PAP Symptoms

When you have pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), you may experience different symptoms in your everyday life. This is quite normal. The symptoms vary from person to person. Some are very affected by the symptoms in their everyday life, others rarely notice any symptoms.

Frequent PAP symptoms

Your symptoms are caused by accumulation of a grainy material (waste material from lung surfactant) in your lungs. When the such material accumulates in your lungs, you can experience one or a combination of the following symptoms:

• Breathlessness on exertion/activity but sometimes even at rest
• Decreased or decreasing ability to exercise
• Cough, which may be either dry or productive with expectoration of whitish mucus
• Chest pain in various types and degrees of severity
• Fever or sweats
• Generalised aches and pains
• Fatigue, tiredness, depression or anxiety
• In severe cases respiratory failure can occur

When you live with PAP, you are also at a higher risk of acquiring infections as your immune system is affected.

Why do you experience symptoms?

PAP symptoms are caused by an accumulation of waste material in your air sacs (alveoli). When the alveoli are filled with lung surfactant it can affect your breathing. That is why many people with PAP often cough a lot and feel shortness of breath.

Read more about what happens in the body here.