Asbestosis is a lung condition that is very chronic. It is caused by exposure to asbestos fibers that are in the air. 

IMPORTANT FACTS:

• When you inhale a lot of asbestos over a prolonged period, it can scar your lung tissues, this is asbestosis. 
• There is currently no complete treatment for asbestosis. The main thing you can do to prevent it is wearing a mask that is protective in any areas with asbestos, and avoiding all contact with areas that could have asbestos fibers in the air. 
• Exposure to asbestos often happens in the workforce in some occupations. Asbestos in a mineral that is naturally-occurring and it is often used for insulation. 

Asbestos is a mineral that naturally occurs, we often use it as a material for insulation. You can be exposed to asbestos in many different occupations or in your home or other building. When you inhale a large amount of asbestos dust or fibers for an extended period of time, it produces damage in the lungs and scar tissue, this makes it difficult to breathe. When this happens it is asbestosis. 

When asbestos dust and fibers are inhaled they become trapped in the lunds. The lungs naturally will try to get rid of the asbestos using the immune system, but it will not work. This process of it not working is what essentially causes that damage and scar tissue. Usually, asbestosis develops very slowly and isn’t noticed until after 20 years of exposure to asbestos fibers or dust. There are many other different problems that can be caused by asbestos, some of these are mesothelioma, lung cancer, Laryngeal Cancer, and ovarian cancer. People who are smokers, and then are exposed to asbestos fibers or dust are even more likely to develop lung cancer or another disease as a result from the exposure. 

HOW ASBESTOSIS EFFECTS YOUR BODY:

How severe a case of asbestosis varies from how long you were exposed to the fibers and dust in the air, and how much of it was inhaled. Some other problems do, but asbestosis does not occur from any other form of asbestos than the inhalation of fibers or dust. For example, if some paint had some asbestos contained in it, that would not cause asbestosis because it isn’t in the correct form. When there is asbestos in insulation, but the insulation is not exposed to the air, then it does not make you more likely to develop asbestosis. The only way to diagnose asbestosis is through a chest X-ray, sometimes the symptoms are very mild and you don’t have any idea you have asbestosis before the X-ray. As asbestosis progresses, breathing can become harder and harder, even if you aren’t exposed to asbestos anymore, once you’ve inhaled it, there’s no going back. Sometimes breathing can become so difficult that you would need to have supplemental oxygen therapy in order to breath a little more properly. Asbestosis can lead to heart failure, failure of the lungs and sometimes eventually death.