Lucy Turchin: TikToker forced to ALWAYS wear N95 masks outside as vaping left her 'suffocating for 9 months'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A TikToker and personal trainer has been diagnosed with a chronic lung condition after just one year of vaping. Lucy Turchin of California, 35, who has the username ilovelucypt and has 25,000 followers, developed pneumonitis following vaping nicotine and cannabis e-cigarettes.
The condition left her 'suffocating for nine months' due to severe inflammation in the lung tissue and she has to wear an N95 mask now in public at all times to keep from inhaling irritants and chemicals. Turchin estimates that she has spent more than $30,000 on healthcare costs since her diagnosis. "It has been an absolute nightmare," she said according to Daily Mail. "This is an earth-shattering diagnosis."
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Turchin overcame more than a decade long heroin addiction and started vaping mostly 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", she said. However, she began experiencing "air hunger" which is the strong urge to breathe or feeling of breathlessness within four months. It was followed by excruciating pain and discomfort in her throat. "My lungs felt like they had chemical burns in them," she said. Turchin gave up vaping, and within six months, her symptoms disappeared.
Turchin picked the habit back up
Just seven months after quitting, Turchin picked the habit back up again and the symptoms were worse than ever. "I spent the next nine months suffocating," she said. Although a large number of Americans consider vapes safe, mounting research suggests that e-cigarettes are just as dangerous as traditional tobacco. As per recent studies, users are left with the same risk of heart problems and don't help people quit cigarettes.
Vaping has become popular in the US
In recent years, the popularity of vaping in the United States has skyrocketed. An estimated 8.1 million Americans now puff on the devices every week, including more than three million middle and high school children. Turchin was eventually diagnosed with pneumonitis via high-resolution CT scan. Doctors will track her progress over the next year to see if her pneumonitis has progressed to hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a chronic form of the condition that can cause lasting lung damage.
Turchin uses a wheelchair in public
Turchin uses a wheelchair in public to go long distances, as well as a mask to avoid taking in irritants. "I have to be very careful about exposure to chemicals. I cannot use bleach in my house. I have to be careful about exposure to cigarette smoke vape clouds," Turchin said.
"It's important to recognize that oftentimes vaping isn't much safer than smoking cigarettes. It could potentially be dangerous to the lung because you're inhaling toxic chemicals that could be destructive to the lung," Dr Ever Alias, MD, said while responding to one of Lucy's videos.
Although Turchin is aware of the fact that her condition is incurable, she said that she is now dedicating to spreading awareness about the dangers of vaping. "I'm gonna survive this because I have important work to do," she said.