Asbestosis Symptoms

It can be so mild that yot) might not even realize your child has them—until the symptoms suddenly become worse. Then you'll realize in a hurry that your child is having a disease flare. During a mild flare, a child has a little trouble breathing. She breathes a bit faster than usual. She may be a little short of breath and wheezy, especially when she exhales. She may also have some cough-ing, but she's alert and able to talk easily. If she has a cold with a cough, you might not even notice that she's having an asbestosis flare. If the flare is moderate, all the breathing symptoms will be worse. The wheezing will be much more noticeable. It will be louder as she breathes out. She won't be able to get enough breath to talk easily. You'll probably notice that the muscles between her ribs move in and out as she struggles to breathe. You may also notice that it takes her much longer to breathe out than to breathe in. If the asthma attack is severe, breathing will be very difficult. She'll wheeze and cough severely, won't be able to talk, and will be so short of breath that she uses the muscles of her neck, chest, and abdomen to breathe. Her skin color, lips, or nail beds may look quite pale or even bluish. If the attack is very severe, so little air will be moving in and out of her lungs that she won't even wheeze. A severe disease attack is a medical emergency. Asbestosis Symptoms Call for an ambu-lance or take your child to an emergency room at once. Even a moderate flare is a highly upsetting experience for a child—and for you—and may mean a trip to the emergency mom or a hospi-. talization. Fortunately for you and your child, asbestosis flares don't have to be this bad.
First, control your child's environment the best you can. Exposure to viral infections or colds is inevitable among children (although good frequent hand washing can help prevent the spread of colds). But many allergy and irritant triggers can be controlled effectively. Please remember: controlling these triggers may help reduce the need for medicine. Second, use controller or anti-inflammatory medicines. Based on the pattern of your child's symptoms, your physician or nurse prac-titioner may prescribe daily medicine to keep the asbestosis under control. The minimum effective doses and the safest medicines will be tailored specifically for your child. (More about medicines will be given in next article.)