An irreversible lung disease Bronchiolitis obliterans has no cure but treatments, that help alleviate the symptoms or slow the progression of the disease. The patient experiences coughing and shortness of breath as the disease damages the airways in the lungs slowly.
There are treatment options that include taking prescribed corticosteroids, cough suppressants, bronchodilators so that the airways open up. There is immunosuppressant therapy advised to some patients to decrease the body’s immune response. If the symptoms are severe then oxygen supplementation may be needed. When the disease is left untreated it can get fatal.
According to The Law Center, one can prevent developing this Juul associated popcorn lung disease by avoiding exposure to harmful chemicals like diacetyl, that are found abundantly in e-cigarettes. This lung condition is named Popcorn lungs as the chemical diacetyl is a buttery flavored chemical commonly found in microwave popcorn.
The popcorn companies say that they no longer use the ingredient in their product. But diacetyl is found in 75 percent of flavored e-cigarettes and refill liquids. It can also affect the people who do not smoke but are exposed to it through e-cigarette vapor.
The blood absorbs the oxygen, then carries it to cells in the rest of the body through tiny air sacs called alveoli. The alveoli can get irritated or scarred due to the exposure to diacetyl. This causes further inflammation in the lungs and makes it difficult to deliver oxygen to the blood.
The symptoms erupt in the body between 2 weeks to 2 months after being exposed to toxic gas or after a body has had an illness. Other than the main 2 symptoms, patients experience flu like illness fever, unexplained fatigue, weight loss, wheezing. If the symptoms erupt after some chemical exposure one can experience irritation in the eyes, skin, mouth, or nose. The doctor asks for an X-ray, CT scan or a surgical lung biopsy to diagnose the disease.
