“Popcorn lung” is the nickname for bronchiolitis obliterans. That is a condition that damages your lungs’ smallest airways and makes you cough and feel short of breath. It’s sometimes caused by breathing in a chemical used to flavour microwave popcorn.
The lungs are a pair of spongy, air-filled organs located on either side of the chest (thorax). The trachea (windpipe) conducts inhaled air into the lungs through its tubular branches, called bronchi. The bronchi then divide into smaller and smaller branches (bronchioles), finally becoming microscopic.
Your lungs are where your blood picks up oxygen before carrying it to cells in the rest of your body.
When you breathe in, air flows into your lungs through your windpipe or trachea. Your windpipe divides into two tubes called the bronchi, which lead to your left and right lungs.
Inside your lungs, those tubes split again and again, like the branches of a tree.
The smallest of those branches are called bronchioles, and they end in tiny air sacs called alveoli. The alveoli are where the oxygen is picked up by your blood.
When you have”popcorn lung,” those tiny air passages get irritated and inflamed. This leads to scarring that makes them narrower. That makes it tougher for you to get sufficient air.
What Causes Popcorn Lung?
The chemical that gave this condition its nickname is diacetyl. After employees in a factory that packed microwave popcorn were found to get bronchiolitis obliterans more often than other people, some companies stopped using diacetyl as a flavouring. But it’s still utilised in some digital cigarette tastes in the US. Many e-cigarette manufacturers state they aren’t using this compound in their products and its usage in e-cigarettes is banned in Europe.
You might want to read about Getting rid of Cigarette Smoke Odour in your House
