Vaping-related lung damage is still occurring and may look like COVID-19

(HealthDay)—At the end of last year, reports of severe and even deadly vaping-related lung damage dominated headlines, after which COVID-19 took over the news.

But those lung injuries are not gone, and electronic cigarettes or vaping Lung Injury (EVALI) associated with product use may mimic COVID-19 infections, federal and state health officials warn.

Eight EVALI cases were reported in California during the early days of the April COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Our teenagers didn’t stop vaping because of COVID,” said Dr. Jamie Garfield, a lung spokeswoman and volunteer spokesman in Philadelphia at the American Lung Association. But the doctor may no longer be looking for EVALI, she said. Garfield was not involved in any new research.

“When the prevalence of the disease is really high, everything that sounds like a duck was a duck, and in March and April, everything that looked like a COVID was a COVID. It’s a very important place, know if your child is vaping and what’s vaping,” Garfield explained.

The symptoms of EVALI are:

• Breathing difficulty
• Fever and chills
• cough
• vomiting
• diarrhea
• headache
• dizzy
• Rapid heart rate and chest pain

CDC stopped tracking EVALI in mid-February. This is because cases seemed to have diminished after the peak in September. As of February 18, more than 2,800 people across the country were hospitalized for life-threatening lung damage associated with the use of electronic cigarettes, according to the CDC. 68 people have died.

Studies of these cases, according to the CDC, strongly suggest that an additive called vitamin E acetate, which is sometimes used in potted vapors, induces EVALI.

A recent US study estimates that one in ten middle- and high-school students has left within the past month. In some schools, Use of electronic cigarette According to a recently published online survey, Adolescent health journal..

Eight EVALI patients in California went to hospital about four days after the onset of symptoms, according to the new CDC report. Their average age was 17 years. Six said they had vaped THC, a psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Four of the teens needed intensive care and two needed artificial respiration to breathe. The researcher, Dr. Christina Almatus of the California Department of Public Health, did not have a positive response to COVID-19.

These were the first cases reported in California since February. The researchers said it was not clear if an EVALI case was missed in March. The survey results on June 26th of the CDC Weekly morbidity and mortality report..

Dr Len Horowitz, a respiratory specialist at Lennox Hill Hospital in New York City, said people at EVALI may also have COVID-19. He said it’s unclear if vaping sensitizes the new coronavirus, but it does definitely increase the risk of COVID-19 complications. Nobody should vaping, he added.

“There’s never been a place for Vaping. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s okay,” Horowitz said.

Garfield agreed. “Evaporation is not a safe alternative to smoking. Everything you can put in your lungs, except for clear air, lung I was injured.”

She advised that when doing Vape, use only pre-packaged products and not those that have been tampered with in any way. Garfield added that there are programs that can help with the termination.

Lastly, it is important to be honest about seeing a doctor if you experience symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath or fever using an electronic cigarette, and being familiar with making the correct diagnosis. She said.

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