Prior to her diagnosis, Ms. Turchin worked as a personal trainer. However, his illness now prevents him from walking long distances or getting out of bed.
A TikToker and personal trainer from California has been diagnosed with chronic lung disease after just a year of vaping.
Lucy Turchin, 35, who goes by the username ilovelucypt and has 25,000 followers, developed pneumonitis after vaping nicotine and cannabis e-cigarettes.
The disease – which causes severe inflammation of lung tissue – has left her “choked for nine months” and she now has to wear an N95 mask in public at all times to avoid inhaling irritants and chemicals.
Ms Turchin estimates she has spent more than $30,000 on healthcare costs since her diagnosis. “It’s been an absolute nightmare,” she told DailyMail.com. “It’s a shocking diagnosis.”
After overcoming a 12-year heroin addiction, Ms. Turchin started vaping most nicotine mod e-cigarettes, which are bigger and bulkier than typical vape pens.
“I thought it was safer (than smoking cigarettes). I thought I was doing something healthier,” Ms Turchin said.
Ms Turchin was diagnosed with pulmonary pneumonia after a year of vaping THC and nicotine e-cigarettes. ‘I had this beautiful life ahead of me. And now I’m bedridden and suffocating all the time,’ she said on TikTok
Within four months, she began to experience ‘air hunger’, a strong urge to breathe or a feeling of shortness of breath.
This was followed by intense pain and discomfort in his throat. “My lungs felt like they had chemical burns,” she said.
Ms. Turchin quit vaping and within six months her symptoms were gone.
However, she resumed the habit seven months after quitting, and the symptoms were worse than ever.
“I spent the next nine months suffocating,” she said.
Although many Americans consider vapes to be safe, growing research suggests e-cigarettes are just as dangerous than traditional tobacco.
Recent studies have suggested that they leave users with the same risk of heart problems and do not help people quit smoking.
Vaping has grown in popularity in the United States in recent years. An estimated 8.1 million Americans now shoot the devices each week, including more than three million middle and high school students.
Ms Turchin was eventually diagnosed with pneumonitis on a high-resolution CT scan.
Ms. Turchin is now dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of vaping. “I’m going to survive this because I have an important job to do,” she said.
Ms Turchin told DailyMail.com that since her diagnosis she has been experiencing pains that feel like ‘chemical burns’ in her lungs, and while some weeks are relatively normal, others leave her unable to do anything but walk. to stay in bed.
Over the next year, doctors will monitor Lucy’s progress to see if her pneumonitis has progressed to hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a chronic form of the disease that is progressive and can cause lasting lung damage.
Pneumonitis is a type of inflammation of lung tissue. It can be caused by certain irritants, including chemicals, allergens, bacteria, medications, molds, and cancer treatments like radiation therapy.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, bacteria that cause pneumonitis typically appear in hot tubs, heating systems, and humidified air conditioners.
While acute attacks last only four to six hours after a short period of intense exposure, according to the American Lung Association, chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis develops after continuous exposures to small amounts of a particular irritant.
This can happen with long-term vaping due to the wide variety of irritants and harmful flavors in e-cigarettes.
In severe cases of pneumonitis, treatments include the use of corticosteroids to suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation, as well as oxygen therapy.
Pneumonia, one of the most common manifestations of pneumonitis, kills about 50,000 Americans each year, estimates the American Thoracic Society.
Pneumonitis is accompanied by a host of debilitating symptoms, including shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing, shallow breathing and fatigue.
Ms Turchin uses a wheelchair in public to travel long distances, as well as a mask to avoid absorbing irritants.
Vaping is now more common than smoking among American adults under 30, according to the most recent data. About 27% of Americans under 30 vape while only 12% smoke
The FDA estimates that vaping is still on the rise among middle and high school students. Four in 10 young people admit to using vapes 20 out of 30 days each month
“I have to be very careful about exposure to chemicals. I can’t use bleach in my house. I have to be careful about exposure to clouds of cigarette smoke vapor,” Ms Turchin said.
The danger of vaping is rooted in chemicals.
“It’s important to recognize that oftentimes vaping isn’t much safer than smoking cigarettes. It could potentially be harmful to the lungs because you’re inhaling toxic chemicals that could be destructive to the lungs,” a said Dr. Ever Alias, MD, in point of one of Lucy’s videos.
Vaping coats the lungs with a variety of potentially harmful additives. Many e-liquid blends include a blend of flavors, flavor additives, nicotine, or THC. These ingredients then dissolve in the oil.
In 2019, the CDC launched an investigation into the sharp increase in hospitalizations due to vaping products that year. In February 2020, the CDC recorded more than 2,800 hospitalizations and 68 deaths.
The agency has identified vitamin E acetate as a leading cause of illness in vaping patients.
Vitamin E is an oily chemical added to vaping liquids to thin or thicken them. It is typically used in THC vapes.
E-cigarettes also produce formaldehyde, which is widely used in building and construction materials.
A study from the University of North Carolina found that two of the main ingredients found in e-cigarettes, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, are toxic to cells.
Although her condition is incurable, Ms Turchin said she is now dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of vaping.
“I’m going to survive this because I have an important job to do,” she said.