Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis is the name given to a veryserious disease which affects the lungs and which is characterized by theprogressive scarring of the lung tissue. The recent researches claim thatpulmonary fibrosis starts with the frequent injuries that damage the tissuewithin and between the alveoli which are small air sacs in the lungs. This condition has pulmonary fibrosis or scarring as a consequence.The lungs become rigid and stiff thus causing difficult breathing.

Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis has its warning sings and symptoms, and the most frequent are dyspnea (or shortness ofbreath) and a dry cough. Dyspnea is very often during or after some physical activity.The persons who suffer from pulmonary fibrosis do not notice these symptoms atthe beginning. Only later, when the disease progresses and when the symptomsbecome constant, they are noticeable. In that stage the person loses thebreath while performing simple and everyday activities.

Furthermore, fatigue and unexplained loss of weight can be considered some of the signs of pulmonary fibrosis. Thereare also cases when even the pain in joints and muscles appears. All these above-mentioned symptoms can be mild,moderate or severe, and they can appear alone or in combination. It depends andvaries from person to person. Some persons develop pulmonary fibrosis veryquickly and on the other side some people very slowly.

Complications of pulmonary fibrosis

If the person notices some of the symptomswhich are listed above, it is very important to consult the physician. The doctorwill prescribe certain medications and a proper therapy. It is advisable totreat the pulmonary fibrosis because if untreated it can lead to some very seriouscomplicationssuch as hypoxemia, pulmonary hypertension andrespiratory failure.

Hypoxemia is a medical term for the low oxygen levels in the blood, which happens because pulmonary fibrosis decreases theamount of oxygen that the person takes in, thus causing the problems in the body’sbasic functioning. Sometimes the low levels of oxygen in the blood can be veryserious and even mortal. Pulmonary hypertension is the medical term forthe high blood pressure in the lungs which affects only arteries in the lungs.This condition is also very serious and life threatening. The last phase of the chronic lung disease isthe respiratory failure. In this phase the levels of oxygen in the blooddrop enormously thus causing heart arrhythmias and even unconsciousness.