Home | Health & Fitness | Yoga
The use of asbestos is not as common today as it used to be, yet there has been an increase in the number of cases affected by asbestos exposure. The reason for this is that asbestos related diseases have a long dormancy period and the fibers causing the problem take as long as 20 to 30 years to reveal themselves. The symptoms then suddenly develop like an onslaught once the dormant period is over. The other issue is that many of these symptoms are common to other diseases as well, making it difficult to identify the real cause. Asbestos is a material that was very popular as an insulator. It insulates very well, and it is fire retardant. As a result, it has been used in many buildings. Because asbestos is not a problem as long as it is not stirred up, many building that were built using it as insulation have not replaced the asbestos. But, exposure to this substance years ago may only now be manifesting itself in the form of cancer or even asbetosis (which cannot be cured). Asbestos is essentially microscopic fibers that can be inhaled through the nose or mouth. The fibers floating in the air can be breathed into the body and then get deposited in the lining of the lungs. Crews who work to demolish or remodel old construction sites are at high risk of exposure to these small fibers. Damage may not be immediately visible. In fact, it can take decades for illness due to asbestos to show itself. This is the very reason that there has been an increase in the number of cases of poisoning. The symptoms are related to lung disease, and at first that is what the poisoning can be diagnosed as. The symptoms of diseases caused by asbestos fibers include increased shortness of breath over time and coughing. These symptoms come with other diseases, and are mistaken for less deadly illnesses. Since the symptoms do not appear to be too serious, they are often ignored. That is dangerous! So, when you experience a persistent cough or shortness of breath, get it checked at once. Asbestos-related disease also causes more dangerous symptoms like hoarseness, chest pain and even coughing up of blood. Here again, these symptoms may get mistaken for other diseases. However, if such symptoms persist, you must take it seriously, especially if you feel you may have been exposed to asbestos at any point in your life. Remember to get all the proper tests and check ups done to rule out the possibility of asbestos poisoning. Your doctor will be able to distinguish whether your problem is asbestos related or not. If you have been exposed to asbestos at any point in your life, you must discuss your problem with your doctor and see if you can get a referral to a specialist. The only way to treat such diseases is to catch signs of asbestos early. The symptoms of asbestos related illness can be treated but there is no permanent cure. If the illness progresses into lung cancer, then surgery or chemotherapy may be required. The systems can also be controlled to a certain degree by leading a healthy lifestyle.
Article Source: Free Articles - http://www.articlesworldonline.com
About the author: Ralph Caruzzo is the chief writer at Asbestos & Lead, it's one of the webs most up to date Asbestos sites, why not sign up for the free Asbestos newsletter. Read many more interesting articles on Asbestos at: www.asbestoslead.com/articles Click here to get your own unique version of this article: Uber Articles directory.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
