A mother in Handan, Hebei Province, recently posted a video saying: The humidifier was used less than one night, and the 3 children in the family brushed into the hospital and were diagnosed with pneumonia.
The receiving doctor told the mother that if the humidifier is not clean, the harmful substances are atomized by the humidifier, and they are beaten more broken, and they cannot be sucked into the lungs, so they are polished more delicately, better absorbed, and more likely to get pneumonia.
On a social App, some netizens also posted: "Winter is relatively dry, bought a humidifier, open all day." Some time ago, one day I suddenly coughed, chest tightness, inhaled lung pain, and a little fever. I also thought that I was infected with the new crown virus, and went to the hospital to check out the possibility of infection, the doctor said that it was allergic pneumonia, and later improved after treatment. In the past two days, I have been turning on the humidifier all day, and the result is exactly the same symptoms as the last time, and the doctor asked for the medical history and deduced that I may have used the humidifier inappropriately. Blood and tears lessons, humidifiers can not be opened for a long time ah friends. ”
Add some "material" to the humidifier?
Caution may trigger an immune response in the lungs
Open the shopping App, search for humidifiers, will jump out of a lot of "essential oil aromatherapy", "lemon juice", "fungicide" and other related terms, many people like to put these substances into the humidifier, hoping to keep the water clean, not long microorganisms.
Not really. "The humidifier itself will not poison people, but after adding other substances, especially after buying a fungicide to add to the humidifier, the additives of unknown ingredients may stimulate the immune response in the lungs, and if you are not careful, you may become the 'murderer' who causes lung damage!" Pan Zhijie, deputy director of the Department of Respiratory Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, said.
I don't know if you remember the public safety incident that killed the humidifier in South Korea in 2011. After five years of investigation, South Korean authorities released the results of the investigation in 2016, showing that the incident directly caused 670,000 South Koreans to suffer from upper respiratory, lung and skin diseases, and about 14,000 people died as a result. The main reason for the incident is that everyone added fungicide to the humidifier.
Chief Physician Pan Zhijie said that the correct use of humidifiers can not only increase air humidity, but also alleviate skin problems such as dryness and eczema to a certain extent, and can also moisten the nasal cavity, protect the respiratory tract, and reduce the chance of respiratory infections. But like the use of humidifiers in South Korea caused such serious consequences, mainly and humidifiers added in the fungicide (PHMG) is closely related, the use of PHMG in the humidifier is through ultrasonic means to atomize it and be inhaled by the human body, when PHMG into the humidifier after becoming a water mist, can directly enter the human lungs, the original bacteriostatic substance has a chemically irritating component, will cause toxic effects on local tissues, the damage is very strong. Long-term and large inhalation of this "poisonous gas" may cause irreversible fibrosis of the human lungs, resulting in reduced lung function, alveolar damage, secondary infection, and if serious, death.
Senior boys huddled at home doing graduation projects
All day long with the humidifier on and add essential oils to the inside
"You can't add other substances to the humidifier at will, so be careful." Chief Physician Pan Zhijie stressed.
He once received a senior boy Xiao Zhang, and when he first arrived at the clinic, the whole person had chest tightness and asthma, especially after the activity. Pan Zhijie arranged for Xiao Zhang to do lung CT, and the images showed that his two lungs had diffuse lesions, accompanied by multiple small lung nodules, and it was highly suspected that the lung inflammation caused by a special pathogenic bacteria infection was highly suspected.
"Do you usually stay in an unclean environment?" Pan Zhijie asked Xiao Zhang, but Xiao Zhang did not have an impression, and finally after repeated medical history inquiries, Xiao Zhang confided in one of his habits: "Doctor, I usually like to use a humidifier at home, once it is opened all day, I also love to put various essential oils into the humidifier, it will not be related to this, right? It turned out that Xiao Zhang, who was already in his senior year, stayed at home every day to do the graduation project, and when the air in the house was dry, he closed the doors and windows all day, and only opened the humidifier to increase the air humidity.
"Humidifier can not add things at will, essential oils contain aromatics, preservatives and other additives, it is easy to stimulate the respiratory tract, damage to lung tissue and cause allergic pneumonia."
Pan Zhijie said that it is precisely because Xiao Zhang added flavor-like chemicals to the humidifier, and he happened to be allergic to this chemical, which caused allergic pneumonia. Subsequently, the team of respiratory experts of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University carried out targeted hormone therapy for Xiao Zhang, supplemented by drug therapy, and Xiao Zhang was discharged from the hospital after two weeks of treatment. Pan Zhijie told Xiao Zhang not to use humidifiers again and stay away from allergens.
Put vinegar and perfume and even some people put plate blue root
Use a humidifier these 5 points you must know
Experts said that clinically encountered such cases of allergic pneumonia caused by improper use of humidifiers are rare, and everyone does not have to waste food because of choking. But usually must be used scientifically, pay attention to the following matters -
1. Do not use a humidifier to put "material" indiscriminately.
For example, put vinegar, put essential oils, put perfume, and even some people put plate blue root, these substances are either strong in smell, or contain a variety of chemicals, not only will cause damage to the human respiratory tract, lungs and other organs, but also may cause allergies and other diseases, so in general, humidifiers do not need to add any additives, it is best to maintain the original ecology.
2. Do not use the humidifier for a long time.
Humidifier is best not to be open all the time, to adjust appropriately according to the climate, such as opening two hours can be closed for a period of time, and properly open the window ventilation, otherwise the humidity is too large and easy to breed bacteria.
3. Do not put tap water, it is best to use pure water.
Tap water contains a lot of minerals, which are easy to form particles in water vapor, and entering the respiratory tract may cause damage to the lungs. At the same time, tap water is easy to breed bacteria, harmful microorganisms after atomization by humidifier, into the human respiratory tract, will cause a series of respiratory diseases. The humidifier needs to put soft water with a lower hardness, such as pure water.
4. Pay attention to changing the water every day.
Wash the humidifier every day before use. When used the next day, it is also necessary to replace the previous leftover water and clean it, it is best to disinfect and dry according to the material of the appliance, otherwise it is easy to breed bacteria or fungi, causing pneumonia and other related infectious diseases.
5. Change the filter element frequently.
Replace the filter element of the humidifier regularly, if it is an old humidifier, the minerals deposited in it cannot be completely cleaned up, and it is necessary to consider replacing it.
The weather turns cold and the air conditioner is turned on for heating
32-year-old man with fever cough chest tightness and asthma
Develops hypersensitivity pneumonia
In the winter, in addition to the humidifier, the frequency of use of air conditioning is also high, but if you do not do a good job of cleaning the air conditioning filter, the air conditioning wind blowing out may be slowly damaging your lungs.
Last week, Chief Physician Pan Zhijie received a 32-year-old male patient, Xiao Li. In the clinic, Xiao Li's state is not very good, fever, cough and sputum, chest tightness and asthma, and he was initially diagnosed with mild pneumonia in the outer hospital.
After the medical history inquiry, Pan Zhijie learned that before this, because of fever and cough chest tightness, Xiao Li had been hospitalized in the hospital, when the lung CT showed that the lung condition was fine, considering the fever, the doctor carried out the corresponding anti-inflammatory treatment, and the symptoms were relieved after being discharged. Unexpectedly, less than two days after being discharged from the hospital, symptoms such as fever, chest tightness and cough came back and worsened, so Xiao Li found Chief Physician Pan Zhijie.
According to Xiao Li's condition and symptoms, further differential diagnosis is required. Pan Zhijie arranged for him to do a lung CT examination again, and the image performance this time was very different from the first CT image that Xiao Li did in the outer hospital, and there was a diffuse lesion of the two lungs. "According to the conventional pathogenic mechanism of pathogenic microorganisms, there will be no such performance in a short period of time, and we will consider whether it will be allergic pneumonia."
What is the allergen that caused Xiao Li to develop allergic pneumonia? After thinking back, it turned out that some time ago, the cold air came, and Xiao Li opened the air conditioner at home to heat up, but he did not clean and sterilize the filter before using it.
"It is not difficult to understand that after the patient blows an unclean air conditioner and comes into contact with the allergen, there is an allergic reaction of the body, that is, an allergic reaction, showing fever, cough and sputum, chest tightness and asthma." Pan Zhijie explains.
Subsequently, after anti-allergic treatment such as hormones, Xiao Li was cured and discharged from the hospital. Before going home, the family thoroughly cleaned the air conditioner outlet and filter to let Xiao Li get rid of the allergic environment and avoid the re-inhalation of allergens.
Causes diffuse lesions of the lungs
Allergic pneumonia occupies the third place
Beware of those who grow mushrooms, raise pigeons, and work in greenhouses
"Among the diffuse lesions that cause the lungs, allergic pneumonia accounts for the third place, and the incidence is still relatively high." Pan Zhijie introduced that allergic pneumonia is mainly the body's allergy to a certain substance caused by lung inflammation, fever, cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath are the main clinical symptoms, and in the imaging performance, often can see diffuse lesions of the lungs, allergic reactions caused by alveolar exudation.
Allergic pneumonia is divided into acute, chronic and subacute three kinds, "acute allergic pneumonia, usually by detaching from the allergen, anti-allergic treatment can obtain a good effect, while chronic, subacute allergic pneumonia, because of repeated contact with allergens, diagnosis will be delayed, if not treated in time, progression to pulmonary fibrosis, will affect lung function."
Pan Zhijie said that at present, the diagnosis of allergic pneumonia is based on the history of allergen exposure, clinical symptoms, laboratory imaging results and pathological findings. If there is fever, cough and sputum, chest tightness and asthma and other symptoms, it is best to find a professional doctor in time, and the doctor will give professional assessment and judgment.
"From a clinical point of view, people who work in vegetable and fruit greenhouses for a long time, people who grow mushrooms, because of the working environment, the humidity and temperature are relatively high, and the concentration of microorganisms is relatively high, which may cause allergic pneumonia after inhalation." However, the pigeon breeders (a large number), the pigeon's fur, feces, etc. are transmitted through the air, and after inhalation, they may also cause diffuse lesions in the lungs, resulting in the occurrence of allergic pneumonia. Pan Zhijie said.
Source: City Express