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“Physicians should be aware of this potential risk factor and promote wind instrument hygiene.”Īndrew Bova, of the National Piping Centre in the Scottish city of Glasgow, told the BBC: “When it comes to cleaning a woodwind instrument, I would say give it a swab after every time you play. “Wind instrument players need to be aware of the importance of regularly cleaning their instruments and of potential risks,” the study said. This is thought to be the first reported case of a bagpipe player being exposed to fungi which may have triggered hypersensitivity pneumonitis, the inflammatory lung disease which the man suffered from. These revealed a host of different fungi growing in the moist bag, neck and mouthpiece area of the instrument, which the man had been inhaling when he played.ĭespite treatment, the man died in October 2014 and a post-mortem examination showed he had suffered extensive lung damage. 22 at 4:50 p.m.This prompted doctors treating him to take samples from inside the pipes.
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This story was originally published on Aug. Scientists unlock a secret to Latinos’ longevity, with hopes of slowing aging for everyoneĩ:30 a.m.: This story has been updated with images of the patient’s bagpipes and the fungi that were growing in them.
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How Otzi the Iceman outfitted himself: Fur from brown bears and leather from roe deer He died several weeks after entering the hospital.īut he will live on in the annals of medicine as the first person known to succumb to “bagpipe me on Twitter and “like” Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is a disease of the lungs in which your lungs become inflamed as an allergic reaction to inhaled dust, fungus, molds or chemicals. Both of them - a saxophone player and a trombone player - got better after they made a habit of cleaning their instruments with disinfectants and antiseptics.Īlas, the hospitalized patient never got a chance to improve his bagpipe hygiene. The authors were able to find two other cases of musicians being sickened by their instruments. Several of these fungi are known to trigger HP, the report authors wrote, and “the moist environment of bagpipes promotes yeast and mould contamination, thereby making the chronic inhalation of offending antigens a likely trigger.” In retrospect, the instrument seems like an obvious culprit. The neck of the blowpipe added Trichosporon mucoides to the mix, and the chanter reed protector - the part of the instrument responsible for carrying the melody - had many of these same fungi as well. Samples of air from inside the bag were found to contain the fungi Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Fusarium oxysporum and various species of Penicillium. Similarly, a case of gastrointestinal anthrax in an animal-hide. It is related to occupational or other environmental exposures.
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While there, the man’s symptoms improved and he said he could walk along the beach more than six miles without stopping.Īfter he was admitted to the hospital, it occurred to someone to test his bagpipes to see whether they were the source of his HP. A fatal case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis in a bagpiper is particularly noteworthy. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an inflammatory lung disease mediated by an immunological response to an inhaled antigen and can progress to disabling or fatal lung disease. The only thing that seemed to work was a three-month sojourn in Australia. Doctors prescribed the steroid prednisolone and the immunosuppressive drug azathioprine, but they had little to no effect. Typical triggers for HP include exposure to birds or household mold caused by excessive water damage, but the patient had no history of either. As a result, the tiny spaces in the lungs between the air sacs, airways and blood vessels become inflamed, and breathing can be severely impaired. This condition happens when your lungs have an allergic reaction to something. HP is the result of an allergic reaction to mold, fungus, dust or other substances a patient breathes. The warning came after a bagpipe player died of the chronic inflammatory lung condition hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Previously, he’d been able to walk far enough to finish a 10K, according to a case report published Monday in the journal Thorax.ĭoctors diagnosed him with hypersensitivity pneumonitis, or HP, a rare disease of the lungs. His condition became so severe that he could walk only 22 yards before tuckering out. Their warning was inspired by a 61-year-old British bagpipe player who developed a dry cough and breathlessness that worsened over a period of seven years. Doctors have an important message for musicians: Don’t forget to clean your instruments.