It is often hard to predict the course of a dust disease. Some workers may suffer little from the disease even in its most advanced stage and eventually die of other causes. This is true of silicosis more than asbestosis. But other workers who breathe in harmful dusts over a long period of time may develop serious impairment of function. At the beginning, there may be no symptoms.
Shortness of breath is the first symptom.
It usually begins some years after the beginning of exposure to the harmful dust. A cough comes next. With extensive scarring of the lung there may be chest pains. The dust deposits, which have slowed up the normal transfer of oxygen into the blood stream, may result in blueness of the lips and ear lobes, in late stages of the disease. Complications the development of other illnesses are a serious threat to persons with a dust disease.