shaneperry0101/health-chatbot huggingface dataset:
Question: What causes Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases ?
Answer: Significant exposure to asbestos fibers causes asbestos-related lung diseases. "Significant" usually means you were exposed for at least several months to visible dust from the fibers.
Asbestos fibers are very small. When you breathe in, they can get stuck deep in your lungs. The fibers remain in your lung tissue for a long time and may cause scarring and inflammation. This can lead to pleural plaque and widespread pleural thickening, pleural effusion, asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma.
Generally, asbestos-related lung diseases develop 10 to 40 or more years after a person has been exposed to asbestos.
Being around products that contain asbestos isn't a danger, as long as the asbestos is enclosed. This prevents the fibers from getting into the air.
Question: Who is at risk for Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases? ?
Answer: Until the late 1970s, asbestos was widely used in many industries in the United States. During that time, workplace rules to ensure workers' safety around asbestos weren't required by law.
Asbestos was used in or with many products. Examples include steam pipes, boilers, furnaces, and furnace ducts; wallboard; floor and ceiling tiles; wood-burning stoves and gas fireplaces; car brakes, clutches, and gaskets; railroad engines; roofing and shingles; and wall-patching materials and paints.
Asbestos also was used in many other products, such as fireproof gloves, ironing board covers, cooking pot handles, and hairdryers.
Anyone employed for a prolonged period in mining, milling, making, or installing asbestos products before the late 1970s is at risk for asbestos-related lung diseases. Some examples of these workers include:
Miners
Aircraft and auto mechanics
Building construction workers
Electricians
Shipyard workers
Boiler operators
Building engineers
Railroad workers
In general, the risk is greatest for people who worked with asbestos and were exposed for at least several months to visible dust from asbestos fibers. The risk for asbestos-related lung diseases also depends on:
How much asbestos you were exposed to.
How long you were exposed to asbestos, and how often during that time you were in direct contact with it.
The size, shape, and chemical makeup of the asbestos fibers. Different types of asbestos fibers can affect the lungs differently. For example, chrysotile asbestos (a curly fiber) is less likely to cause mesothelioma than amphibole asbestos (a straight fiber).
Your personal risks, such as smoking or having an existing lung disease.
Family members of people exposed to asbestos on the job also may be at risk. Family members may have breathed in asbestos fibers that were brought home on workers clothes, shoes, and bodies.
People who live in areas that have large deposits of asbestos in the soil also are at risk for asbestos-related lung diseases. However, this risk is limited to areas where the deposits were disturbed and asbestos fibers got into the air.
Asbestos fibers also can be released into the air when older buildings containing asbestos-made products are destroyed. Removing the products, such as during a building renovation, also can release asbestos fibers into the air.
Generally, being around asbestos-made products isnt a danger, as long as the asbestos is enclosed. This prevents the fibers from getting into the air.
People in the United States are less likely to develop asbestos-related lung diseases today than in the past. This is because the mineral no longer is widely used. Also, where asbestos is still used, rules and standards are now in place to protect workers and others from asbestos exposure.
Question: What are the symptoms of Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases ?
Answer: The signs and symptoms of asbestos-related lung diseases vary. They depend on which disease you have and how much it has damaged your lungs. Signs and symptoms may not appear for 10 to 40 or more years after exposure to asbestos.
If you have pleural plaque, you may not have any signs or symptoms. Pleural effusion may cause pain on one side of the chest. Both conditions often are found with a chest x ray. These conditions may occur earlier than other asbestos-related lung diseases.
The main symptom of asbestosis is shortness of breath with physical exertion. You also may have a dry cough and feel tired. If your doctor listens to your lungs with a stethoscope, he or she may hear a crackling sound when you breathe in.
The symptoms of lung cancer may include a worsening cough or a cough that won't go away, trouble breathing, ongoing chest pain, and coughing up blood. Other symptoms of lung cancer include frequent lung infections, fatigue (tiredness), and weight loss without a known cause.
Symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath and chest pain due to pleural effusion.
Question: What are the treatments for Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases ?
Answer: No treatments can reverse the effects of asbestos on your lungs. However, treatments may help relieve symptoms and prevent or delay complications. If you have lung cancer, treatments may help slow the progress of the disease.
Treatments for Pleural Plaque, Pleural Effusion, and Asbestosis
If you have pleural plaque, pleural effusion, or asbestosis and you smoke, your doctor will advise you to quit smoking. People who have these conditions can lower their risk for lung cancer if they quit smoking.
Talk with your doctor about programs and products that can help you quit smoking. Also, try to avoid secondhand smoke.
If you have trouble quitting smoking on your own, consider joining a support group. Many hospitals, workplaces, and community groups offer classes to help people quit smoking.
For more information about how to quit smoking, go to the Diseases and Conditions Index Smoking and Your Heart article and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes Your Guide to a Healthy Heart. Although these resources focus on heart health, they include general information about how to quit smoking.
If you have trouble breathing or shortness of breath and a very low blood oxygen level, your doctor may recommend oxygen therapy. For this treatment, you're given oxygen through nasal prongs or a mask. Oxygen therapy may be done at home or in a hospital or other health facility.
If excess fluid around the lungs (pleural effusion) is making it hard for you to breathe, thoracentesis (THOR-ah-sen-TE-sis) may help. For this procedure, your doctor will insert a thin needle or plastic tube into the space between your lungs and chest wall. He or she will then draw out the excess fluid.
Treatments for Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma
If you have lung cancer or mesothelioma, your treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and/or targeted therapy. (Targeted therapy uses medicines or other substances to find and attack specific lung cancer cells without harming normal cells.)
Your doctor may prescribe medicines to prevent fluid buildup, ease pain, or relieve other complications of your disease.
If you have lung cancer or mesothelioma, talk with your doctor about whether you should get flu and pneumonia vaccines. These vaccines can help lower your risk for lung infections.
Question: How to prevent Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases ?
Answer: You can prevent asbestos-related lung diseases by limiting your exposure to asbestos fibers. If your job requires you to work around asbestos, make sure to follow workplace rules for handling it. For example, make sure that air levels are measured, and wear a proper respirator to avoid breathing in asbestos fibers.
If you live in a house or work in a building that has pipes or other products containing asbestos, you generally dont need to take special precautions. Being around products that contain asbestos isnt a danger, as long as the asbestos is enclosed. This prevents the fibers from getting into the air.
If you smoke, quit. Smoking greatly increases your risk of lung cancer if you have pleural plaque, pleural effusion, or asbestosis. Talk with your doctor about programs and products that can help you quit smoking. Also, try to avoid secondhand smoke.
If you have trouble quitting smoking on your own, consider joining a support group. Many hospitals, workplaces, and community groups offer classes to help people quit smoking.
For more information about how to quit smoking, go to the Diseases and Conditions Index Smoking and Your Heart article and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes Your Guide to a Healthy Heart. Although these resources focus on heart health, they include general information about how to quit smoking.
Question: What is (are) Rh Incompatibility ?
Answer: Rh incompatibility is a condition that occurs during pregnancy if a woman has Rh-negative blood and her baby has Rh-positive blood.
"Rh-negative" and "Rh-positive" refer to whether your blood has Rh factor. Rh factor is a protein on red blood cells. If you have Rh factor, you're Rh-positive. If you don't have it, you're Rh-negative. Rh factor is inherited (passed from parents to children through the genes). Most people are Rh-positive.
Whether you have Rh factor doesn't affect your general health. However, it can cause problems during pregnancy.
Overview
When you're pregnant, blood from your baby can cross into your bloodstream, especially during delivery. If you're Rh-negative and your baby is Rh-positive, your body will react to the baby's blood as a foreign substance.
Your body will create antibodies (proteins) against the baby's Rh-positive blood. These antibodies usually don't cause problems during a first pregnancy. This is because the baby often is born before many of the antibodies develop.
However, the antibodies stay in your body once they have formed. Thus, Rh incompatibility is more likely to cause problems in second or later pregnancies (if the baby is Rh-positive).
The Rh antibodies can cross the placenta and attack the baby's red blood cells. This can lead to hemolytic anemia (HEE-moh-lit-ick uh-NEE-me-uh) in the baby.
Hemolytic anemia is a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can replace them. Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body.
Without enough red blood cells, your baby won't get enough oxygen. This can lead to serious problems. Severe hemolytic anemia may even be fatal to the child.
Outlook
With prompt and proper prenatal care and screening, you can prevent the problems of Rh incompatibility. Screening tests allow your doctor to find out early in your pregnancy whether you're at risk for the condition.
If you're at risk, your doctor will carefully check on you and your baby throughout your pregnancy and prescribe treatment as needed.
Injections of a medicine called Rh immune globulin can keep your body from making Rhantibodies. This medicine helps prevent the problems of Rh incompatibility. If you're Rh-negative, you'll need this medicine every time you have a baby with Rh-positive blood.
Other events also can expose you to Rh-positive blood, which could affect a pregnancy. Examples include a miscarriage or blood transfusion. If you're treated with Rh immune globulin right after these events, you may be able to avoid Rh incompatibility during your next pregnancy.
Question: What causes Rh Incompatibility ?
Answer: A difference in blood type between a pregnant woman and her baby causes Rh incompatibility. The condition occurs if a woman is Rh-negative and her baby is Rh-positive.
When you're pregnant, blood from your baby can cross into your bloodstream, especially during delivery. If you're Rh-negative and your baby is Rh-positive, your body will react to the baby's blood as a foreign substance.
Your body will create antibodies (proteins) against the baby's Rh-positive blood. These antibodies can cross the placenta and attack the baby's red blood cells. This can lead to hemolytic anemia in the baby.
Rh incompatibility usually doesn't cause problems during a first pregnancy. The baby often is born before many of the antibodies develop.
However, once you've formed Rh antibodies, they remain in your body. Thus, the condition is more likely to cause problems in second or later pregnancies (if the baby is Rh-positive).
With each pregnancy, your body continues to make Rh antibodies. As a result, each Rh-positive baby you conceive becomes more at risk for serious problems, such as severe hemolytic anemia.
Question: Who is at risk for Rh Incompatibility? ?
Answer: An Rh-negative woman who conceives a child with an Rh-positive man is at risk for Rhincompatibility.
Rh factor is inherited (passed from parents to children through the genes). If you're Rh-negative and the father of your baby is Rh-positive, the baby has a 50 percent or more chance of having Rh-positive blood.
Simple blood tests can show whether you and the father of your baby are Rh-positive or Rh-negative.
If you're Rh-negative, your risk of problems from Rh incompatibility is higher if you were exposed to Rh-positive blood before the pregnancy. This may have happened during:
An earlier pregnancy (usually during delivery). You also may have been exposed to Rh-positive blood if you had bleeding or abdominal trauma (for example, from a car accident) during the pregnancy.
An ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage, or an induced abortion. (An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that starts outside of the uterus, or womb.)
A mismatched blood transfusion or blood and marrow stem cell transplant.
An injection or puncture with a needle or other object containing Rh-positive blood.
Certain tests also can expose you to Rh-positive blood. Examples include amniocentesis (AM-ne-o-sen-TE-sis) and chorionic villus (ko-re-ON-ik VIL-us) sampling (CVS).
Amniocentesis is a test that you may have during pregnancy. Your doctor uses a needle to remove a small amount of fluid from the sac around your baby. The fluid is then tested for various reasons.
CVS also may be done during pregnancy. For this test, your doctor threads a thin tube through the vagina and cervix to the placenta. He or she removes a tissue sample from the placenta using gentle suction. The tissue sample is tested for various reasons.
Unless you were treated with the medicine that prevents Rh antibodies (Rh immune globulin) after each of these events, you're at risk for Rh incompatibility during current and future pregnancies.
Question: What are the symptoms of Rh Incompatibility ?
Answer: Rh incompatibility doesn't cause signs or symptoms in a pregnant woman. In a baby, the condition can lead to hemolytic anemia. Hemolytic anemia is a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can replace them.
Red blood cells contain hemoglobin (HEE-muh-glow-bin), an iron-rich protein that carries oxygen to the body. Without enough red blood cells and hemoglobin, the baby won't get enough oxygen.
Hemolytic anemia can cause mild to severe signs and symptoms in a newborn, such as jaundice and a buildup of fluid.
Jaundice is a yellowish color of the skin and whites of the eyes. When red blood cells die, they release hemoglobin into the blood. The hemoglobin is broken down into a compound called bilirubin. This compound gives the skin and eyes a yellowish color. High levels of bilirubin can lead to brain damage in the baby.
The buildup of fluid is a result of heart failure. Without enough hemoglobin-carrying red blood cells, the baby's heart has to work harder to move oxygen-rich blood through the body. This stress can lead to heart failure.
Heart failure can cause fluid to build up in many parts of the body. When this occurs in a fetus or newborn, the condition is called hydrops fetalis (HI-drops fe-TAL-is).
Severe hemolytic anemia can be fatal to a newborn at the time of birth or shortly after.
Question: How to diagnose Rh Incompatibility ?
Answer: Rh incompatibility is diagnosed with blood tests. To find out whether a baby is developing hemolytic anemia and how serious it is, doctors may use more advanced tests, such as ultrasound.
Specialists Involved
An obstetrician will screen for Rh incompatibility. This is a doctor who specializes in treating pregnant women. The obstetrician also will monitor the pregnancy and the baby for problems related to hemolytic anemia. He or she also will oversee treatment to prevent problems with future pregnancies.
A pediatrician or hematologist treats newborns who have hemolytic anemia and related problems. A pediatrician is a doctor who specializes in treating children. A hematologist is a doctor who specializes in treating people who have blood diseases and disorders.
Diagnostic Tests
If you're pregnant, your doctor will order a simple blood test at your first prenatal visit to learn whether you're Rh-positive or Rh-negative.
If you're Rh-negative, you also may have another blood test called an antibody screen. This test shows whether you have Rh antibodies in your blood. If you do, it means that you were exposed to Rh-positive blood before and you're at risk for Rh incompatibility.
If you're Rh-negative and you don't have Rh antibodies, your baby's father also will be tested to find out his Rh type. If he's Rh-negative too, the baby has no chance of having Rh-positive blood. Thus, there's no risk of Rh incompatibility.
However, if the baby's father is Rh-positive, the baby has a 50 percent or more chance of having Rh-positive blood. As a result, you're at high risk of developing Rhincompatibility.
If your baby's father is Rh-positive, or if it's not possible to find out his Rh status, your doctor may do a test called amniocentesis.
For this test, your doctor inserts a hollow needle through your abdominal wall into your uterus. He or she removes a small amount of fluid from the sac around the baby. The fluid is tested to learn whether the baby is Rh-positive. (Rarely, an amniocentesis can expose you to Rh-positive blood).
Your doctor also may use this test to measure bilirubin levels in your baby. Bilirubin builds up as a result of red blood cells dying too quickly. The higher the level of bilirubin is, the greater the chance that the baby has hemolytic anemia.
If Rh incompatibility is known or suspected, you'll be tested for Rh antibodies one or more times during your pregnancy. This test often is done at least once at your sixth or seventh month of pregnancy.
The results from this test also can suggest how severe the baby's hemolytic anemia has become. Higher levels of antibodies suggest more severe hemolytic anemia.
To check your baby for hemolytic anemia, your doctor also may use a test called Doppler ultrasound. He or she will use this test to measure how fast blood is flowing through an artery in the baby's head.
Doppler ultrasound uses sound waves to measure how fast blood is moving. The faster the blood flow is, the greater the risk of hemolytic anemia. This is because the anemia will cause the baby's heart to pump more blood.
Question: What are the treatments for Rh Incompatibility ?
Answer: Rh incompatibility is treated with a medicine called Rh immune globulin. Treatment for a baby who has hemolytic anemia will vary based on the severity of the condition.
Goals of Treatment
The goals of treating Rh incompatibility are to ensure that your baby is healthy and to lower your risk for the condition in future pregnancies.
Treatment for Rh Incompatibility
If Rh incompatibility is diagnosed during your pregnancy, you'll receive Rh immune globulin in your seventh month of pregnancy and again within 72 hours of delivery.
You also may receive Rh immune globulin if the risk of blood transfer between you and the baby is high (for example, if you've had a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or bleeding during pregnancy).
Rh immune globulin contains Rh antibodies that attach to the Rh-positive blood cells in your blood. When this happens, your body doesn't react to the baby's Rh-positive cells as a foreign substance. As a result, your body doesn't make Rh antibodies. Rh immune globulin must be given at the correct times to work properly.
Once you have formed Rh antibodies, the medicine will no longer help. That's why a woman who has Rh-negative blood must be treated with the medicine with each pregnancy or any other event that allows her blood to mix with Rh-positive blood.
Rh immune globulin is injected into the muscle of your arm or buttock. Side effects may include soreness at the injection site and a slight fever. The medicine also may be injected into a vein.
Treatment for Hemolytic Anemia
Several options are available for treating hemolytic anemia in a baby. In mild cases, no treatment may be needed. If treatment is needed, the baby may be given a medicine called erythropoietin and iron supplements. These treatments can prompt the body to make red blood cells.
If the hemolytic anemia is severe, the baby may get a blood transfusion through the umbilical cord. If the hemolytic anemia is severe and the baby is almost full-term, your doctor may induce labor early. This allows the baby's doctor to begin treatment right away.
A newborn who has severe anemia may be treated with a blood exchange transfusion. The procedure involves slowly removing the newborn's blood and replacing it with fresh blood or plasma from a donor.
Newborns also may be treated with special lights to reduce the amount of bilirubin in their blood. These babies may have jaundice (a yellowish color of the skin and whites of the eyes). High levels of bilirubin cause jaundice.
Reducing the blood's bilirubin level is important because high levels of this compound can cause brain damage. High levels of bilirubin often are seen in babies who have hemolytic anemia. This is because the compound forms when red blood cells break down.
Question: How to prevent Rh Incompatibility ?
Answer: Rh incompatibility can be prevented with Rh immune globulin, as long as the medicine is given at the correct times. Once you have formed Rh antibodies, the medicine will no longer help.
Thus, a woman who has Rh-negative blood must be treated with Rh immune globulin during and after each pregnancy or after any other event that allows her blood to mix with Rh-positive blood.
Early prenatal care also can help prevent some of the problems linked to Rh incompatibility. For example, your doctor can find out early whether you're at risk for the condition.
If you're at risk, your doctor can closely monitor your pregnancy. He or she will watch for signs of hemolytic anemia in your baby and provided treatment as needed.
Question: What is (are) Insomnia ?
Answer: Espaol
Insomnia (in-SOM-ne-ah) is a common sleep disorder. People who have insomnia have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. As a result, they may get too little sleep or have poor-quality sleep. They may not feel refreshed when they wake up.
Overview
Insomnia can be acute (short-term) or chronic (ongoing). Acute insomnia is common and often is brought on by situations such as stress at work, family pressures, or a traumatic event. Acute insomnia lasts for days or weeks.
Chronic insomnia lasts for a month or longer. Most cases of chronic insomnia are secondary, which means they are the symptom or side effect of some other problem. Certain medical conditions, medicines, sleep disorders, and substances can cause secondary insomnia.
In contrast, primary insomnia isn't due to medical problems, medicines, or other substances. It is its own distinct disorder, and its cause isnt well understood. Many life changes can trigger primary insomnia, including long-lasting stress and emotional upset.
Insomnia can cause daytime sleepiness and a lack of energy. It also can make you feel anxious, depressed, or irritable. You may have trouble focusing on tasks, paying attention, learning, and remembering. These problems can prevent you from doing your best at work or school.
Insomnia also can cause other serious problems. For example, you may feel drowsy while driving, which could lead to an accident.
Outlook
Treating the underlying cause of secondary insomnia may resolve or improve the sleep problem, especially if you can correct the problem soon after it starts. For example, if caffeine is causing your insomnia, stopping or limiting your intake of the substance might make the insomnia go away.
Lifestyle changes, including better sleep habits, often help relieve acute insomnia. For chronic insomnia, your doctor may recommend medicines or cognitive-behavioral therapy.