Asbestosis Symptoms  

At the beginning, asbestosis is completely asymptomatic. As the disease progresses, after a number of years, symptoms start occurring. However, the initial symptoms of asbestosis are not significant and are sometimes neglected. Shortness of breath (dyspnea), the main symptom of asbestosis, worsens progressively as the disease continues to damage the lungs.  And then, the dyspnea is accompanied by a dry cough and a feeling of tightness in the chest. Thereafter, respiratory failure occurs. 

Asbestosis can increase the risk of contracting tuberculosis and lung cancer, especially among smokers. According to many medical researchers, smokers are more likely to develop chronic bronchitis and obstructive airway disease. In addition, they are more prone to respiratory infections. Therefore, asbestosis victims who smoke have higher risk of developing bronchogenic carcinoma (the most common fatal cancer in the United States, accounting for 28% of all cancer deaths) than those who do not; asbestos and tobacco smoke are synergistic in carcinogenicity. Individuals who both smoke and are exposed to asbestos are 59 times more susceptible to develop mesothelioma or lung cancer than people who do not.

In general, asbestosis causes the following symptoms:

·   feeling of breathlessness

• chronic dry cough 
• Decreased tolerance for physical activity 
• Chronic chest pain – which often due to fluid buildup 
• congestive heart failure 
• finger deformity (also called finger clubbing, digital clubbing or Hippocratic fingers) – which often indicates  diseases of the heart or lungs