Shocking scan images show the damaged lungs of a 19-year-old boy whose vaping habit almost left him dead.
Anthony Mayo, 19, of Erie, Pennsylvania, became seriously ill last week, struggling to breathe, looking pale and feeling sick.
Doctors found his lungs had become severely congested with solidified vape oil, likened to cooking grease that hardens after being cooled.
It had caused Anthony, who had been vaping for around two years, to have ‘the lungs of a 60-year-old, two-pack-a-day, smoker’.
His oxygen levels became dangerously low, and he is now recovering in hospital while medics work to clear his lungs.
Anthony Mayo, 19, of Erie, Pennsylvania, became seriously ill due to his vaping habit
Shocking scan images show his damaged lungs filled with solidified vape oil
Anthony’s father, Keith Mayo, said his son thought vaping was ‘cool’
Anthony’s father, Kieth Mayo, told Metro US: ‘His whole spin on it was it was cool and not that bad for you. I was just as guilty. I went along with it. I never got into it, but I didn’t also prevent it either.
‘He is going to have some scarring. Whether it’s profound, we don’t know yet. It’s a wait and see type of thing. He’s young, he’s 19, so he can recover from this.’
Anthony was first taken to the hospital on Sunday September 8 after he had developed a cough.
Doctors assumed he had bronchitis and gave him antibiotics, saying he should recover in a few days.
Two days later, Anthony had become pale and looked sick, so he returned to the emergency room.
Doctors feared he may have developed a mild form of pneumonia, which inflames the lungs and may fill them with fluid.
Anthony, who had been vaping for around two years, was found to have ‘the lungs of a 60-year-old, two-pack-a-day, smoker’, according to Keith
They prescribed him a stronger antibiotic, a steroid and a ‘puffer’ to inhale medicine more quickly.
But he deteriorated further, spending all of Sunday night coughing before returning to hospital on the Monday.
According to Keith, tests revealed Anthony’s oxygen levels were at 36 per cent. Below 90 per cent is dangerous, according to The Mayo Clinic.
Keith said: ‘As the doctor says, anytime you put moisture into your lungs its not good.
‘It’s solidified. It’s caking everything inside of his lungs.’
Now doctors are caring for Anthony at Millcreek Community Hospital where he is on oxygen support.
They are pumping heated oxygen with moisture into Anthony’s lungs to help liquefy some of the solidified oil.
This causes Anthony to cough up the liquid – which is brown, dark green and occasionally blood-tinged, Keith said.
He revealed Anthony liked to try different flavours, and has previously vaped blue raspberry, Swedish fish, cotton candy and cinnamon toast crunch.
Anthony also vaped THC on occasion, which is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
The shock of his son’s condition has caused Keith to consider how companies market their flavours to young adults or children.