Boy crushes jaw after e-cigarette battery explodes in mouth

The authoritative American medical journal New England Journal of Medicine has published shocking photos of the serious injuries suffered by a 17-year-old boy after an e-cigarette exploded in his mouth. Trauma surgeon Katie Russell of the University of Salt Lake City, Utah, reports in the footage that the victim had vaporized gums, burns in and around his mouth, a partially shattered lower jaw and several teeth after the incident.

Electronic cigarette

The described incident took place in March last year. The then 17-year-old Austin Adams from Ely (Nevada) had received an electronic cigarette from his mother, because he wanted to stop smoking. The boy charged it with the built-in battery, filled it with liquid and took a drag. At that very moment, however, the thing exploded between his lips. According to his 45-year-old mother Kailani Burton, she told NBC News today, her son came over to her, groaning in pain and covering his bloodied mouth. “He couldn’t speak and was in shock.”

After the accident, the mother and her son had to drive about five hours to the nearest hospital: in this case the Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. In the emergency department, doctors immediately removed a number of teeth, because the root canals had been completely blown away by the explosion. Platelets were also placed in his jaw to connect the pieces of bone and stabilize the jaw. “I had no idea that a vapor could do something so bad,” said specialist Russell. Where to buy e liquids online cheaper. “It takes a lot of force to break a jaw.”

Scars

She speaks words of caution about the dangers of e-cigarettes, of which just over 2,000 exploded or overheated in the United States between 2015 and 2017. Whether that led to serious injuries such as Austin Adams, she does not say. The boy has since made a full recovery. The plates in his jaw have been removed and apart from some scars there is little left of the incident. It is unclear whether a claim for damages has been submitted to the manufacturer of the cigarette.

E-cigarettes are nowadays, also in the Netherlands, used on a large scale and from dozens of brands, as replacements for regular butts. The vapors contain fewer harmful substances than regular cigarettes, but whether their use leads to health problems in the longer term is still unknown. Doctors therefore advise against the use of electronic cigarettes. Not because of potentially dangerous batteries.

Dutch situation

It is unknown whether there have been incidents in the Netherlands with exploded vaporizers or overheated batteries. An employee of e-smoke shop Rotterdamp in Rotterdam knows the dangers of exploding batteries, which mainly occur with so-called mechanical vaporizers. “The energy that is released from the battery cannot be regulated. If used incorrectly, such a battery can overheat. Especially in combination with a type of vaporizer (the part that produces the vapor) that does not match the number of amps a battery can produce.” He states that excellent e-smokers are sold in most stores in our country. Buy e cigarettes online at mr-joy.co.uk for a cheaper price. “Anyone who buys illegal batteries on all kinds of vague sites runs the risk of getting dangerous items. So don’t. After all, you never know whether the number of amps on a battery is correct. They can be much more powerful than you think.”

According to Rotterdamp, it is better to purchase an e-cigarette that contains software that can regulate the energy from the battery and warn in the event of any malfunctions. “Those regulated vaporizers can never explode.” He is almost certain that the victim smoked a simple model in America, i.e. a mechanical. “Using it doesn’t have to be a problem as long as you know what you’re doing. We also sell them, but with detailed explanations and the necessary warnings.”