Chronic bronchitis without symptoms through electronic smoking?
May 24, 2019 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Ive Dr. Schaaf
Hello,
I am male and 36 years old. A few days ago, a chest X-ray was performed. The radiologist told me that compared to images from 3 years ago, chronic bronchitis is visible and also irreversible. Two years ago, I started using electronic cigarettes. I have never touched regular cigarettes. Could this image of chronic bronchitis be related to that? Furthermore, I am puzzled that I have no cough or other symptoms. The image was taken because of chest pain, which is likely radiating from the spine.
Good morning,
I would recommend getting a second opinion on the statement made by the radiologist. It is important to verify and ensure that there is indeed irreversible lung damage present. Based on your clinical symptoms, this statement seems highly unlikely to me. I believe that there may be changes in your lungs that appear as irreversible damage on the X-ray, without actually being so. The X-ray can only show to what extent the permeability of X-rays is altered in certain areas. It cannot really provide information about the structure, and certainly not about the cause of these changes.
Furthermore, I am not aware that smoking e-cigarettes can lead to irreversible lung damage in such a short period of time.
Kind regards.
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