What Are the Symptoms of Silicosis?
In the early stages of the disease, you may not experience symptoms. However, over time your symptoms will appear or worsen, even if you are no longer around silica dust. The most common symptoms include:
- A long-lasting cough
- Difficulty breathing
- Chest or back pain
Additional symptoms are often present due to your body being less able to fight infections, resulting in additional respiratory illnesses which may result in:
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fever
- Night sweats
- Chest pains
The longer silicosis goes without treatment, the more likely it is to develop a complication. Because the disease affects the immune system, patients with silicosis are vulnerable to developing tuberculosis, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, kidney disease and autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
When to See Your Healthcare Provider
If you work at a job with potential exposure to silica dust, you should get regular health checkups and be monitored for signs and symptoms of lung disease, even if you are not currently experiencing symptoms. Call for an appointment right away if you develop a cough or start experiencing breathing problems.
If you have been diagnosed with silicosis and experience a flareup, which is new or lingering symptoms that concern you, contact your healthcare provider right away.
How Silicosis Is Diagnosed
During the visit, your doctor will ask about your breathing, both at rest and during exercise. Your doctor will also ask about your job history in detail to determine the likelihood of silica exposure. It may be a good idea to prepare the following information in advance:
- Your medical history
- Your symptoms and when they started
- How you currently manage your symptoms and if it helps
- The type of work you have done over your entire career, including the length of time you spent on each job and the nature of the work you performed
- The products you were in contact with at work and what type of protective equipment you wore
- If you have a history of tobacco use
After a physical exam where your doctor listens to your lungs, there are several tests that they may suggest determining if you have silicosis. These include:
- Imaging tests: A chest X-ray or CT scan can give your doctor a detailed picture of your lungs.
- Lung function tests: These tests measure your lungs’ ability to breathe properly and to get oxygen into the blood.
- Sputum culture: The mucus that you cough up will be examined for evaluation.
- Bronchoscopy: Your doctor will pass a bronchoscope (small flexible tube with a video camera attached at its end) either through your nose or mouth and into your windpipe and lung. This tool can be used to collect tissue samples from your lung for further testing.
- Lung biopsy: Performed by a cardiothoracic surgeon under general anesthesia, this is another way to get a sample of lung tissue for further testing.
- Bronchoalveolar lavage: This test “washes” your lungs and examines the fluid extracted
- Lab tests: These don’t diagnose silicosis, but they can help rule out other infections or diseases that have similar symptoms.
Page last updated: February 2, 2026
