OVERVIEW
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a term for a group of conditions that cause inflammation and scarring in your lungs. Symptoms of ILD include shortness of breath and a dry cough. ILD can be caused by medication, radiation therapy, connective tissue diseases or inhaling harmful substances. Lung damage caused by ILD is often irreversible.
What is interstitial lung disease?
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a term for a group of over 200 conditions that cause inflammation and scarring in your lungs. ILD damages the tissues between the small air sacs in your lungs (alveoli) and the blood vessels around them. This makes it harder for you to move oxygen out of your lungs and into your body.
Interstitial lung disease is also called diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD).
What happens when you have interstitial lung disease?
When you have interstitial lung disease, parts of your lungs that help oxygen get into your blood and out to your tissues are damaged. Scarring in your lungs makes it hard to breathe, and you might have a chronic cough. Lack of oxygen can make you feel tired all the time.
When damage continues to get worse, you can have life-threatening complications, like lung infections and respiratory failure (not enough oxygen or too much carbon dioxide in your body).
What are the symptoms of interstitial lung disease?
Common symptom of interstitial lung disease include:
- Shortness of breath (dyspnea) that gets worse with exercise or exertion.
- Dry cough.
- Fatigue.
- Chest discomfort.
Symptoms are usually mild at first but get worse over months or years. You may have additional symptoms depending on the underlying cause of ILD.
What causes interstitial lung disease?
The causes of interstitial lung disease are usually described as known or unknown. A known cause is when ILD happens because of a disease you’re living with or something you were exposed to, like certain medications, radiation or harmful substances.
An unknown cause (idiopathic) is when you have ILD but you don’t have an underlying condition and haven’t been exposed to anything to cause it.
Who is most at risk for interstitial lung disease?
You’re more likely to develop interstitial lung disease if you:
- Are over 70.
- Were assigned male at birth.
- Smoke or used to smoke.
- Have a history of certain illnesses or conditions, like hepatitis C,
- tuberculosis, pneumonia, COPD or connective tissue disease.
- Work around substances that can irritate your lungs, like asbestos, silica, molds, fungi or bacteria.
- Have had chest radiation.