Throughout the years, countless people have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and other serious and critical asbestos-related diseases. This is mainly because of the massive exposure to asbestos particles. Year after year, the number of affected individuals continually rises.
Types of Asbestos-Related Diseases
Asbestos is a highly dangerous substance that can threaten human health. Extensive asbestos exposure is responsible for fatal diseases. The diseases associated with asbestos specifically develop over a long period of time. It includes mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, pleural plaques, and others. The latency periods for these diseases take 20-50 years after exposure. Concurrently, those who have these types of diseases don’t know that their health is in serious jeopardy.
Symptoms of Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a cancerous type of asbestos disease. Pleural mesothelioma affects the lining of the lungs known as pleural membrane. Some of its symptoms include:
- shortness of breath
- persistent dry cough
- chest pain
- building up of fluids in the lungs
Peritoneal mesothelioma shows its effect on the lining of organs of the abdomen known as peritoneal membrane. Asbestos symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma are:
- weight loss
- Nausea
- difficulty in bowel movements
- foot swelling
- Anemia
- building up of fluid in abdomen
Fever and night sweating may also be some of the symptoms of mesothelioma in rare cases.
Symptoms of Asbestosis
Some asbestos symptoms may be the indicators of several non-cancerous types of asbestos diseases. Asbestosis is a non-cancerous type of asbestos disease. Ignorance of these symptoms may lead to serious disability or even death. When asbestos fibres develop, it scars your lungs and eventually results to a lung disease. Common symptoms of this disease include:
- shortness of breath
- swelling in the neck or face
- Hypertension
- finger deformity
- difficulty swallowing
You usually face a higher risk of acquiring the disease when you are working in an industry associated with asbestos building and manufacturing.
Symptoms of Pleural Plaques
Pleural plaques are an asbestos-related diseases that rarely produce symptoms. However, this may be an indicator of a higher risk for cancer, but does not directly lead to cancer. This disease is exclusively caused by too much exposure to asbestos. But acquiring the condition does not entirely mean that mesothelioma will develop within you.
The danger of asbestos exposure affects about 1.3 million people every year, that’s why it is important to be aware of the asbestos symptoms. Individuals who work in factories, shipyards, automobiles, construction and building industries in the last six decades are at a higher risk of acquiring asbestos-related diseases.
Late Indicators
The signs and symptoms of asbestos-related diseases may lie dormant in the body for decades, which makes it the condition most unfortunate. This long latency period deprives the victim and his family the awareness about the existence of the disease because all of these symptoms only come out after 20-50 years of exposure.
No study so far has come out with convincing evidence to show the effects of different amount and different duration of exposure to asbestos particles. It’s certain that the individuals who have been exposed to asbestos for a longer time are more susceptible to asbestos related diseases, yet there is still a tendency that patients can acquire serious disease with just a few months of exposure.
When exposed to asbestos due to failure of getting an asbestos removal service, individuals either inhale or ingest the asbestos fibres. The natural destination of these fibres after inhalation is the lungs, while the ingested asbestos fibres take the route of the digestive system. As a result, the signs and symptoms start appearing in either lungs or digestive system. However, other organs are not safe from asbestos symptoms.
People suffering from asbestos symptoms can file lawsuits against the persons and organizations for causing asbestos exposure. The lawsuits linked to asbestos-related diseases can help the victims to recover damages for medical expenses, loss of income, lost earning capacity, pain and psychological sufferings.