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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. Treatment options may include medications, pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, and lung transplantation. Regardless of which kind of treatment for pulmonary fibrosis you choose, it is important that you quit smoking to help prevent further damage to the lung tissues.

 

An Overview of Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatments

There is no cure for pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, treatment for pulmonary fibrosis 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 treatment options for pulmonary fibrosis include:
 
  • Medications
  • Oxygen therapy
  • Pulmonary rehabilitation
  • Lung transplantation.
     
The specific treatment 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 pulmonary fibrosis treatment 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.
 

Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatment Medicines

It is very important to treat pulmonary fibrosis as early as possible. By treating pulmonary fibrosis 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.
(Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatment Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD