![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Great Moments In Medical Science
Sep. 10th, 2007 11:45 amThis morning, having breakfast at the local with Maelefic ~ more on the musical day later ~ my eyes were drawn to this article in the Sydney Morning Herald:
Discoveries: Pop goes the wheezer
Medical science has identified a disease new to those who sniff popcorn for a hobby rather than a living. The discoverer is Cecile Rose, of the National Jewish Medical and Research Centre in Denver. The sufferer was a 53-year-old furniture salesman, who presented with scarred airways, fighting for breath and dependent on oxygen. Rose was initially perplexed by the man's case. "So I turned to him and apologised and said, 'This is a really weird question ... but are you around a lot of popcorn?' His jaw dropped, and he said, 'How did you know to ask me that? I am popcorn'."
He had bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as "popcorn lung", which has been found in people working in popcorn packaging factories. Every day for a decade, he'd been microwaving two to three bags of popcorn flavoured with diacetyl, a butter substitute, taking deep sniffs throughout the process.
His lungs have stabilised since he gave up the treat, and, Rose estimates, he has lost about 15 kilograms.
No further questions, Your Honour...
Discoveries: Pop goes the wheezer
Medical science has identified a disease new to those who sniff popcorn for a hobby rather than a living. The discoverer is Cecile Rose, of the National Jewish Medical and Research Centre in Denver. The sufferer was a 53-year-old furniture salesman, who presented with scarred airways, fighting for breath and dependent on oxygen. Rose was initially perplexed by the man's case. "So I turned to him and apologised and said, 'This is a really weird question ... but are you around a lot of popcorn?' His jaw dropped, and he said, 'How did you know to ask me that? I am popcorn'."
He had bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as "popcorn lung", which has been found in people working in popcorn packaging factories. Every day for a decade, he'd been microwaving two to three bags of popcorn flavoured with diacetyl, a butter substitute, taking deep sniffs throughout the process.
His lungs have stabilised since he gave up the treat, and, Rose estimates, he has lost about 15 kilograms.
No further questions, Your Honour...
