All About Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis – Symptoms and Treatment

Imagine this: you’re minding your business, eating right, doing whatever you have to do, and then suddenly, you’re not breathing easily. That is exactly what happened to tabla legend Zakir Hussain, who reportedly died of complications due to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis at the age of 73. But what is this disease to begin with?

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is nothing but a progressive lung disease that happens when the lungs get scarred because of an unknown cause. There’s no cure. Basically, when you do get this disease, it’s a waiting game. Some people live for months; others live for a longer period of time. This condition has a terrible long-term prognosis.

Causes of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis? Smoking, amongst others. Pulmonary fibrosis gets worse over time. Some people manage to stay stable; however, the condition gets progressively worse in others. People become more and more short of breath.

Who gets this? Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis happens in middle-aged and older adults. Sometimes, infants and children get it, but that is not so common. For others, what is the option? Lung transplant.

Shortness of breath

Shortness of breath is a well-known symptom of Pulmonary Idiopathic Fibrosis. This shortness of breath gets worse over time and goes from happening during exercises to happening at rest as well. Shortness of breath can get worse over a few days or weeks, which makes it life-threatening.

Dry Cough

A dry cough is a classic symptom of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. This cough can be uncontrollable and have a significant negative impact on your quality of life. Why this cough happens is unclear. However, it could be because of architectural distortion of the lungs, increased sensitivity of the cough reflex, changes in mucus production and clearance and airway inflammation.

Extreme Tiredness

You feel unusually tired. Not normal tired, but absolute exhaustion that happens when you get Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. This is just your regular fatigue that happens no matter how much you sleep.

Unintended Weight Loss

If you have been rapidly losing weight and you don’t know why, you might consider Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis if you have other symptoms as well. This causes a massive drop in weight that cannot be explained.

Aching Muscles and Joints

Your joints and muscles will ache, and you won’t have any explanation for it. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis causes aching muscles and joints that go beyond regular joint pain. In fact, your muscles and joints will pain so much that you’ll start to wonder whether it is normal to experience this.

Once you have this disease, there’s no cure. The doctor can only make sure that you don’t suffer too much on a daily basis. The Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis life expectancy is between 2.5 years to five years. However, new treatments for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis can ease the pain and make you live longer. Having said that, coping with lung fibrosis is not easy. Please listen to your doctor so you have it easier.

In conclusion, Zakir Hussain couldn’t survive Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, but you actually might. Stop smoking, start exercising, wash your hands, avoid irritants and get vaccinated. These are the principal ways of preventing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis so you can breathe easily and live better.