"Firebreather's Lung" or ARDS

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Thank you. You just convinced me not to learn how to firebreathe. Is the danger still there for fire eating?

I love you mike!! thanks for the information...

Mike that is incredible. Mind if I put it up on other boards I am on as well? Thank you so much! Let me know when you get that article done as well.
Thanks again!

Pele

Pictures???

sheeesh...that's rough. You've happily saved me from ARDS L i g h t n i n g so cheers buddy Although in a weird fasion I now have more respect for firebreathers knowing just how dangerous one single situation can be.

One thing I forgot to mention is aterm that Pele et al may have heard: chemical pneumonitis. (Pronounced: "New-mo-nite-uhs.") It may also be called hydrocarbon pneumonitis. In older terminology, the word "pneumonia" might replace that.

The words "chemical" and "hydrocarbon" are pretty self-explanatory. "Pneumonitis" is an inflammation of the lungs. (The suffix "-itis" means "the inflammation of.")

ARDS is a syndrome, meaning a collection of clinical signs and symptoms. The cause of ARDS is often a pneumonitis, but it can be a viral pneumonitis, tuberculous pneumonitis, chemical pneumonitis, aspiration pneumonitis (caused by sucking food and/or saliva into the lungs...which generally happens in severely mentally incapacitated patients), etc. It can even happen after severe circulatory collapse due to trauma or heart failure (I won't bore you with exactly why).

Hope that clarifies things a bit.

Oh, and Jon, ARDS is not gory. I'll just post microscopic diagrams and X-rays.

In fact, here's one right here: X-ray

Actually, the "Normal" they post isn't normal, but it's close enough for our purposes here.

Pele,

Post it wherever you want; just credit me.

M, there is danger from fire eating if you accidentally inhale with the torch in your mouth, but the risk of ARDS is much lower. You'd just burn your trachea, which is very painful and possibly life threatening (if it swells and closes off). However, the recovery would be much faster and the long-term damage probably not as severe.

The danger from fire eating is much more under your control and the risk is lower. But it is NOT safe.

You can reduce your risk by:
-Being sober and well-rested
-Practicing a lot
-Using cool-burning fuels
-Not smoking (which weakens your entire respiratory tract)

I always feel horrible when Pele has to walk up my 6 flights of stairs to my apartment.

Or maybe she's just breathing heavy because I'm so darned good looking.

One more thing. The mortality of ARDS is 40-60%. Not terrific odds.

Fire Breathers tend to be young and healthy, which probably helps.

A bit...

So yes, you can die. You can die quite horribly.

That brought me to tears Pele.

I am never trying Fire Breathing. I know accidents can happen in any aspect of my life...but i am not going to go out looking for them.

I find it remarkable how amazing you are to go through it all.

Thank's mike for the info! I thought about takeing up fire breatheing for a while and thought against because of the ramifications. Now you have given me one mmore reason not to do it. Pele: I can't say i have sympathy for you,for you made the decision to breathe fire knowing the dangers. But, I can say big up's for you and the intestinal fortitude (guts) you have to deal with your recovery. also thank you for letting not only myself,but evryone who reads your article the dangers of fire breatheing.

P.s. Pele, even though it sound's like i'm doing a good job at it , I'm not trying to be mean or hurtfull in my above remark. I have much respect for you as a person and as a performer. I send much love your way!

I feel sorry for Pele. She didn't have any idea that that could happen. Nobody could without having gone through medical school. And even then, I can't even comprehend what it must feel like.

Wow.

Thanks for posting the info Lighting!!!

Pele,
It is very brave and very kind of you to share so fully what you had to go through. I hope your journey to recovery will go on and that you can get all of the healing that you need. I'm sure making your story known will prevent many folks from going down that same road. I know it's up to people if they want to do it or not, but I think so many have NO idea of the risks invovled.
Thank you so much. Shine on...

Keeping in mind that the following question is coming from someone who had long since decided Fire Breathing wasn't for him before this trhread or Pele's accident ever occured, as I know my lungs are even more fragile than most people's...

quick question:

I know Fire Breathing with alcholhol is more dangerous than with parfin from the "blow back" aspect - ie. setting your face on fire - but what about from the ARDS aspect? I would guess alchohol vapor in your lungs is not as dangerous as petrolchemicals, no? Just curious in an acedemic sense since I can envision (non Fire Breathing related) accidents involving alchohol in the lungs and am wondering how seriosly the threat of ARDS should be taken in a case like that.

Wicked.

Thanks to both of you guys (Lightening and Pele). I've got to give a Fire Breathing safety talk on Monday and was wondering how to get it across in the sense of "Look you fools, you're going to die, I'm a idiot and even I don't fire breathe any more". Now I'm not sure how I'm going to cut the talk down to 3 hours

Thanks again - and every one stick to it's safer.

thanks guys.

can't reiterate more and morea and more and more how bad for you this is.

after all 4 of the 4 Fire Breathing members of te POOKa (now down to 1) have had lung problems, 2 hospitalized....



R

L i g h t n i n g - I'd like to post that on another board as well, how would you like to be credited? Or I can just link back to this thread if that would be preferred?

I had no clue there was such a possibility in Fire Breathing. I've considered it a few times, mostly when I've been wasted and seen someone else do it and thought it looked cool. Fortunately my self preservation gland always kicks in and I've never tried it, straight or otherwise, and I certainly won't be now.

Pele HUGE respect to you. And thank you for sharing that with us.

Ali xx

Lightning , now it all makes sense, i didnt know what happened

what you descibed in ur post has happened to me, and has since been a constant reminder never ever to do it again,

i was under psycedelic influence , nieve and stoopid and it felt like my lungs had been filled with concrete that was slowly expanding. dont fire breath. i tried it at glasto last year with poi and the wind blew back into my face like it had before. that was enough. dont do it. ever.