fibrosis

last year my last chest xray result found fibrosis on right apex. is this a deadly disease? ist fit to work ? do i need any medication for this? please give me idea about this result im very worried about.  thank you and more power

[HeinrikMD]

Hi,

Fibrosis is a reaction in which an area of the lung is converted into scar tissue. This is usually due to a previous insult such as an infection or an irritant effect from something inhaled. For as long as the amount of lung involved is minimal, this shouldn’t produce any appreciable symptoms.  If you are working a job in which you may be inhaling certain chemicals – the irritant may be a continuous exposure and the fibrosis may be expected to progress, involving more and more lung and you may develop shortness of breath.
Fibrosis on the apex of the lung is a characteristic feature of prior tuberculosis.
Lung cancer generally produces nodules, but if the lung has fibrosis from some other condition – the usual nodules may not be present. Put another way, the more initial scarring the lung has, the more difficult it would be to interpret what is going on when another problem arises. .
Stay positive.

[elvielvira]

can i request to undergo another chest x-ray to monitor the existence of fibrosis? just to know if it is really a lifetime scar? thank you very much for your comment/reply....and how would i know if i got a reply from your column...(^_^)