Asbestos - How bad it can be

Asbestos Symptoms: Late Indicators

Asbestos symptoms refer to the changes in the body that indicate some type of serious diseases caused by exposure to asbestos particles. Awareness about asbestos symptoms is important because danger of asbestos exposure affects about 1.3 million people every year. Individuals employed in the railroad, factory, shipyard, automobile, construction and building industries in last six decades are at the risk of developing asbestos symptoms. Most unfortunate aspect of the asbestos related diseases is that the asbestos symptoms may lie dormant in the body for decades. This long latency period does not let the victim or his family knows about the existence of the disease. Asbestos symptoms might appear 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. Although individuals who have been exposed to asbestos for a longer time are more susceptible to asbestos related diseases, yet there are instances when patients developed serious disease with only a few months exposure. When exposed to asbestos, individuals either inhale or ingest the asbestos fibers. Natural destination of these fibers after inhalation is lungs while the ingested asbestos fibers take the route of digestive system. Therefore, asbestos symptoms start appearing in either lungs or digestive system. However, in some cases asbestos symptoms may appear in other organs also. Asbestos symptoms may be the indicators of cancerous and non- cancerous type of asbestos diseases. Asbestosis is a non-cancerous type of asbestos disease. This disease has asbestos symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain and persistent cough. Ignorance of these symptoms may lead to serious disability or even death. Mesothelioma is cancerous type of asbestos disease. Pleural mesothelioma affects the lining of lungs known as pleural membrane. Peritoneal mesothelioma shows its affect on the lining of organs of abdomen known as peritoneal membrane. Shortness of breath, persistent cough, chest pain and building up of fluids in the lungs are some symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. Asbestos symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma are weight loss, nausea, difficulty in bowel movements, foot swelling, anemia and building up of fluid in abdomen. In rare cases, fever and night sweating may also appear as asbestos symptoms. People suffering from asbestos symptoms can file lawsuits against the persons and organizations for causing asbestos exposure. These Asbestos lawsuits can help the victims of asbestos symptoms to recover the damages for medical expenses, loss of income, lost earning capacity, pain and psychological sufferings.


Who is at increased risk for developing mesothelioma?

Since the late 1800's Asbestos has been mined and used commercially. The use of Asbestos dramatically increased during World War II and since the early 1940's millions of Americans have been exposed to asbestos dust working within industries where initally the risks were not known. There has been widespread exposure to Asbestos by workers within shipyards, mines and mills, producers of asbestos products, workers in the heating and construction industries, and other tradespeople and an increase risk of deveolping mesothelioma has been the result. .

Today, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets limits for acceptable levels of asbestos exposure in the workplace. By contrast, the British Government's Health and Safety executive (HSE) states formally that any threshold for mesothelioma must be at a very low level and it is widely agreed that if any such threshold does exists at all, then it cannot currently be quantified. For practical purposes, therefore, HSE does not assume that any such threshold exists. People who work with asbestos wear personal protective equipment to lower their risk of exposure.

The risk of asbestos-related disease increases with heavier exposure to asbestos and longer exposure time. However, some individuals with only brief exposures have developed mesothelioma. On the other hand, not all workers who are heavily exposed develop asbestos-related diseases. Family members and others living with asbestos workers have an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, and possibly other asbestos-related diseases. This risk may be the result of exposure to asbestos dust brought home on the clothing and hair of asbestos workers.

To reduce the chance of exposing family members to asbestos fibers, asbestos workers are usually required to shower and change their clothing before leaving the workplace.
The combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly increases a person's risk of developing cancer of the air passageways in the lung. The Kent brand of cigarettes used asbestos in its filters for the first few years of production in the 1950s and some cases of mesothelioma have resulted. Smoking current cigarettes does not appear to increase the risk of mesothelioma.

There is no curative treatment. Close monitoring (routine X-rays or even pleural biopsy) for mesothelioma is mandated. Oxygen therapy at home is often necessary to relieve the shortness of breath. Supportive treatment of symptoms includes respiratory treatments to remove secretions from the lungs by postural drainage, chest percussion, and vibration. Aerosol medications to thin secretions may be prescribed

Causes of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer in the general population. However, in individuals that were exposed to asbestos, it is not as rare. That's because the only known, established cause of Mesothelioma is asbestos. There are experts that have speculated on other causes. There are incidences of Mesothelioma with no known asbestos exposure. However, that does not mean that there was no exposure. The right questions have to be asked. The person asking the question has to be familiar with the uses and applications of the asbestos products. There are many examples where inadequate occupational histories were taken and potential exposures were not investigated.

Asbestos the single largest cause. Asbestos has actually been in use for centuries and has been the cause of a number of ailments and diseases, including the deadly cancer Mesothelioma. The word Asbestos literally means inextinguishable and this name was given to this mineral by the ancient Greeks. The Greeks gave it this name because of its amazing fireproof qualities, although they also noted the harmful effects that asbestos had upon workers.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is soft and flexible, and has been widely used for many years for a variety of things. The modern use for this mineral is for insulation, and it has been used in a wide range of items and structures, from ceilings and walls to toasters and hairdryers. This mineral became popular during the industrial revolution as an effective and safe form of insulation - safe in that it was fireproof, but certainly not safe in any other sense. Although the risks involved in using and working with asbestos had been observed several hundred years earlier, these risks were not taken into account when asbestos became widely used for insulation.

It was not until the 1900s that the facts regarding the risks involved to workers began to re-emerge. An English physician carried out a post-mortem on a man who had worked with asbestos for many years, and he found traces of fibers and dust in the man's lungs. The doctor stated that the man had died due to his exposure to this mineral. Over the next twenty or so years professionals in many countries began to notice the fact that disease, illness and death was uncommonly high amongst asbestos workers.

In the mid 1920s, an English doctor made the first diagnosis of asbestosis, and this was followed by a study, which showed that 25% of English asbestos workers showed signs of a related lung disease. Laws were then stepped up in England to provide better ventilation and more protection to workers who were regularly exposed to asbestos. Other countries slowly followed these steps over the next decade.

This protection was slow to be implemented and did not prove all that effective. Although asbestos manufacturers and companies that used the mineral were now aware of these studies and the risks involved to workers, they continued to use asbestos widely, exposing many workers to the hazards associated with it. These employees continued to work with asbestos, totally oblivious of the harm that it was capable of causing. Asbestos continued to be widely used until the mid-seventies, by which time many workers has been exposed and were already unknowingly affected by what we now know as Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma - An Introduction

What is Mesothelium? To understand Mesothelioma let us first understand what mesothelium is. The mesothelium is a membrane that covers & protects most of the internal organs of the body, the mesothelium is composed of two layers of cells, one layer immediately surrounds the organ the other forms a sac like covering around it. The mesothelium membrane produces a lubricating fluid that is released between these layers, allowing moving organs such as the beating heart and lungs to slide easily against adjacent structures.

The mesothelium is called by different names, depending on where it is located in the body. For e.g. the peritoneum is the mesothelial tissue that covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The pericardium covers and protects the heart. The pleura is the membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. The mesothelial tissue surrounding the male internal reproductive organs is called the tunica vaginalis testis. The tunica serosa uteri covers the internal reproductive organs in women.

What is Mesothelioma? Now the next question that arises is what is Mesothelioma? Mesothelioma or the cancer of the mesothelium is a disease in which cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and divide without control or order. They can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Cancerous cells can also spread called metastasizing from their original place to other parts of the body. Most cases of Mesothelioma begin in the pleura or peritoneum, i.e. the lining surrounding the chest and the lungs. In malignant Mesothelioma, which is a rare form of cancer, the cancerous or malignant cells are found in the sac lining the chest (the pleura), the lining of the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum) or the lining around the heart (the pericardium).

How do you get Mesothelioma? The single largest cause of Mesothelioma is working with asbestos; it is a major risk factor for Mesothelioma. A history of asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70 percent to 80 percent of all cases. However, there have been cases where Mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos. Most people with malignant Mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they breathed asbestos. Others have been exposed to asbestos in a household environment, often without their knowledge.

What is Asbestos? Asbestos is the name of a group of minerals that occur naturally as masses of strong, flexible fibers that can be separated into thin threads and woven. Asbestos has been widely used in many industrial products, including cement, brake linings, roof shingles, flooring products, textiles, and insulation. If tiny asbestos particles float in the air, especially during the manufacturing process, they may be inhaled or swallowed, and can cause serious health problems. In addition to Mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos increases the risk of lung cancer, asbestosis (a non cancerous, chronic lung ailment), and other cancers, such as those of the larynx and kidney. The risk of asbestos-related disease increases with heavier exposure to asbestos and longer exposure time. There is some evidence that family members and others living with asbestos workers have an increased risk of developing Mesothelioma, and possibly other asbestos-related diseases. This risk may be the result of exposure to asbestos dust brought home on the clothing and hair of asbestos workers.

Mesothelioma Fact - Alarming Truth
Lately many people have been looking for mesothelioma fact and information. The startling mesothelioma fact is that Mesothelioma Cancer is a rare cancer but every year about 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States and this number has been continuously increasing for the past 20 years. Initially mesothelioma was recognized as a tumor of the pleura, peritoneum and pericardium. Later on, the doctors studied the fact linking mesothelioma cancers to asbestos exposure. J.C.Wagner wrote the first on mesothelioma by, and emphasized its linkage to asbestos exposure in about 32 cases of workers in the "Asbestos Hills" in South Africa.

Thereon the fact about relationship between mesothelioma and asbestos exposure was confirmed in different research studies around the world. Mesothelioma is caused because of asbestos exposure and inhalation of asbestos particles. Asbestos was widely used in industrial and manufacturing processes and building materials. Construction materials such as cement, tiles, roofing shingles, pipes, insulating material and many more, contained asbestos materials. The shocking mesothelioma fact is that almost all American buildings constructed before 1970s contain asbestos material that could pose risk for the occupants.

Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has released a fact that, though since 1970s the protections against asbestos exposure have been in place, the mesothelioma would take 30 to 50 years to be noticed. This is because mesothelioma cancer and other asbestos diseases have a high latency rate. The asbestos particles can lie dormant in the human body for 30-50 years before manifesting as mesothelioma cancers.

Mesothelioma cancers are of two main types. In pleural mesothelioma, the cancer cells are found in the sac lining the chest and the peritoneal mesothelioma is found in the lining of the abdominal cavity. There are rare instances of mesothelioma of the lining of hearts and testicles. Mesothelioma is more prevalent in men than in women.

Awareness about mesothelioma facts is also helpful in having awareness about symptoms of mesothelioma. This information helps in early detection and timely treatment of disease. Chest pain that is caused by cancer itself or shortness of breath, abdominal pain and swelling, cough, fatigue and unexplained weight loss are some possible symptoms of mesothelioma cancers.


2 comments:

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