An Arkansas teenager became seriously ill after his vaping addiction caused dehydration so severe that his urine turned black.
Jake Melton, 15, was rushed to the emergency room earlier this month after developing extreme dizziness, nausea and bloodshot eyes that made him feel like he was “on drugs.”
He arrived at school earlier in the day feeling “like everything in my body hurt” and visited the school nurse who suggested to his mother, Melony Sample, that he take directly to the emergency room.
At the hospital, he lost consciousness, triggering alarm among doctors who carried out a series of urgent tests.
The results showed that Jake was suffering from extreme dehydration and was at risk of kidney damage – which doctors said was a direct result of the vape he used constantly throughout the day.
Despite being unconscious for more than 30 hours and his mother begging the teen to stop, Jake said he was “addicted” and had no intention of stopping. deadly habit.
Nicotine, found in some vapes, has long been known to dehydrate the body, primarily due to its impact on your body’s complex balance of fluid and salt.
E-cigarettes also contain liquid containing propylene glycol, a substance that attracts and retains water molecules in the body, meaning that when you vape, the substance consumes water from the body and prevents it from being absorbed, leading to dehydration.
Melony believes her son’s dehydration was exacerbated by his work.
The teenager works part-time laying stone and Melony said he overworked himself by smoking excessively while working because he was “vaping” instead of eating and drinking.
The mother-of-three was unaware her son smoked the equivalent of five cigarettes a day and had also started using menthol nicotine pods, which have been linked to a higher number of toxic microparticles.
Melony said, “(Vaping) literally dehydrated him to the point where he ended up in the hospital.” His urine was black.
“I think he was vaping a lot, but he wasn’t supposed to do it like that. I found out because he removed the vape while we were gone. I now know he was vaping at school and he wasn’t supposed to. I thought it was under control.
“Especially if you’re working, vaping will energize you and make you feel like you can do more than you can, and you’ll push yourself and get dehydrated faster.”
“So instead of having a drink, they drink nicotine. Instead of eating, they will vape. Then they lose control. They don’t know what they’re doing.
Jake says he started vaping two or three years ago after seeing students at his school smoking in the bathrooms and wanted to “fit in.”
However, this quickly became an “addiction” and he moved from flavored nicotine to menthol.
“I was using all kinds of vapes, Juuls, Elf Bars, Juice Heads, Vuses and more. I eventually switched from flavored nicotine to menthol,” he said.
Jake used one pod of five percent menthol nicotine, which is the equivalent of about 20 cigarettes, and smoked about one pod every four days.
“Every morning I felt like I had to knock just to be fully awake,” he said.
Melony revealed that her son complained of feeling unwell one morning and after visiting the school nurse, two vapes were found in his backpack, which Jake said he kept safe for a friend.
She expressed concern that her son’s vapes had been spiked with an illicit substance because he “looked like he was on drugs.”
The cops were called to check the vape pens for drugs, being “dead” they had been laced, but tests showed no evidence of drugs and revealed that Jake’s symptoms were the extreme effects of excessive vaping.
Melony said: “Jake went to school and they immediately called me and said he looked like he was on drugs. They asked him what he had taken and of course, he had taken nothing.
“They had a cop and a superintendent in the office and they were searching Jake’s bag and they found two vapes. They sent them to get drug tested because they were convinced he had been slipped something. thing in a vape.
Jake was rushed to hospital and after tests she discovered that her son was suffering from extreme dehydration, caused by excessive smoking.
After sleeping for about 30 hours and receiving fluids through an IV, Jake was discharged, but his mother admitted she was “scared” that he would continue vaping because he “don’t remember anything.”
Melony said: “It was a terrible experience. We went to the ER and they had him tested for everything, but all he had was vaping.
“I was awake for over 30 hours and he slept just as long.” He wouldn’t speak. When he woke up, he would curl up into a ball, shiver and jump.
“He’s still very confused. We are at home but he is still coming and going. He doesn’t remember anything. It was like he was almost asleep. I think he thinks I’m just mean now.
On Facebook, stay-at-home mom Melony shared her son’s terrifying ordeal and warned other parents about the dangers of their children’s vaping.
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In the post, Melony said she feared for her son’s life and vowed that “every vape I have seen or will see in the future will be broken and destroyed.”
Melony told other parents to be careful about their kids wearing hoodies in hot weather because she thinks it’s a sign “they’re most likely vaping,” using the garment to hide the e-cig in their hands.
The mom, who doesn’t vape herself, admitted she didn’t know how often her teenager used vape pens.
She also revealed that she wanted e-cigarettes “to all be banned” and hoped to publicize her son’s terrifying experience to encourage parents to stop their children from using the products.
Despite the dangerous ordeal, Jake admits he plans to continue vaping because the potential risks don’t “bother” him.
He said: “Being hospitalized could have been scary for some, but I would continue to do it knowing the risks and side effects. That does not bother me.
News Source : www.dailymail.co.uk
Gn Health
