There are two categories of asbestos – serpentine and amphibole asbestos. That is not very important. What is important is to know why asbestos is dangerous to your health so that you can avoid exposure to the same as much as possible.
The problem with asbestos is that many different industries use it. The biggest of these are building and construction, and shipbuilding. It releases these tiny fibers into the surroundings and when you inhale them, they stick to your lungs causing serious illness.
Dangers of Asbestos
Asbestos is classified as a carcinogen, so it is a cancer-causing agent. Here are some of the serious dangers of asbestos exposure.
Asbestos breaks down into very fine particles that stay afloat a long time
This is the main problem with asbestos. It breaks down into very fine particles that stay afloat in the air for a long time.
When people inhale the tiny asbestos particles they attach themselves to the lungs. The longer they stay there, the more deadly they become.
You know what makes it even more dangerous… it is the fact that you do not know that you are inhaling it. You do not feel any pain, you do not cough and it will not make you sneeze. Thus, by the time it is discovered that you have been inhaling asbestos; it could be too late to get help.
While we inhale many impurities daily, the difference is that they do not make us sick, but asbestos does. In addition, laboratory studies show that all asbestos is bad. They can cause lung cancer, asbestosis, and other serious conditions.
While many people who are diagnosed with these conditions are the ones that are exposed to asbestos for a long time, having these fibers lurk in the air too long affects other people as well.
Asbestos exposure causes asbestosis
Too much asbestos exposure can cause a condition called asbestosis, which is a pulmonary lung condition.
The symptoms of asbestosis include dry cough, chest pain, and chest tightness, lack of appetite and weight loss, crackling sound in your lungs when inhaling and shortness of breath. You might also experience clubbing of the toes and fingers.
The diagnosis can include CT scans so that the doctor can look for signs of scarring in the lung tissues. A doctor can also perform breathing tests to determine the extent of the condition. The doctor also takes your history to determine how long you have been exposed to asbestos.
Asbestos exposure can cause lung cancer
Although tobacco smoking is responsible for causing up to 80 percent of lung cancer conditions, a good chunk of the remaining 20 percent of lung cancer cases are asbestos-related.
Because lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the USA, you must learn about the symptoms of the same.
You could develop lung cancer anywhere from 15 to 35 years after exposure to asbestos. Thus, many people are caught unawares because of the time that the symptoms take to manifest.
When you inhale asbestos particles, they attach themselves to the lungs. With time, they make the lung cells start turning cancerous. Thus, if you ever experience the signs of asbestos, you should undergo a scan to find out whether your lungs have asbestos.