💊 Treatment Options6 min read
Treatment options: the main categories, explained
An overview of the kinds of treatment used in ILD — without recommending any.
Why this matters
Knowing the categories of treatment helps you understand your own plan and have a richer conversation with your team.
The main things to know
- Treatment depends heavily on the specific type of ILD.
- Approaches can include medication, oxygen, rehabilitation, and treating any underlying cause.
- What is right for one person may not be right for another.
Visual summary
⬇️ Download infographicBecause ILD is a family of conditions, treatment varies widely. The goal of this page is to explain the categories so the words your team uses feel familiar — not to suggest what you should take.
Was this part helpful?
Common categories
- Medicines that slow scarring in certain fibrotic ILDs (sometimes called antifibrotics).
- Medicines that calm an overactive immune system, used in some autoimmune-related ILDs.
- Supplemental oxygen, when oxygen levels are low.
- Pulmonary rehabilitation to support activity and breathing.
- Treating contributing factors, such as reflux, infections, or exposures.
- For a small number of people, evaluation for lung transplant.
Was this part helpful?
Important
This page explains categories of treatment for general understanding. It does not recommend starting, stopping, or changing any treatment. Only your care team can do that.
Your safe next step
Every page ends with one small, safe action — no pressure.
Was this helpful overall?
Reviewed by Dr. Youmna Abdelghany, MD
Pulmonary Disease & Critical Care Medicine
- Last reviewed:
- May 20, 2026
- Next review:
- November 20, 2026
- Reading level:
- Grade 6–8
Sources (3)
- Pulmonary fibrosis resources — Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (opens a new site)
- Patient education series — American Thoracic Society (opens a new site)
- Interstitial lung diseases — NHLBI (NIH) (opens a new site)