Vape is still unsafe despite claims that it is a healthy alternative to smoking cigarettes. A vape addict from Indiana has learned it the hard way.
Vape Addict Lost So Much Blood
Dustin Fitzgerald of Clinton, Vermillion County, smoked more than a cartridge a day of e-juice. His addiction to vape brought him to the hospital after he coughed up more than three pints of blood.
He lost so much blood that doctors considered giving him a transfusion, Fitzgerald said, Daily Mail reported.
Fitzgerald said he bought maximum-strength vape pens to kick off his cigarette habit and would finish a whole eight-milliliter cartridge in less than a week. After several months, he developed a strong cough that became violent. In October 2022, he visited a doctor about it, and he was misdiagnosed with bronchitis, which had the same symptoms.
Later that day, he started coughing blood, which freaked him out. He remembered coughing straight blood, and doctors told him he had lost three whole pints. They were already worried that he would need a transfusion.
He was quarantined in the intensive care unit at the hospital as doctors feared it could be due to hepatitis or tuberculosis. They put on an oxygen supply, but he still sneaked his vape. However, he was alarmed when he realized that he barely took a hit and was already having difficulty breathing as if ten elephants were on his chest. He admitted that he felt like dying, which scared him more than the blood.
He was eventually diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia, a serious lung infection when the lungs' air sacs became inflamed and sometimes filled with fluid, pus, and cellular debris. Vaping is believed to increase one's risk of bacterial pneumonia.
Dangers of Vaping
After recovering from his health ordeal, Fitzgerald made it his mission to help raise awareness about the danger of vaping.
He said that he started vaping to quit smoking. He thought switching to vaping after a cigarette price hike would solve his financial and health problems. However, he admitted to abusing it, Mirror reported.
He admitted to constantly vaping for 10 to 12 hours a day at work. He started coughing, and it didn't stop. It even came to a point when it severely disrupted his sleep.
He urged the people who want to vape to use it wisely and never abuse it as he did. He urged those who do not smoke not to try vaping because it would be pointless.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), e-cigarettes still contain nicotine which is highly addictive and toxic.
Michael Blaha, M.D., M.P.H., director of clinical research at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, added that vaping harms the heart and lungs. According to him, there are many unknowns about vaping, including the chemicals that make up the vapor, which, aside from nicotine, could include flavorings and other chemicals that help to make aerosol.
Blaha said e-cigarettes are dangerous to health and are linked to chronic lung disease and asthma. He added that when one vape, it exposes one to all kinds of chemicals that they don't understand and are probably unsafe.
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