Until the early 21st century, asbestos was found in everything: from your car’s brake pads to the insulations in the walls of your home! It is an extremely durable product, suitable for a variety of applications in our modern world. While it was great for construction, the same cannot be said for its effects on the human body.
Health Effects of Asbestos
Asbestos is actually quite dangerous for the human body. If its fibres get lodged in your lungs or body tissues, your body can’t adequately break them. The extreme durability, hence, is its most significant disadvantage for our bodies and can cause severe health effects over long-term exposure. The common health effects of asbestos are.
Asbestosis
Asbestosis is a severe, chronic respiratory disease. It occurs when the inhaled asbestos fibres get lodged in the lung tissue, causing irritation and scars. The symptoms include shortness of breath and dry crackling sounds in the lungs when you inhale, and in severe cases, even cardiac failure.
There’s no effective way to treat the condition, and it often leads to disability or death. Yet, there’s no need to worry as it is not as common as you’d think, and is only caused by extended, severe asbestos exposure.
Lung Cancer
Asbestos caused lung cancer is the largest cause of death due to asbestos 9exposure. Such lung cancer symptoms include coughing, change in breathing pattern, persistent chest pains, hoarseness while breathing, and anemia.
When you inhale the asbestos fibres, they can get lodged in your lung tissues, causing genetic and cellular damage to the cells, turning them cancerous. However, it takes 15-35 years for the onset of symptoms. Like other kinds of lung cancer, asbestos-related lung cancer also doesn’t have an effective cure, and the treatment focuses on suppressing the symptoms and improving survivability.
Mesothelioma
Lung cancer is not all; asbestos can also cause a rare form of cancer called mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs, chest, abdomen, and hearth. Its symptoms include dry coughs, shortness of breath, respiratory complications, fever, fluid around the lungs, and chest pains. Fortunately, this type of cancer is rare.
Should You Be Worried?
The health effects of asbestos undoubtedly sound scary, but there’s no need to panic. Asbestos is only hazardous when it’s friable, i.e., when it can be easily crumbled by hand. This is when the asbestos fibres get released into the air. Your home won’t release the fibres unless the asbestos is disturbed or damaged in any way.
Moreover, you should only worry about asbestos if your house was built during the 80s or 90s. Modern houses do not use asbestos since its import, production, and use are mostly banned in Canada. If your home is old, you need to carry out asbestos testing.
If your suspect asbestos in your house, inspect the pipelines and insulation while wearing a respiratory mask. If your suspicion is right and you find asbestos, do not disturb it or remove it yourself as it is not safe. Contact Nationwide Restorations for asbestos testing. Many other construction materials look like asbestos, so asbestos testing is needed. If we find asbestos in your home, the next step would be to carry out asbestos abatement in your home to get rid of it.