Pleural Disease - A Result of Asbestos Exposure

If you have been exposed to asbestos, then you are at risk for ending up with any number of medical conditions, one of them being pleural disease. This particular disease affects the lungs and the breathing capability of a person. Even though the lungs themselves are not affected, this disease does cause harm to normal lung function. There is a change in the secretion of lubrication, which can end up leading to a change in pressure within the chest cavity. This means that you could end up with lung inflammation, difficulty breathing and other major lung problems.

Asbestos Exposure

Generally, with pleural disease, you will find that there is a lot of tissue scarring in the pleura. There are, in fact, four different types of pleural disease. They are pleurisy, pneumothorax, pleural mesothelioma and pleural effusions. Make sure that you are learning about the four different types of pleural disease in order to make sure that you are able and willing to take action in the event that you end up being diagnosed with one of the types. In addition, you will be able to understand the doctor much easier should you end up being diagnosed with one of them.

Pleurisy, involves the inflammation of the pleura. This can be caused by pneumonia, tumors, viral infections and lung blood clots. You might find yourself with sharp pains in the area of the chest that seem to get worse when you breath deeply. You might also experience a lot of coughing with this disease along with other various symptoms.

Pneumothorax is a condition that allows air to escape from the lung and go into the space of the pleura. When air enters this space, there is an interference with how well the function of the pleura works. This means that the lungs could collapse.

One pleural disease that you have probably heard of is pleural mesothelioma. This is a serious, life-threatening cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Out of all of the malignant mesothelioma cases, two-thirds are caused by exposure to asbestos.

Pleural effusion is the type of pleural disease that is most common. It is characterized by an abnormal amount of fluid that builds up in the cavity of the pleura.

It is important to make sure that you are doing your best to avoid any and all exposure to asbestos whenever possible. You want to make sure that you are getting regular check-ups, and, if you ever feel that you may be showing signs and symptoms of any pleural disease, visit your doctor. You want to make sure that any and all tests and scans are performed in order to make sure that you are healthy. Inform your doctor about whether you have been exposed to asbestos and what your concerns are. He or she should then determine what standard tests and scans need to be performed.