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Symptoms of Lung Scarring

Lung scarring is pretty much what it sounds like, a scarring to any of the tissue of the lungs. It falls within a classification of disorders referred to as interstitial lung disease. Typically, this scarring will happen over a period of time, sometimes without any known cause, according to Mayo Clinic. But it will usually bring with it a number of signs and symptoms that will affect a person's breathing.

  1. Breathlessness

    • One of the most common symptoms of lung scarring will involve some level of breathlessness, windedness or shortness of breath. This particular symptom will usually start off as a fairly slight breathlessness during the very initial scarring, but will gradually worsen over time as the scarring progresses until a marked shortness of breath can be felt.

    Cough

    • Many people who are suffering from a scarring of the lungs will also begin to develop a relatively dry, unproductive cough, meaning a cough that doesn't produce any phlegm. Much like the symptom of breathlessness, this cough will start off as what would seem to be a minor cough and progressively worsen over time as the scarring progresses.

    Wheezing

    • The breathlessness and coughing may be accompanied by a certain amount of wheezing that may manifest at times of physical exertion or even at times of rest. You may be casually talking to someone or simply climbing in and out of your car and begin to suffer from this wheezing.

    Pain

    • For some people, this scarring of the lungs may bring with it some pain or discomfort in and around the chest region of the body. Much like the symptom of wheezing, this pain or discomfort may come about during times of physical exertion or times of rest, but will generally be felt within the lungs during either inhalation or exhalation.

    Exhaustion

    • According to the Cleveland Clinic, there is also the potential that scarring to the lung could bring about an almost overwhelming feeling of tiredness. This would be largely due to the way in which the lungs are working as a result of the scarring. Inevitably, the amount of oxygen the lungs will move into the blood will lessen as the scarring worsens, prompting more and more pronounced tiredness or exhaustion.

    Weight Loss

    • Sometimes, a person suffering from scarred lungs may notice a loss in weight. Eventually, the scarring would make a person feel a certain level of malaise, which could prompt a loss of appetite. This loss in appetite would obviously spawn some weight loss in that individual.

    Clubbing

    • Another potential symptom of a scarring to the lungs could come in the form of a clubbing to the tips of the finger. This would appear as bulbous developments within the fingertips of your hands. At first, you may not notice the change in the appearance of your hands, but, over time, the clubbing will become more pronounced and noticeable.

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