A few medical facts about the lungs, some things that need to be scientifically verified before the fear starts about silica, and my opinion

[Sniffle]

I am a respiratory therapist at my local level 1 trauma center. Pm me I will give you my name and where you can look up my license if you feel the need to verify.

Facts:

particles >8 µm(microns) and larger impact in the mouth throat and upper airways.

Particles between between 4 to 10 µm(microns) can reach the lower airways(not the alveoli.)

Particles between 1-5 µm(microns) can reach the alveoli(where most gas exchange orccurs.)

Mucous is created in the airways to trap debris that is small enough to reach those areas.

Cilia moves mucous(snot) up into the up the airways so that the trash can be coughed up and removed.

Things that need to be scientifically verified:

Micron size of silica in vapor. (which will determine the extent at which silica could have an effect on people)



My own opinion:

We smoked cigarettes for YEARS without caring, because if we cared that much we wouldn't smoke in the first place. Considering this the fact that something as simple as amorphous silica has people in an uproar at the slightest mention is kinda crazy really. Cigarettes have thousands and thousands of chemicals most of which still haven't been identified or names even made for yet. Yet, suddenly one small thing which will take at least 30 years to even begin to show any kinds of symptoms if there are any symptoms at all is just well, silly to worry about.

If you are that concerned stop vaping and don't go back to smoking either, otherwise enjoy the vape and take solace in the fact that you are now on something that is much healthier than what you were on, but still isn't good for you. Because what is best for you is nothing going into your lungs at all.


Reference where i got the numbers since i screwed up initially.
http://www.admit-online.info/en/inhalation-systems/ideal-device/

 

[wv2win]

Can you be more specific as to the "point" of the thread you started for us layman?

 

[Thunderball]

And .........?

 

[zoiDman]

...

Facts:

Particles between 6-9 microns can reach the lower airways(not the alveoli.)

Particles smaller than 10 microns will reach the alveoli(where most gas exchange orccurs.)

...

I'm I reading this Right?

Particles between 6-9 Microns can Not Reach the Alveoli.

But Particles Smaller than 10 Microns Will reach the Alveoli?

---

BTW - Did you Lose your Internet Connection or was that all you wanted to State as Fact?

 

[Sniffle]

sorry i was typing on my phone, and hit a few wrong buttons i am finally at a computer, and able to edit it a little better.

the point i was trying to make is that most people fear monger a LOT, and we DON'T KNOW enough yet. I was trying to add to the absolute medically proven facts that people can prove with a few simple google searches. As i think of more things(i am at work right now) i will add to the list. The thing is there needs to be a list of facts and a list of questions somewhere that need to be hard tested and proven before anyone should freak out about anything.

 

[zoiDman]

sorry i was typing on my phone, and hit a few wrong buttons i am finally at a computer, and able to edit it a little better.

...

I just found it Ironic that someone would put in the Title of a Thread that these were Medical Facts. And that they were Qualified to State them because of the Field they were in.

And then the Facts seemed to Contradict themselves?

 

[Sniffle]

ack! i typed that backwards sorry about that as i said i was on my phone >.<

fixing it now.... now embarrased

 

[AgentAnia]

Thank you for getting your thread "fixed," Sniffle! Aside from the *very* useful facts you've given us, you raise a point I've been pondering for some time: How easy it is to be taken in by fear-mongering factoids and innuendos. (Not referring to anything on this forum but to our modern society in general.) Has anyone else noticed how much of TV advertising is fear-based? Perfect example is all the ads for Rx meds. Ever noticed how so many articles in the media are designed to raise our fear levels of just about anything?

I have learned, over the course of my many years, to exercise caution and common sense about most things but I refuse to let unfounded fear rule my life or affect my decisions.

When and if silica wicks prove to be unhealthy, then I'll pay the price and find an alternative. Until then, having seen my health improve to such an extent over my 8 months of vaping, I'll vape happy!

Looking forward to hearing more about this from you, Sniffle!

 

[Sniffle]

^^^^^^^^ that was the whole point right there.

it makes my day that someone got it If i get time(i have a 3 month old,) i'll pull out my old respiratory school books and see what else i can jog from my memmory.

I don't want to go on a one man crusade to correct all of the fear-mongering of the world or even the vaping world. i would die of old age first. Sometimes it gets rediculous at the assumptions that get made and when that happens i feel like i have to say something.

I really wish more medically trained people that know the ins and outs of the human body would chime in more.

answer the questions like:
How does nicotine effect the body in relation to how caffeine effects the body? Then go into all the crazy medical talk so that someone else that is better at relating that information can break it down into ways that non medical people can understand it without dumbing it down.

or another one(that i found a study on but have a hard time wrapping my head around):

What are effects of amorphous silica on the human body?

Amorphous silica: a review of healt... [J Toxicol Environ Health. 1997] - PubMed - NCBI

Which as far as i could gather means the medical profession doesn't know either but it's mostly benign or the effects are reversible.

What exactly down to the mass spectrometer readouts, are we inhaling? what quantities?

until more testing is done we don't know...

we have to largely go on faith and listening to what our bodies tells us... for me i haven't been healthier and the same goes for many others but if it aversly effects you then do your best to quit both it's the obvious choice.


edit: I should add thank you for not bashing me about the head and shoulders too hard for the mistake, I'm human and I make those from time to time

 

[Jimi D.]

^^^^^^^^ that was the whole point right there.

it makes my day that someone got it If i get time(i have a 3 month old,) i'll pull out my old respiratory school books and see what else i can jog from my memmory.

I don't want to go on a one man crusade to correct all of the fear-mongering of the world or even the vaping world. i would die of old age first. Sometimes it gets rediculous at the assumptions that get made and when that happens i feel like i have to say something.

I really wish more medically trained people that know the ins and outs of the human body would chime in more.

answer the questions like:
How does nicotine effect the body in relation to how caffeine effects the body? Then go into all the crazy medical talk so that someone else that is better at relating that information can break it down into ways that non medical people can understand it without dumbing it down.

or another one(that i found a study on but have a hard time wrapping my head around):

What are effects of amorphous silica on the human body?

Amorphous silica: a review of healt... [J Toxicol Environ Health. 1997] - PubMed - NCBI

Which as far as i could gather means the medical profession doesn't know either but it's mostly benign or the effects are reversible.

What exactly down to the mass spectrometer readouts, are we inhaling? what quantities?

until more testing is done we don't know...

we have to largely go on faith and listening to what our bodies tells us... for me i haven't been healthier and the same goes for many others but if it aversly effects you then do your best to quit both it's the obvious choice.

And that's just it gentlemen ! I go with what my body tells me. I started vaping with silica atties in egos. Now I use RDA's with huge air holes, and just let it rip with deep lung hits with silica and ribbon coils. I feel a hell of lot better since my smoking ceased 3 years ago. If silica is a bad thing, that would of added more fuel to the fire, from my chronic smokers cough that I suffered with.

Thanks Sniffle for posting this. Vape on !!

 

[Nermal]

At odds with everyone, I thought it was interesting. It may help that I only saw the thread after editing. Is it useful in that it will change my own behavior? Probably not, but that's also true of highway speed limits - till I spot the state police.

 

[wv2win]

Thank you for getting your thread "fixed," Sniffle! Aside from the *very* useful facts you've given us, you raise a point I've been pondering for some time: How easy it is to be taken in by fear-mongering factoids and innuendos. (Not referring to anything on this forum but to our modern society in general.) Has anyone else noticed how much of TV advertising is fear-based? Perfect example is all the ads for Rx meds. Ever noticed how so many articles in the media are designed to raise our fear levels of just about anything?

I have learned, over the course of my many years, to exercise caution and common sense about most things but I refuse to let unfounded fear rule my life or affect my decisions.

When and if silica wicks prove to be unhealthy, then I'll pay the price and find an alternative. Until then, having seen my health improve to such an extent over my 8 months of vaping, I'll vape happy!

Looking forward to hearing more about this from you, Sniffle!

There are some definite "fear-mongers" right here on this fourm, also, unfortunately. But you make a good point about society at large. And your philosophy of using common sense is spot on. I am seeing more posts where common sense is in short supply.

 

[AgentAnia]

I have a couple of points to make here, so please bear with me:

Have had experience, since I started vaping, with reading highly technical scientific and medical studies. Have also had life experience with editing such reports. In my experience (and you can automatically preface every statement I make here with that qualifier) these reports are written by scientists for other scientists. Theirs is a language unto itself. Often I would sit down with the authors of these studies and ask them to translate the results into English a non-scientist could understand, and more often than not, they couldn't do it! Several of our vaping "angels" are exceptionally good at doing this: Carl Phillips, Mike Seigel, our own Rolygate and Smokey Joe, and Dr. Farsalinos come to mind, and there are others whose names I can't recall right now. But I see how a scientific article, written in "sciencese," can be mistranslated by a journalist into "journalese," which is then read/heard/seen and more often than not misunderstood by a member of the public, who probably isn't aware of whatever agenda the scientist or journalist may have to begin with. But all that sciencese and journalese sure sounds impressive!

Point 2: I see us in the U.S. becoming a fearful society with it comes to matters of health. Google "medicalization of normal life" to see how BP operates and how they want us to become reliant on drugs to fix everything. Think about germophobia: overuse of antibiotics, the new "necessity" of disinfecting your environment, hand sanitizers, etc. Think about the concept of "perfect" health and how it seems to have become accepted that perfect health should be strived for and can be achieved. We're told what our weight, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc. should be and if they're not, we panic and look for a quick fix.

Every little thing that might not be totally safe or that might affect our achieving "perfect health" (bringing this back to silica wicks) has become cause for immediate concern, if not downright panic. So do you wonder why smoking has become so demonized? And why the concept of secondhand vapor, though untrue, is such an effective fear-mongering tactic for the ANTZ to use?

Okay, you're in luck, I've run out of words... /rant

 

[bruiser]

Isn't there a big thread about silica wicks on here already, with a lot of info?

 

[Exhaler]

It does not hurt for people to post the good and possible bad aspects to vaping and vaping hardware. Whether silica, cotton, ceramic, SS, ekowool, plastic tanks, juice etc, etc is harmful or not would probably take extensive research. No doubt anything in excess can be harmful but it is doubtful that any of it is as harmful as 1-2 packs of analogs a day. The only thing I have read here on ECF that concerns me is the reaction of certain juices with some plastic tanks, then is vaped, everything else is nice to know info.