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Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatment
While there is no cure for pulmonary fibrosis, treatment is available to help prevent the disease from progressing. Options may include medications, pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, and lung transplantation. Regardless of which treatment you choose, it is important that you quit smoking to help prevent further damage to the lung tissues.
There is no cure for pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, treatment for the condition is focused on minimizing further damage, along with relieving symptoms and improving a person's quality of life. Treatment cannot, however, reverse damage that has already occurred.
Specific pulmonary fibrosis treatment options include:
- Medications
- Oxygen therapy
- Pulmonary rehabilitation
- Lung transplantation.
The specific plan a healthcare provider recommends will be based on several factors, such as the person's age, other existing medical conditions he or she may have, and how much damage has already occurred.
Regardless of the treatment for pulmonary fibrosis that is recommended, it is extremely important that people quit smoking. It is also important to understand that in some people, treatment can slow down the speed at which the condition progresses; in other cases, it will not have an impact.
It is important to treat pulmonary fibrosis as early as possible. By addressing the condition before a lot of scarring has taken place, it may improve the chances that treatment will be successful and increase the life expectancy in some people.
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD