptom severity and frequency. All patients, regardless of the presence of symptoms, should attend regular exams with their doctor and undergo all recommended screenings, such as a chest X-ray or lung CT scan to detect disease. Seek medical attention immediately for any new or worsening symptoms.
Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle adjustments like quitting smoking or changing your diet can help alleviate some symptoms. Dietary adjustments are particularly helpful early in the diagnostic process of asbestosis. It’s important to make all lifestyle adjustments in consultation with a doctor. Healthcare providers can also monitor a patient’s condition and reaction to a treatment to stop a therapy or make adjustments as needed.
Making Lifestyle Changes
- Diet: A nutritious, balanced diet low in salt that emphasizes water intake aids with symptom management.
- Exercise: It’s important to stay active with regular exercise to keep lung fitness and function high, but refrain from overexertion that can exacerbate symptoms.
- Quitting Smoking: Smoking increases the risk of developing asbestosis and causes further lung irritation that speeds up its progression.
Several alternative therapies may provide some relief, but patients should always discuss these treatments with their doctor before taking anything new. To date, limited evidence exists to prove the efficacy of these remedies. Natural supplements also typically are not FDA-regulated the way medications are.
Remedies like astragalus or slippery elm bark may ease coughs and improve respiratory functions, but these and other natural treatments can trigger allergic reactions or interact with prescription drugs. Patients should speak with their doctor to get advice on what to take or avoid.
Medication
Doctors may prescribe several types of medications for asbestosis symptom relief. The disease has no specific treatment regimen, so the best medications depend on each patient’s symptoms, medical history and overall health.
Medications for Asbestosis
- Antibiotics: Doctors often prescribe antibiotics for respiratory infections that can worsen asbestosis symptoms.
- Expectorants: Expectorants like guaifenesin can treat infections and ailments of the lungs by making it easier to clear away mucus.
- Inhalers: Inhalers and other asthma medications can provide some relief for people with asbestosis-related breathing issues.
- Supplemental Oxygen: Patients with hypoxemia can benefit from supplement oxygen that improves comfort and quality of life.
Patients who have prescription medications should take them exactly as their doctor recommends. Never stop a medication without first speaking with a physician. Patients should track all changes in symptoms and health and report them to their doctor.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Pulmonary rehabilitation, a program to manage disease symptoms with exercises and increased awareness, is another possible treatment method for asbestosis symptoms. This therapy focuses on teaching patients how to make helpful lifestyle changes that allow them to better handle ongoing breathing difficulties.
Therapists teach a variety of breathing exercises and breathing techniques that improve lung function and strength and lead to a better quality of life. Examples of these techniques include yoga breathing or pursed lip breathing. Some patients’ breathing is computer-monitored to provide feedback.
Since asbestosis affects the patient’s mindset and mood along with the body, therapists emphasize the patient’s psychological needs as well as the physical. Increased awareness combined with the knowledge of breathing exercises can help the patient breathe easier and control their breathing even during periods of stress or physical activity.
Surgery
Doctors may recommend surgery as an effective asbestosis treatment to relieve pain and other symptoms. In some cases, it’s used to diagnose disease or remove a tumor.
Asbestosis Surgeries
- Lung Transplant: A U.S. National Library of Medicine review found severe asbestosis cases may require a lung transplant as a last-resort treatment.
- Pleurodesis: A surgeon can drain fluid buildup between the pleura’s layers. Affixing the lungs to the chest wall removes the space between them so fluid can’t accumulate in the future.
- Thoradesis: This outpatient procedure drains the excess fluid from the lungs, which relieves pressure and makes it easier for the patient to breathe.
Providers typically only recommend a lung transplant when the patient battles another condition, like lung cancer. The 1-year survival rate for lung transplant patients is around 80%, but aggressive surgery is often viewed as a last resort. Patients who undergo aggressive surgery or have severe symptoms can also consider palliative treatment to manage their pain and other symptoms to improve their quality of life.
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