Mesothelioma Attorneys
Warning signs of asbestos-related diseases
Exposure to asbestos in the workplace or environment puts you at risk for a number of serious diseases, including
lung cancer,
asbestosis,
mesothelioma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
pleural plaques and pleural fibrosis. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of asbestos-related disease can help you get appropriate medical treatment. For some asbestos-related diseases like lung cancer, early diagnosis can make a huge difference in your prognosis.
Warning signs of asbestos-related diseases
Most asbestos-related conditions and diseases affect the lungs, but mesothelioma can also affect the lining of the abdominal cavity. You should consult a doctor if you have any of the following warning signs or symptoms:
- Exposure to asbestos in the workplace or environment
- Shortness of breath, starting with breathlessness during physical exertion and worsening gradually
- A dry, persistent, non-productive cough
- A change in your normal cough
- Chronic chest pain
- Tightness in the chest area
- Blood in the sputum you cough up from your lungs
- Abdominal pain from fluid collected in the peritoneum
- Hoarseness or raspy voice
- Difficulty or pain when swallowing
- Significant weight loss without any apparent cause
- Loss of appetite
- Clubbed fingertips may indicate advanced asbestosis
In addition, your doctor may see or hear other signs of asbestos-related disease when he examines you. Those include:
- A 'crackling' sound when listening to your lungs can indicate pleural plaques
- A dull thud when thumping the chest rather than a hollow sound can indicate pleural effusion (fluid collected around the lungs)
- Opaque white spots on the lungs in chest X-rays may be pleural plaques caused by asbestos exposure
- Pleural fibrosis may show up in X-rays or CT scans
- Asbestos fibers in the sputum or in fluids collected from around the lungs
If your doctor suspects that any of the above symptoms are caused by exposure to asbestos, he may order other tests to help narrow his diagnosis down. Those may include a biopsy of the tumors or plaques that he finds in your lungs, or analysis of fluids collected from the fluids around your lungs or in the abdominal cavity.
You should pay particular attention to these symptoms if you or a household member were ever employed in one of the following high-risk professions:
- Automobile mechanic, especially working on brakes or clutches
- The asbestos refining or mining industry
- Shipfitter
- Steel mill worker
- Insulator
- Boilermaker or repair worker
- Custodian working with furnaces and boilers
- Pipe fitter
- Construction worker
- Demolition worker
- Renovations in older buildings
You should also be vigilant for the signs and symptoms of asbestos-related diseases if you live around any factory, mill, mine, refining plant or other business that was involved in the milling, refining or use of asbestos, or if you worked with vermiculite during the 1970s and 1980s.
If you were exposed to asbestos and are diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition like mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques, pleural effusions, pleural thickening, pleural fibrosis or lung cancer, you may be entitled to compensation for the injuries and damage caused by asbestos. Since the laws on filing an asbestos lawsuit vary from state to state - and are changing - you need to contact an experienced mesothelioma law firm, such as Williams Kherkher Law Firm, to find out what your right to compensation is under the law.