VAPING (Dispelling the Rumors!)

Well, vaping has taken over the national and local headlines as of late.  There are many rumors as to who and what is responsible for the current outbreak.  Whether it is the e-cigarette companies or “street” vaping products.

Answer:  Common sense is they could each be responsible for the current pulmonary disease outbreak.

The CDC has an ongoing investigation into to the actual cause but have found that vaping is associated with chemical exposure.

As such, it should be understood that putting anything in your lungs is likely not a good idea.  The CDC has stated there have been 380 lung illnesses and 6 deaths related to vaping.

What to be on the look-out for?

Symptoms:

Respiratory symptoms include shortness of breath, cough and chest pain.

Gastrointestinal Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.  These symptoms can sometimes appear before the pulmonary symptoms present.

These symptoms can present within a couple days to weeks.

Noteworthy other symptoms include elevated white blood cell counts, tachycardia and even fever.

Plan:

Report cases to the CDC and other State Health Offices.

Be sure to ask patients if the have used any form of vaping product and be persistent.  If they have “vaped,” try to recover any devices they have used.  Send the devices to state health officials for testing.

Seriously consider they consult a specialist (Pulmonary, Infectious Disease, Critical Care, Medical Toxicology and Pathology).

Improvement has been indicated in some cases by use of corticosteroids.  However, since there is currently little known, a specialist consult may be the best approach to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment occur.

Credit the CDC for much of the information included in this article.  If you wish to learn more, please visit the CDC link on Vaping or e-Cigarette use.