Vaping addict, 25, says she contracted pneumonia from e-cigarette leaving her hooked to oxygen tank
A VAPING addict claims she contracted pneumonia from her e-cigarette - leaving her constantly hooked to an oxygen tank.
Aubree Butterfield puffed "constantly" on her e-cig for three years until last month when she began vomiting and coughing up blood.
Doctors diagnosed the 25-year-old with lipoid pneumonia when they discovered vegetable glycerine, a common ingredient in vape juice, had caked her lungs.
The rare condition occurs when fat particles enter the lungs.
Despite having never smoked a cigarette before, Aubree, of Ogden, Utah, now needs an oxygen tank when she sleeps and runs errands.
She said: "I really wasn’t aware of any negatives around vaping.
"I knew nicotine was addictive but vapes seemed so safe.”
PROBE LAUNCHED
Her story comes as US health authorities launched an investigation into an epidemic of mysterious lung illnesses linked to e-cigarette use.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its probe follows more than 150 people in at least 16 states being hospitalized in recent weeks.
Most of those stricken were teenagers or young adults - with some in intensive care and on ventilators.
Officials hope to determine the cause of the condition after “a cluster of pulmonary illnesses linked to e-cigarette use” were reported.
I thought it looked cool and it helped my anxiety - but towards the end it made my anxiety worse
Aubree Butterfield
Nursing assistant Aubree got hooked on nicotine-packed e-cigarettes while a student at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, three years ago.
She said: "My roommates both vaped and I wanted to vape too.
“When I first started, I would vape constantly, I wouldn’t put it down.
“I thought it looked cool and it helped my anxiety - but towards the end it made my anxiety worse.”
NEVER SMOKED TOBACCO
She spent around $100 (£82) a month on her vaping habit and enjoyed the fruity flavours - as opposed to harsh tobacco.
Aubree said: “I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life.
“I knew that they were bad for you and that they were very addictive so I thought, ‘I’m not even going to start’."
Family and friends became concerned about her constant puffing - leading her to continue her growing habit in secret.
But in February she began experiencing symptoms that initially left doctors baffled.
She said: “I was constantly throwing up. I had really bad joint pain and terrible headaches. I didn’t have any energy."
By June, Aubree's health had deteriorated further - leaving her barely able to walk and throwing up blood."
She added: “I lost my appetite and I had really bad chest pain.
“I felt like I couldn’t breathe, like I wasn’t getting enough air in my lungs.
“My neck was super stiff and I couldn’t move it - I couldn’t turn my head fully.
“I slept for hours and hours and I was still so tired.”
What is lipoid pneumonia?
LIPOID pneumonia is a rare condition that occurs when fat particles enter the lungs.
Lipoids, also known as lipids, are fat molecules.
Symptoms of lipoid pneumonia tend to worsen over time.
In some cases, they can become severe or even life-threatening.
Some common symptoms of lipoid pneumonia can include:
- chest pain
- chronic cough
- difficulty breathing
Other, less common symptoms can include:
- fever
- coughing up blood
- weight loss
- night sweats
- difficulty swallowing
Source:
Aubree was admitted to Ogden Regional Medical Center on July 11 where an x-rays revealed she had contracted a virus.
She was transferred to Brigham City Community Hospital where further tests revealed the grave extent of her condition.
Doctors there told Aubree that her heart was severely inflamed - leading them to fear she was on the verge of a heart attack, she claims.
She was rushed via air ambulance to specialists at the University of Utah Hospital and tests on the fluid in her lungs revealed vegetable glycerin was present.
Aubree said: "They did another chest x-ray and at that point they asked me: ‘Did you ever smoke? Did you ever vape?’
“They told me that they had found vape oil in the fluid they had pulled out of my lungs.
“They explained that I had lipoid pneumonia and it was caused by vaping.”
Sean Maddock, of the University of Utah Hospital’s Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine program, said patients suffering vaping-related illnesses were on the rise.
He said: “Our big concern is that we just don’t have a good sense of what exactly in these vaping products are causing these illnesses.
“All these cases had oil breakdown and tissue.
“We presume based on everything else… that was most likely caused by the vaping.”
Aubree spent a week in hospital being treated with antibiotics and steroids to fight the pneumonia - as well as oxygen to help her breath.
She now expects to be on oxygen until at least October - forcing her to cut her working hours and delay plans to become a registered nurse.
Aubree added: “I’ve given up vaping but I crave it like crazy.
MOST READ IN HEALTH NEWS
“Every time I see someone vape it makes me want to do it.”
But she warned: “I don’t want others to go through this.
“I want to raise awareness so people can look out for the symptoms."
VAPE FEARS Just ONE e-cigarette immediately increases risk of heart attack and stroke, experts warn
BY Lizzie Parry, Digital Health Editor
PUFFING on just one e-cigarette could increase your risk of heart attack or stroke, experts have warned.
A single vaping session is all it takes to cause "immediate and significant" damage to the body's blood vessels, they found.
A team of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania performed MRI scans on 31 healthy, non-smokers before and after using nicotine-free e-cigarettes.
They found just one session puffing on the device caused reduced blood flow.
Vaping was also found to damage the endothelium - a thin membrane that lines the inside of the heart and blood vessels - in the femoral artery, that supplies blood to the thigh and leg.
The endothelium is essential for proper blood circulation, the study's authors said.
Once it's damaged, the arteries can thicken and blood flow to the heart or brain can be cut off - causing a heart attack or stroke.
Professor Felix Wehrli, who led the study, said: "While e-cigarette liquid may be relatively harmless, the vapourisation process can transform the molecules - primarily propylene and glycerol - into toxic substances.
"Beyond the harmful effects of nicotine, we've shown that vaping has a sudden, immediate effect on the body's vascular function and could potentially lead to long-term harmful consequences."
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