In recent news, an Australian man has made headlines for a rare and unusual condition that he developed after smoking heavily for over 30 years. The man saw a growth of hair inside his throat.
In 2007, the patient went to the doctor with complaints of a chronic cough, breathing difficulties, and a hoarse voice. He informed the doctors that he started smoking when he was 20 years old in 1990 and that he had previously experienced one episode of coughing up hair.
When the patient's symptoms led the doctors to do a technique that allowed them to guide a tiny camera down his airway, they found many hairs growing from a spot in his throat where the patient had had surgery in the past.
So, how does smoking lead to hair growth inside the throat?
To understand this rare condition, we must first understand the anatomy of the throat. The windpipe or trachea carries air from the nose and mouth to the lungs, while the oesophagus carries food and liquid to the stomach. These two tubes are separated by a flap called the epiglottis that prevents food from entering the trachea. When someone smokes, they inhale toxic chemicals that irritate and damage the lining of the trachea. Over time, this repeated irritation can cause inflammation and thickening of the tissues in the throat resulting in abnormal hair growth inside the throat.
Even though the hairs were removed by the medical staff, they kept growing back, and for the following 14 years, the patient would visit the hospital annually with the same symptoms.
The 52-year-old's illness was finally addressed after he gave up smoking and medical professionals burned the hair cells in his throat in 2022 to prevent them from growing again.
Revealing the case in the American Journal of Case Reports, doctors said "We hypothesize that the onset of hair growth was triggered by the patient’s cigarette smoking."
"This may have induced and stimulated endotracheal hair growth. But, of course, this assumption cannot be proven due to the rarity of such cases," they added.
According to the Daily Mail report, the patient stated that around 16 years after starting to smoke, in 2006, he started experiencing symptoms.
The Australian man's story serves as a cautionary tale for heavy smokers. It may be tempting to brush off the warnings and continue smoking, but this case proves that the consequences can be severe and unexpected. No one wants to develop hair inside their throat or deal with other potential health issues caused by smoking.
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