Pulmonary Fibrosis / Interstitial Lung Disease

Pulmonary Fibrosis / Interstitial Lung Disease is when the lung tissue is stiff or scarred. You have trouble getting oxygen from the air you breathe in, into the alveoli (air sacs at the ends of the airways) and once there, trouble getting it from the alveoli into the blood.

Each of these problems cause increased shortness of breath and respiratory muscle fatigue. Idiopathic (cause unknown) pulmonary fibrosis, is one of many disorders in a large category called interstitial lung disease . Just a few of the 130 disorders in this category include asbestosis, coal worker's pneumoconiosis (Black Lung Disease), sarcoidosis, and silicosis.

Interstitial Lung Disease and Pulmonary Fibrosis can be difficult to understand. Click below for lots of helpful information.

http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35436

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