Asbestos Exposure

[wendig]

On November 17, I did some work in the basement of a 80+ year old apartment building for a couple hours.  When I was done, I noticed a bunch of old asbestos pipe wrap in various stages of decay.

The next day, I woke up with a horrible sore throat, burning lungs and airway, and feeling flu-like with achy muscles.  Felt like I was coming down with the flu or a bad cold.

I'm a 39 year old male, 5-9, 155 lbs, in great health.  Never smoked, and I don't drink, work in banking.  I’m a runner, usually run 25-30 miles per week. I do have allergies.  Ragweed, pollen, cat dander, and even dust produce symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, etc.  

Two weeks later, I was still not feeling better.  My burning throat, lungs, and airway persisted, and I was still feeling very run-down and achy.  My primary care doc prescribed a Z pack that did not help.  Lung x-ray returned clear, some standard blood work came back ok.  I had not run in 2 weeks.  Had quite a bit of post nasal drip.  Get hoarse when I talk much.

Concerned about the duration of my illness, and questioning whether it could have been caused by asbestos, I contacted an industrial hygienist who tested the basement and found  airborne asbestos of 2 types: amosite, and chrysotile.  The levels were higher than the test range.

It’s now been over a month.  Body ache is mostly gone, but my lungs, throat, and airway STILL burn.  Several attempts to resume my running did not go well.  Felt like I had asthma, w/wheezing and difficulty with my breathing. Still have post nasal drip, and for the last week a very runny nose, with a clear, thin liquid.  Chest often feels “tight”.  Still get hoarse when I talk much.

I’m trying to get in to see a pulmonary specialist.  All are scheduled almost a month out, so frustrated about the wait to get in for an office visit.  

So, what do you think is happening with my health? What should I do / not do?  Thanks!

[Between]

The dr. usually only post one time per post. I would request a HRCT scan of my lungs, that is the best test to check things out. A xray don't show very much at all.

[wendig]

I did visit a pulmonologist.  He performed breathing tests and confirmed that I do have asthma.  I am using a couple different inhalers now, which do seem to provide some relief of the wheezing, and free of my breathing.  

But the problem is that my lungs and airway continue to burn quite badly.  The pulmonologist is unable to provide an explanation as to what is causing the burning.  I have noticed that the burning is far worse after my attempts to run.  On a scale of 1 to 10, the burning rates a 2-3 in the morning when I get up.  But during and after a run, it rates a 9-10.  It's become a deterrant to running, which is extremely upsetting to me, because I have been a serious running my entire life.

I should also probably note that I am still getting some light drainage, mostly just a running nose, and the post nasal drip continues.  

It's been 6 weeks now, I've seen all the docs, the symptoms are not getting any better, and nobody can tell me what's causing it, or what I should do to possibly help make it go away.

Due to the duration of this incident, I'm also quite concerned about the long-term health implications involved.  

Any additional advice or insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

[National Jewish Health]

Your description of your exposure to asbestos suggests that it was fairly intense.  There is no guarantee that you weren't exposed to other irritants or allergens at the same time, resulting in reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS) or occupationally induced asthma.  It is likely that the asbestos was a major irritant and almost certainly remains in your lungs; imbedded in both upper and lower respiratory tissues, but no guarantee that it was the only one.

Asbestos, especially an acute, intense exposure is highly irritating and capable of causing acute inflammation of the airways and the rest of the lung.  The duration of illness following exposures similar to yours may vary from weeks to months to years.  If this is what is going on, you would probably benefit from taking high dose oral steroids in the hope of reducing the acute inflammation and, perhaps, chronic inflammation.

You would do well not to wait for a month to see a pulmonologist.  If you can't see one, you should see your family doctor.  Describe what has happened and, when possible, see the pulmonologist later.

If you live near a major academic medical center, especially one with a strong occupational medicine division, you should consider making an appointment.  The National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado is one such center.