If you are exposed to asbestos, your risk level for mesothelioma and other diseases goes up dramatically. This doesn’t mean that people who don’t have an obvious exposure have no risk. Asbestos does occur naturally, and everyone is going to be exposed to it to some degree. But excessive exposure, such as to asbestos particles in building materials, dramatically changes the odds that someone will contract one of these dangerous diseases.
Naturally, someone who knows they have already been exposed is probably looking for ways to reduce that risk level. Can they do so? If they avoid asbestos going forward, does that mean they could drop back down to a relatively low risk?
The risk level stays elevated
Unfortunately, there is no way to reduce this elevated risk. Merely being exposed at any time in your life means it’s going to be higher than someone else who didn’t have that same level of exposure. Certainly, it is true that you should avoid asbestos in the future. Being exposed again or suffering from heavy exposure levels will simply continue to increase your odds of developing mesothelioma. But avoiding asbestos isn’t going to push those odds back down because you cannot eliminate an exposure that already took place.
Part of the issue here is that asbestos often will take decades to actually turn into mesothelioma or any other sort of disease. It could be anywhere from 10 to 40 years – or more. So there are many people who may be exposed and then think they are fine for the next 20 or 30 years, when nothing happens, only to find out that they have mesothelioma later on in life.
What are your options?
This is a life-changing disease and it can be very expensive to treat. It also has a very high fatality rate, which is something people want to consider when they are worried about how their family will function if they pass away. For all of this, and more, make sure you know what legal options you may have to seek proper compensation.