Signs and Symptoms

            Pulmonary fibrosis has a large number of defining signs and symptoms that occur with most people that have the disease. The most defining and first found symptom of pulmonary fibrosis is dyspnea, also known as shortness of breath.  At first people normally just have shortness of breath while exercising but over time this shortness of breath happens even when at rest. This dyspnea is normally accompanied by a dry, hacking, cough that doesn’t get better. After awhile people sometimes have repeated bouts of this hacking cough that are uncontrollable.  Most of the other signs and symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis are brought on from the lack of appropriate oxygen in the blood and happen with progression of the disease.

            Other common symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis that develop over time are rapid shallow breathing, aching muscles and joints, and fatigue or tiredness. This rapid shallow breathing happens because one’s body is trying to compensate for the lack of oxygen exchange in the lungs due to the scarring by breathing faster and more often. This lack of oxygen is also what causes the tiredness and aching. Another main symptom is clubbing of the fingers. This is described as a widening and rounding of the tips of one’s fingers and sometimes toes. This is another common symptom of people that have low oxygen levels in their blood. Many people also complain of a gradual and unexplained weight loss along with their other symptoms.

            Over time as the scarring of the lungs worsens and the oxygen exchange worsens people start to develop more problems due to long term low oxygen blood levels. These include many lung problems like lung cancer, blood clots in the lungs (also known as a pulmonary emboli), pneumonia, and high blood pressure in the blood vessels that supply the lungs. In a worst case scenario the patient will develop multiple system organ failure, which is basically where a lot of their organs stop working due to the long-term lack of oxygen in the blood. This will happen frequently to the kidneys and liver first.

            Normally the long-term cough and the constant dyspnea are what bring a patient into the hospital seeking care for their pulmonary fibrosis. These are also the symptoms that are the most uncomfortable for the patient other than the symptoms found in the very late stages of the disease, like lung problems and organ failure. Pulmonary fibrosis has many symptoms, but the key to understanding comes with understanding how the body reacts to low oxygen levels.

Reference:

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. (2010, October 1). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis? (2011, September 20). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/ipf/signs

Pulmonary fibrosis. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pulmonary-fibrosis/basics/symptoms/con-20029091