She is not alone. As a pulmonologist treating patients in Jodhpur, I am seeing cases of Interstitial lung disease more frequently than ever before — and many arrive far too late.
What Is Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD)?
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is not a single disease — it is a group of more than 200 conditions that cause inflammation and scarring deep within the lung tissue, making it progressively harder to breathe. The scarring, called fibrosis, stiffens the lungs and reduces their ability to carry oxygen into the blood.
The most common form is pulmonary fibrosis, but ILD also includes conditions like hypersensitivity pneumonitis, sarcoidosis, and silicosis. The damage is often irreversible, which is why catching it early matters enormously.
Why Is Jodhpur Seeing More ILD Cases?
This is the question I am asked most often by patients and their families. The answer is specific to where we live.
1. Silica and Marble Dust Exposure
Rajasthan is India’s largest producer of sandstone and marble. Thousands of workers in Jodhpur and surrounding districts spend years cutting, polishing, and transporting stone — inhaling fine silica particles with every breath.
Prolonged silica exposure causes silicosis, a form of ILD that scars lung tissue permanently. Research on sandstone mine workers in Rajasthan documents significantly elevated rates of silicosis and silico-tuberculosis among this population — one of the most underdiscussed occupational lung disease risks in our region.
2. Air Pollution — Desert Dust, PM2.5, and Urban Emissions
Jodhpur’s geography works against us. Desert dust from the Thar, combined with rising vehicular traffic and industrial emissions, keeps particulate matter levels consistently high. Studies linking ambient PM2.5 exposure to ILD incidence are now well-established in international research (Source: Frontiers in Medicine, 2024).
Chronic low-level exposure to fine particles triggers and accelerates lung inflammation — the same inflammatory process that underlies many forms of ILD.
3. Post-COVID Lung Damage
Since 2021, I have seen a distinct subset of patients presenting with breathlessness and lung scarring following COVID-19 infection. Post-COVID pulmonary fibrosis is now a recognised clinical entity. For some patients, the virus triggered an immune response that left lasting damage to the lung interstitium — damage that can look and behave like ILD.
If you had a severe or even moderate COVID infection and have not fully recovered your breathing capacity, please do not dismiss it.
4. Autoimmune Conditions Going Undetected
Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and Sjögren’s syndrome frequently cause ILD as a complication — often before the joint or skin symptoms are obvious. Many patients come to me for breathlessness and are diagnosed with an autoimmune condition for the first time. In Jodhpur, where access to specialist care has historically been limited, these cases accumulate quietly for years before diagnosis.
Warning Signs You Should Not Ignore
These symptoms, in plain terms, are what bring ILD patients to my clinic:
- A dry cough that has lasted more than four to six weeks and does not respond to usual treatments
- Breathlessness on mild effort — getting winded while climbing stairs, walking briskly, or doing household work
- A crackling sound in the lungs when breathing deeply (doctors describe it as a Velcro tearing sound)
- Unexplained fatigue and unintended weight loss
None of these symptoms are normal. If you or a family member are experiencing any combination of these, please seek evaluation from a Pulmonologist in Jodhpur rather than waiting.
How Is ILD Diagnosed?
Caught early, ILD can be slowed. Caught late, the options narrow fast. The standard evaluation includes:
- HRCT scan of the chest — the gold standard for detecting and characterising lung scarring
- Pulmonary function tests (spirometry) — to measure how much and how efficiently the lungs work
- Autoimmune blood markers — to check whether an underlying condition like rheumatoid arthritis is driving the ILD
- 6-minute walk test — to assess functional capacity and oxygen levels under mild exertion
No single test diagnoses ILD. A specialist will interpret these together to determine the type of ILD, its severity, and the best treatment path — which may include anti-fibrotic therapy, immunosuppressants, pulmonary rehabilitation, or supplemental oxygen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ILD curable?
Most forms of ILD are not curable, but they are treatable and manageable. Anti-fibrotic medications like pirfenidone and nintedanib are approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and can slow disease progression significantly. Early diagnosis gives treatment the best chance to preserve lung function.
Can air pollution or dust exposure cause ILD?
Yes. Chronic exposure to silica dust, asbestos, bird droppings, mould, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are all established causes of specific forms of ILD, including silicosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. This is particularly relevant in Jodhpur’s industrial and environmental context.
What is the difference between ILD and COPD?
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) involves obstruction of the airways, typically from smoking. ILD involves scarring of the lung tissue itself. Both cause breathlessness, but on spirometry they show opposite patterns: COPD shows obstruction, ILD shows restriction. They require very different treatments.
How quickly does ILD progress?
Progression varies widely by type. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis can progress rapidly over months to years. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis, if the trigger is removed early, can stabilise or partially improve. Identifying the type of ILD and its cause determines the outlook and treatment approach.
Can ILD patients live a normal life?
Many patients with ILD, especially those diagnosed early, live active and independent lives. Patients on anti-fibrotic therapy combined with pulmonary rehabilitation often maintain stable lung function for years — continuing to work, walk, and manage daily life with good quality of care.
Don’t Wait — See a Pulmonologist in Jodhpur
A cough. Breathlessness. A family member whose breathing has changed. These things don’t disappear on their own.
Please act on that instinct. ILD caught early can be managed. ILD caught late is far harder to treat. The window between the two closes faster than people expect.
Book a consultation with Dr. Sumita Agrawal