Introduction
The most common sign that you are exposed to asbestos is experiencing shortness of breath. Chest pains and cough as well. When you are experiencing plural plague, that is a sign that the victim has been exposed enough to be vulnerable to other diseases. Such people may develop lung cancer or even mesothelioma.
Common signs of asbestos exposure
The first sign that you are exposed to asbestosis is when you realize signs of related diseases. There are no signs of asbestos that a person is likely to notice unless a disease starts developing. The signs of asbestos exposure usually involve the lungs of the victim. This is because asbestos primarily causes lung conditions. Apart from causing lung problems, asbestos also causes complications in other parts of the body. Signs of asbestos problems affect the throat, the colon, and the stomach.
In some instances, patients are advised to do an x-ray or a CT scan to identify traces of pleural plague. Such signals are enough to know that someone was exposed to asbestos that caused diseases. Plaques after exposure develop after 10 to 30 years of exposure.
What are some of the symptoms of asbestos exposure?
There are many signs and symptoms that one has been exposed to asbestos toxins. The first sign is always shortness of breath. Others include dry cough or wheezing, cracking sound when breathing, chest pains and chest tightness, respiratory complications, pleural plaques, Asbestosis, pleural thickening, pleural effusion, and other respiratory complications.
Signs that asbestos exposure has affected other parts of your body
Abnormal swelling and distention, bowel obstruction, weight loss, loss of appetite, clubbed fingers, difficulty in swallowing, hoarseness, hernia, and abdominal or pelvic pain. To avoid asbestos exposure, conduct as asbestos survey and testing before trying to remove it.
What are some of the diseases caused by asbestos exposure?
Asbestos exposure causes noncancerous diseases and cancerous diseases. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, several cancers are directly caused by exposure to asbestos. Some of the cancerous diseases caused by asbestos exposure include lung cancer, ovarian cancer, laryngeal cancer, and mesothelioma among others.
Non-cancerous diseases that are caused by asbestos exposure include asbestosis, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, pleuritic, and atelectasis among others. The IARC has found an increase in other types of cancer but there is no evidence of what might have caused the disease or condition.
Screening for asbestosis disease
Asbestosis related diseases are not easy to be noticed. This is because they rarely produce noticeable symptoms. When the diseases are in their early stages, they rarely produce measurable abnormalities. When you get screened before the symptoms manifest themselves, it can be very difficult to notice anything. Screening at that point will be ineffective. If you have a history of heavy asbestos exposure, that is when mesothelioma is likely to be noticed. If the conditions are discovered early enough, that can be a great step in saving your life. So far, there is no single screening that can help detect Mesothelioma but a series of asbestos testing can.