How an innocent act as a child led to my deadly ‘second-hand’ lung disease decades later

A woman with a fatal lung disease is believed to have contracted a ‘second-hand’ lung condition from her father decades ago.

The 80-year-old woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experienced a worsening of the condition and had difficulty breathing. She was admitted to the hospital, where doctors found clumps of plaque spread throughout her lungs, making it difficult to draw in air.

Due to her family history, doctors suspected that something unusual had happened and this was proven once they learned more about the woman’s childhood.

The woman told her doctors that as children she and her sisters played with their father, who worked on installing thermal insulation.

When he came home from work, his clothes were covered in ‘snow-like’ particles, which turned out to be asbestos.

Doctors believe her second-hand exposure as a child to asbestos, which weakens lung tissue, caused her to develop pleural plaques: thickened areas of tissue lining the lungs.

The medical team also found lung damage in the woman’s two sisters, which they said confirmed their theory.

Although pleural plaques cannot spread from person to person, exposure to asbestos even decades ago can increase the risk of developing it. However, it is unclear how often this occurs.

The above scans show the patient’s lungs 20 years ago (left) and now (right). The current scan shows pleural plaques in the lungs

COPD affects just over one in fifteen American adults, which amounts to more than 14 million people, according to the CDC.

Smoking is the number one cause because the chemicals in tobacco smoke damage the lining of the airways.

The woman in the case report, from West Virginia, smoked 40 cigarettes every day for 20 years.

However, asbestos fibers can also increase the risk because these fibers lodge in the lungs and cause inflammation and scarring.

These toxic chemicals are also one of the leading causes of pleural plaques.

These plaques are thickened areas of tissue that develop on the lining of the lungs, which can cause shortness of breath and chest pain.

Although asbestos was used for decades in roofing and home insulation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned it from most products in 1989 due to its link to lung disease and cancer.

But even now, the EPA links asbestos to 40,000 deaths per year from lung, ovarian and throat cancer, especially among older Americans who have previously been exposed to the chemical for extended periods of time.

And it wasn’t until earlier this year that chrysotile asbestos, the last form of the chemical used in the US, was finally banned.

Writing in the New England Journal of Medicinedoctors at West Virginia University Health Sciences Center compared X-rays of the woman’s lungs from 20 years ago to the present.

The researchers also compared scans from the woman’s two sisters, which also showed pleural plaques that had worsened since 20 years before the present.

The images above are scans of the patient’s two sisters. They both developed pleural plaques, which could be the result of exposure to asbestos as children

COPD causes progressive damage to the airways, leading to a constant cough and difficulty breathing (stock image)

The team noted that the women had developed calcified pleural plaques, which form when calcium salts build up in lung tissue due to inflammation.

It is unclear whether the woman’s sisters smoked or had COPD, but asbestos exposure is the most common cause of these types of lung plaques.

A 2020 study It is said that up to eight percent of the U.S. population may have pleural plaques, but up to 60 percent of workers exposed to asbestos may develop plaques.

And it often takes decades for pleural plaques to form after asbestos exposure.

Signs of these plaques include difficulty breathing, chronic coughing, chest pain, and coughing up blood, but often no symptoms occur.

A CT scan is used to diagnose the condition, and doctors typically do not recommend treatment for plaques because removing them can damage the lungs and usually does not cause serious complications.

In rare cases, pleural plaques can increase the risk of other diseases, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.

In the 80-year-old’s case, she was discharged home after receiving treatment for her COPD exacerbation, which usually includes oxygen to ease breathing, antibiotics for any infections and steroids to reduce pneumonia.