Usually appears 20-40 years after exposure. When asbestos fibers are inhaled, they may become stuck in the lung and injure the lung tissue. They may also stick through the lung to the lining of the lung and cause injury or disease there. Once the fibers work their way into the lungs, they tend to stay there forever. Later, the symptoms increase in severity.
Shortness of breath is typically an early sign of asbestosis.
Unfortunately, once the process of scarring from asbestosis begins, the damage is irreversible. There is no known surgery which will successfully remove asbestos fibers from the lungs or the lining of the lung. In addition to shortness of breath, early symptoms include a dry cough. Doctors can detect asbestos changes by viewing x-rays of a worker's lung and by doing pulmonary function testing. A person who has asbestosis as seen by x-ray, but no symptoms, is still at risk since the disease is likely to progress and symptoms will later occur.