EVALI Is a “Cute” Name for a Life-Threatening Lung Injury

If you’ve seen the news over the last several months, then you’re very familiar with the issues surrounding the mysterious vaping-related illness that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now officially named the disease EVALI. It stands for e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury.

With cases of EVALI mounting across the country, new guidance has been issued, which would include those using JUUL devices. The guidance under the CDC “provides a framework for health care providers in their initial assessment, evaluation, management, and follow-up of persons with symptoms of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI).”

If you are hospitalized due to EVALI and your condition stabilizes, that doesn’t mean that you are completely out of the woods. Hospitals are seeing readmissions with no clear reason as to why or when. Some patients are falling ill again nearly two months after being released from medical care and after being given a strong warning to give up vaping.

Early diagnosis is important

EVALI has very similar symptoms to the flu, it may be difficult for victims to immediately pinpoint which illness they are experiencing. Because there is no cure for the flu, someone becoming sick after vaping may not realize EVALI is behind it rather than the flu. This can delay treatment and put his or her life at more serious risk given the rapid decline.

Symptoms of EVALI may include:

• Burning of the nose, eyes, lips, mouth, and throat
• Swelling of eyes or tongue
• Dry cough
• Wet cough producing clear, yellow, or green mucus
• Cough producing blood or frothy pink matter in saliva
• Nausea or abdominal pain
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Painful breathing or pleuritis
• Headache and fever
• Weakness or a general ill feeling
• Delirium or disorientation
• Rapid pulse
• Pale or cyanotic skin and lips
• Heavy sweating
• Unconsciousness
• Hoarse or muffled voice
• Chemical odors on other areas of the body

While the Food and Drug Administration is testing hundreds of products and devices in an attempt to pinpoint an explanation, it’s still unclear whether there are multiple causes that are injuring vaping victims.

EVALI may have a name, but that doesn’t mean officials are any closer to solving the epidemic that has been striking down victims of all ages who use a wide range of vaping devices and vaping juices. If you or a loved one has endured a vaping-related injury or has died as a result of EVALI, the skilled products liability attorneys at McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC want to hear your story.

To schedule a free consultation, call our dedicated e-cigarette hotline at 864-651-9295 or reach out to us through our contact page. We serve clients in South Carolina and nationwide.

Read More

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• Exploding E-Cigarettes Are More Common, and More Dangerous, Than You Might Think
• Vaping: the New Deadly Epidemic
• JUUL Is Unsafe. We Want You to Know Why.
• The Hidden Danger of Vaping