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
Smoke is really hot, and full of things that you aren’t supposed to breathe in. Inhaling a lot of it means your lungs get damaged, and they aren’t meant to deal with that level of trauma – that’s why we keep them inside us and not outside slung over our shoulder or something.
Over time lungs will heal (which is why your mother’s friend got to leave the hospital at all), but the problem is while the lungs aren’t meant to deal with injury, they ARE supposed to deal with a lot of bacteria and viruses we breathe in. When they are damaged by smoke, they can’t do that as well, and you are prone to getting VERY sick, VERY quickly. When that happens, they want you in the hospital where they can monitor you and act if things happen.
They keep you in the hospital until they are sure your immune system is, if not fully recovered, at least unlikely to leave you in need of emergency medical care.
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