Interstitial lung disease means the tissue surrounding your alveoli is inflamed and scarred, causing it to become stiff. Your alveoli are tiny air sacs through which oxygen is absorbed into the bloodstream. And this lung disorder is so named because the affected tissue is referred to as interstitium.
Stiff interstitium impedes air sac expansion, thus limiting the supply of oxygen to your body. Hence, shortness of breath and a dry cough are typical symptoms caused by interstitial lung disease. As the disease progresses, you may also experience:
At first, your shortness of breath and dry cough may not be severe enough to notice. And because these initial symptoms are vague and develop gradually, you may attribute them to stuff like aging, asthma, being overweight, out of shape, smoking or a lingering upper respiratory infection.
As interstitial lung disease scar tissue builds up it can cause some very serious health complications, like:
Interstitial lung disease is broken down into to groups based on its broad range of causes. And for some cases, their lung condition will be referred to as idiopathic because a cause is indeterminable. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, aka interstitial pneumonitis, is the most common form of idiopathic interstitial lung diseases.
Interstitial lung disease has numerous identifiable causes or can be associated with other health conditions. For one, excessive exposure to a number of toxins or pollutants can lead to your scarred interstitium related shortness of breath and dry cough, such as:
- coal dust
- silica dust
- asbestos fibers
- hard metal dust
- chemical fumes ~ ammonia, chlorine gas
- bacteria, fungus overgrowth ~ humidifiers, hot tubs
- organic material ~ grain, sugar cane, cotton dust, moldy hay, bird & animal droppings
Infections can be a cause for development of interstitial lung disease as well, for instance:
- pneumonia ~ bacteria infection
- histoplasmosis ~ fungus infection
- cytomegalovirus ~ virus infection, particularly with weakened immune system
Radiation therapy administered to the chest area for treating lung cancer, breast cancer and lymphoma can stimulate interstitial lung disease. And some drugs can be the basis because of their deep tissue damage effect.
Other health conditions are associated with interstitial lung disease because of the affect they have on all tissue processes, particularly autoimmune diseases. Notable ones are:
Initial treatment for interstitial lung disease typically begins by alleviating your shortness of breath and dry cough symptoms with oxygen therapy and pulmonary rehabilitation to improve lung function.
Otherwise, taking certain drugs, i.e. corticosteroids, may slow down the disease process by reducing inflammation. But, any lung scarring that has already happened is generally irreversible. With advanced cases of interstitial lung disease, a lung transplant may be the only treatment option.
And if you are overweight, losing weight can improve your ability to breath and reduce your exercise intolerance.