Diet Plan for Patients of ILD

Interstitial lung disease can vary from person to person and depending on what caused it. Sometimes it progresses slowly. In other cases, it worsens quickly. Your symptoms can range from mild to severe.

Some interstitial lung diseases have a better prognosis than others. One of the most common types, called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, can have a limited outlook. The average survival for people with this type is currently 3 to 5 yearsTrusted Source. It can be longer with certain medications and depending on its course. People with other types of interstitial lung disease, like sarcoidosis, can live much longer.

While getting a lung transplant can improve your survival, future medications will likely offer the best solutions for most people.

Types of Interstitial lung disease

Interstitial lung disease comes in more than 200 different types. Some of these include:

• asbestosis: inflammation and scarring in the lungs caused by breathing in asbestos fibers
• bronchiolitis obliterans: a condition that causes blockages in the smallest airways of the lungs, called bronchioles
• coal worker’s pneumoconiosis: a lung condition caused by exposure to coal dust (also called black lung disease)
• chronic silicosis: a lung disease caused by breathing in the mineral silica
• connective tissue-related pulmonary fibrosis: a lung disease that affects some people with connective tissue diseases such as scleroderma or Sjögren syndrome
• desquamative interstitial pneumonitis: a condition that causes lung inflammation and that is more common in people who smoke
• familial pulmonary fibrosis: a buildup of scar tissue in the lungs that affects two or more members of the same family
• hypersensitivity pneumonitis: inflammation of the alveoli caused by breathing in allergic substances or other irritants
• idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a disease of unknown cause in which scar tissue develops throughout the lung tissue
• sarcoidosis: a disease that causes small clumps of inflammatory cells to form in organs such as the lungs and lymph glands

Things To Remember

• Stop smoking. Smoking can damage your lungs even more.
• Eat a well-balanced diet. Getting enough nutrients and calories is important, especially because this disease can make you lose weight.
• Exercise. Using oxygen can help you stay active.
• Get your vaccines for pneumonia, whooping cough, and flu. These infections can worsen your lung symptoms.