ELi5: Why is there a high risk of dying after days of inhaling smoke?

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I read somewhere years ago that there is a high chance of dying even after days when inhaling smoke. A friend of my mother’s was in the hospital due to inhaling smoke after their house caught fire. He was in the hospital for a few weeks and he was cleared to go home 4 days ago.

Why is there such a high chance of dying even after days and days of inhaling smoke?

In: Biology

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I’ve worked in a burn ICU and the answer is simple. Swelling.

Smoke is HOT. Inhaling all that hot smoke causes inflammation of the airway and lungs, aka swelling. People have died days after inhaling smoke because there is so much swelling in the airway that you essentially suffocate the same way someone with a severe asthma attack could.

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