The way you treat chronic beryllium disease is through immunosuppressive drugs or corticosteroids such as prednisone, which help to reduce lung inflammation.
Oxygen therapy is also sometimes used for shortness of breath and pulmonary rehabilitation can also be used to help rebuild your lung function in severe cases of chronic beryllium disease.
Stopping exposure to beryllium is also advised.
Chronic beryllium disease is not curable, but treatments can help to manage the symptoms and slow the progression of the chronic beryllium disease.
However if left undiagnosed and untreated, the chronic beryllium disease can result in serious and even life threatening complications such as respiratory failure.
With treatment you can often live a good life expectancy even with chronic beryllium disease but some people eventually die of the disease.
Chronic beryllium disease is caused by the inhalation of beryllium dust or fumes, which then triggers an abnormal immune response in susceptible people, which leads to lung inflammation and lung scarring.
Although exposure to beryllium is the main trigger for chronic beryllium disease, not everyone that is exposed to beryllium will get the chronic beryllium disease.
Only people that have become sensitized to beryllium will develop chronic beryllium disease.
Also genetic factors like a mutation in your HLA-DPB1 gene can also increase your risk of developing beryllium sensitization and subsequently chronic beryllium disease.
CBD or chronic beryllium disease is a systemic disorder, although it can also involve your lymph nodes, your skin, your spleen, your liver, your kidneys and your heart, although your lungs are the main target organs of chronic beryllium disease.
Chronic beryllium disease in the lungs is a long term lung disease which is caused by the inhalation of beryllium dust or fumes.
Chronic beryllium disease also called CBD disease is a reaction of your immune system to beryllium, which leads to inflammation and scarring or fibrosis in your lungs.
Symptoms of chronic beryllium disease can appear within months after exposure or even years after exposure to the beryllium.
Symptoms of chronic beryllium disease include weight loss and fever, fatigue, shortness of breath and a cough that is persistent.
Treatment for chronic beryllium disease includes the use of corticosteroids to reduce inflammation and oxygen therapy to help improve your breathing, although irreversible lung damage can still occur.
In CBD or chronic beryllium disease, when a person inhales beryllium particles, the person's immune system can become sensitized.
The sensitization then leads to the formation of granulomas, which are clumps of inflammatory cells in your lungs.
The granulomas cause chronic inflammation and then over time, they can lead to scarring and fibrosis of the lungs which is irreversible.
This makes it difficult for your lungs to get the needed oxygen to the bloodstream.
Chronic beryllium disease mainly affects people that are exposed to beryllium in the workplace, which use the metal like in mining, manufacturing and aerospace.
Diagnosis for chronic beryllium disease involves a history of beryllium exposure, characteristic clinical findings and lab tests, such as the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test.
No cure is available for chronic beryllium disease, but treatments can help manage the symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Oxygen therapy for breathing difficulties is an option for treatment as well as corticosteroids for reducing inflammation.