Teen Lands in ER with Respiratory Failure after Vaping for 3 Weeks

A Pennsylvania teen was rushed to the hospital with respiratory failure and doctors think that vaping is behind her condition. A research paper documenting the 18-year-old woman’s case was published this week in the journal Pediatrics.

• Doctors diagnosed the teen with hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which means that her immune system overreacted to an external agent and caused an inflammation in the lungs.
• The woman is the first known case of such a serious lung condition, also known as “wet lung,” caused by vaping.

When she arrived at the hospital her health was in such a poor shape that he had to be placed on a ventilator as she couldn’t breathe on her own. Her symptoms included shortness of breath, coughs, and pain when inhaling and exhaling.

At first, doctors suspected that she had a respiratory infection like the flu, but tests revealed no bacteria, viruses, or fungi in her lungs. The teen told doctors that she was diagnosed with asthma as a child and that she recently vaped for three weeks.

Vaping Likely at Fault

Medics at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh ruled that the condition was triggered by the use of e-cigarettes. They gave the woman steroids and helped her regain her respiratory function.

We cannot prove beyond any doubt that it was due to an e-cigarette,

co-author Daniel J. Weiner. MD, said.

However, the disease’s symptoms started shortly after the patient decided to start vaping, which pinpoints to a cause-and-effect link.

Past studies have found that vaping can cause mouth damage, serious lung issues like the “popcorn lung,” and cancer. Popcorn lung is an irreversible condition that was first found in people working in popcorn factories. Experts found that the condition was caused by diacetyl, which can now be found in some e-juices.
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