After vaping the equivalent of 50 cigarettes daily, this teenager received a ‘shock’ diagnosis.
Jayden Richardson, who started vaping at the age of 12 to ‘fit in,’ saw the consequences of his habit by the time he turned 17.
During a family trip to Turkey last August, Jayden began coughing up blood on the final day. He immediately rushed to the hospital upon returning home.
“I had some chest pain the night before, but I didn’t think much of it. The next morning, I took a quick hit from my vape, and just as I was coughing, it felt like a chesty cough,” Jayden recalled.
As his coughing progressed, he noticed small amounts of blood but didn’t initially think it was too serious.
“But a couple of hours later, after having a few drinks, I decided to get in the swimming pool,” he remembered. However, as soon as he entered the water, he started coughing up “loads of blood” and was quickly pulled out.
He continued, “I rushed to the toilet and was coughing up pints of blood. It was frightening to see, especially at such a young age.”
“It was traumatic. This went on for about 10 minutes, with me coughing up a lot of blood.”
After returning to Birmingham and still coughing up more blood, doctors at the hospital first thought it might be a stomach ulcer.
His mother, Elita, confessed that she thought it could be related to the alcohol, greasy food, and the kebabs he was having “every night” in Turkey.
Jayden was sent for lung X-rays, but nothing unusual appeared. It wasn’t until an endoscopy was performed that doctors discovered he had severe lung damage.
Elita added, “I think they were exploring all possibilities, not considering that a child his age could have such serious lung damage.”
“A week later, that’s when he had the camera down. The consultant said he had never seen such severe lung damage in a kid. It was horrifying.
“‘Excessive vaping,’ that’s what they said. It was a shock.”
The teenager was given medication and chose to quit vaping, with the bleeding stopping after a few days.
However, months later, he made the mistake of using a vape again on January 10, while celebrating his birthday. Afterward, he started coughing and immediately knew blood would follow.
“I thought the damage was done and that it would just heal on its own. I didn’t think a few puffs from a vape would hurt me. But I was completely wrong, and I can’t believe how easily the damage came back,” he said.
Now experiencing constant pain, Jayden is waiting for a CT scan and has made a firm decision to never vape again.
“If I could go back to the moment I first started vaping, I’d tell myself to never touch one. It’s crazy how dangerous they are and the harm they can do to your body. You don’t realize it when you’re doing it, but it catches up to you in the long run. I’d never touch one again.”
