A mother claims vaping caused a fatal respiratory infection, leaving her lungs ‘fried’ and resembling the organs of an 80-year-old.
Hannah Roth, from Nieuwpoort, Tennessee said the first sign that something was wrong was a “popping” sound when she inhaled, which came after four years of daily vaping.
Ms Roth had never smoked before but took up vaping as a “bad habit” due to the stress of the pandemic lockdown and was soon smoking on her device “every hour of the day.”
The 30-year-old developed a fever of 40°C last month, which, combined with the ‘popping’ sound, led her to seek medical attention.
The mother-of-two was shocked when doctors eventually discovered she had pneumonia, which they said was caused specifically by vaping.
Hannah Roth, from Newport, Tennessee, had never smoked before but took on vaping as a “bad habit” due to the stress of the pandemic lockdown and was soon vaping “every hour of the day”
Pneumonia can develop as a result of inhaling oily substances found in e-liquid vapors, causing an inflammatory response in the lungs.
Scans showed that her lungs resembled the organs of someone in their eighties or a patient who had been a smoker for ten years.
The receptionist said the doctor threw her menthol vape in the trash and warned that she would “die” if she continued the habit.
Mrs Roth said: ‘The doctor told me if I continued using the vapes I wouldn’t be able to breathe.
‘It was quite scary as a mother. I knew I couldn’t vape anymore because I have two kids to take care of.”
The 30-year-old started hearing a ‘popping’ sound in her lungs when breathing last month and developed a fever of 40°C (104°F).
The doctor told Mrs. Roth that her lungs resembled those of “someone much older,” or someone who had been smoking for 10 years.
‘I was really mad at myself because I had no idea vaping could do that.
“The doctor told me, ‘Every time you use that vapor, that vapor goes into your lungs and it’s like frying hot chicken.’ The intensity of it made my lungs burn.
“That’s why it made a popping sound when I breathed.”
Initially, Ms. Roth was misdiagnosed as having the flu.
But a week later, she went to the Scott County hospital emergency department, and doctors there discovered she had pneumonia — an infection that inflames the air sacs in the lungs.
Ms Roth said: “I started vaping during the Covid pandemic. The stress of being stuck in the house made me fall into a bad habit one night. I just got addicted to it.
The mother-of-two was shocked when doctors revealed she had pneumonia specifically caused by vaping, as she had no idea it was a possible side effect.
Doctors told her: ‘It looks like a tree with branches, it’s called ‘tree knotting’ and it’s actually the deterioration of your lungs’
‘Last month I got sick. I was at work and I got chills and I really didn’t feel well.
‘I thought I had bronchitis because my chest hurt a lot. That lasted a few days and then I went to the doctors and they said I had the flu and gave me medicine.’
But Mrs. Roth’s symptoms did not improve and she returned to the hospital with her mother.
‘[That’s when] they came back and said I had an obstruction in my right lung. They said it was pneumonia.
‘It looks like a tree with branches, it’s called ‘tree budding’ and it’s actually the deterioration of your lungs.
“This isn’t supposed to happen unless you’re a very heavy smoker.”
Now Mrs Roth has vowed to stay away from vaping to care for her seven- and 10-year-old sons and hopes to warn others to ditch the vapes.
Ms Roth said: ‘I have been vaping free since I went to hospital and my lungs no longer make the popping sound.
“The doctor said if I stop vaping, my lungs can heal as long as I don’t vape anymore.”
She still gets the urge to vape, but tries chewing gum instead.
‘My advice would be: don’t vape, don’t pick it up or press it. Even though you think you have control over it, sometimes you just don’t.’