Shocking scan images show the damaged lungs of a 19-year-old boy whose vaping habit almost left him dead. Anthony Mayo, 19, of Erie, Pen...
Shocking scan images show the damaged lungs of a 19-year-old boy whose vaping habit almost left him dead.
Anthony Mayo, 19, of Erie, Pennsylvania, became seriously ill last week, struggling to breathe, looking pale and feeling sick.
Doctors found his lungs had become severely congested with solidified vape oil, likened to cooking grease that hardens after being cooled.
It had caused Anthony, who had been vaping for around two years, to have 'the lungs of a 60-year-old, two-pack-a-day, smoker', his father, Keith Mayo, was told.
His oxygen levels became dangerously low, and he is now recovering in hospital while medics work to clear his lungs.
Anthony Mayo, 19, of Erie, Pennsylvania, became seriously ill due to his vaping habit
Shocking scan images show his damaged lungs filled with solidified vape oil
Anthony's father, Keith Mayo, said his son thought vaping was 'cool'
Keith told Metro US: 'His whole spin on it was it was cool and not that bad for you. I was just as guilty. I went along with it. I never got into it, but I didn't also prevent it either.
'He is going to have some scarring. Whether it's profound, we don't know yet. It's a wait and see type of thing. He's young, he's 19, so he can recover from this.'
Anthony's mother, Tanya, who has set up a fundraising page, shared the scan on Facebook.
She wrote: 'A warning for those in denial. This is what vaping looks like when your otherwise healthy 19-year-old is admitted into the ICU.
'Left lung about 80 per cent congested and right is about 50 per cent, oxygen level was 37.
'According to the doctor this is showing areas that have essentially solidified like bacon grease.
'The pulmonary doctor said he had seen dead people with a higher oxygen level.'
'A full recovery is uncertain... Only time will tell.'
Anthony, who had been vaping for around two years, was found to have 'the lungs of a 60-year-old, two-pack-a-day, smoker', according to Keith
Anthony was first taken to the hospital on Sunday September 8 after he had developed a cough.
Doctors assumed he had bronchitis and gave him antibiotics, saying he should recover in a few days.
Two days later, Anthony had become pale and looked sick, so he returned to the emergency room.
Doctors feared he may have developed a mild form of pneumonia, which inflames the lungs and may fill them with fluid.
They prescribed him a stronger antibiotic, a steroid and a 'puffer' to inhale medicine more quickly.
But he deteriorated further, spending all of Sunday night coughing before returning to hospital on the Monday.
According to Keith, tests revealed Anthony's oxygen levels were at 36 per cent. Below 90 per cent is dangerous, according to The Mayo Clinic.
Keith said: 'As the doctor says, anytime you put moisture into your lungs its not good.
‘It’s solidified. It’s caking everything inside of his lungs.'
Now doctors are caring for Anthony at Millcreek Community Hospital where he is on oxygen support.
They are pumping heated oxygen with moisture into Anthony's lungs to help liquefy some of the solidified oil.
This causes Anthony to cough up the liquid - which is brown, dark green and occasionally blood-tinged, Keith said.
He revealed Anthony liked to try different flavours, and has previously vaped blue raspberry, Swedish fish, cotton candy and cinnamon toast crunch.
Anthony also vaped THC on occasion, which is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
The shock of his son's condition has caused Keith to consider how companies market their flavours to young adults or children.
It comes amid growing fears of vaping-related deaths, after health officials confirmed an eighth fatality in the US.
The man, from Missouri, had normal lung function until he started using the devices in May, health officials said.
He developed mild respiratory symptoms that worsened and he was taken to hospital on August 22 where he later died.
The number of people sickened by vaping has risen to 500, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Reported lung diseases has not been linked to a specific brand or flavor of e-cigarette.
The FDA, CDC, and state health officials are investigating these cases to determine the specific causes.
Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, commented on the stark rise in mystery vaping-related illnesses.
He said: 'There is no doubt that inhaling a range of substances – from diesel particulates to tobacco smoke- risks harming the lung.
'It is well known that oils such as paraffin can cause problems because they can be inhaled without triggering protective cough reflexes, for example by fire-eaters and those taking liquid paraffin by mouth.
'It seems possible that these case clusters are related to inhalation of oil or oil and water mixtures that cause immune activation and trigger both local inflammation in the lung (pneumonitis) and, in some cases, systemic inflammation.
'Exactly why and how remains to be determined.'
Public Health England said the danger of vaping appears to have only affected the US so far.
Martin Dockrell, tobacco control Lead, PHE said: 'A full investigation is not yet available but indications are that the US cases have been linked to people using illicit vaping fluid bought on the streets or home-made, some containing cannabis products like THC oil or synthetic cannabinoids like Spice, and others Vitamin E acetate oil.
'This is not the same as using UK regulated nicotine products.
'Unlike the US, all nicotine containing e-cigarette products in the UK are tightly regulated for quality and safety by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.'
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