There is no doubt that smoking poses major health hazards. These dangers include heart disease, stroke, cancer, lung disorders and premature ageing of the skin. However, this one is brand-new and definitely “disgusting”. As an uncommon side effect of his cigarette addiction, a smoker from Austria started to develop black wiry hair in his throat. According to medical records, the anonymous 52-year-old complained of respiratory difficulties, a persistent cough and a raspy voice.
A case summary of his was published in the American Journal of Case Reports last week. In 2007—roughly 17 years after he began smoking—the man went to see medical professionals. After a bronchoscopy, the man’s throat showed signs of inflammation and hair. Over the course of fourteen years, the hair continued to regrow, requiring annual removal procedures.
After almost drowning when he was ten years old, the man had tracheotomy treatment to stabilize his breathing.
After that, the skin and cartilage of his ear were used to seal the incision. Later, when he went to get his cough and dyspnea treated, hair growth was seen surrounding the graft site. At first, doctors managed to remove the hair, giving the man little comfort.
Upon discovering that the hair was contaminated with germs, he was also administered antibiotics. However, the hair kept coming back over the following fourteen years.
He was identified as having endotracheal hair growth, also known as hair growth in the throat, an incredibly unusual condition.
The doctors thought that his smoking habit was probably the cause of the hair growth, though they couldn’t be certain. According to the authors of the American Journal of Case Report, there are just two cases similar to this strange occurrence.
Scientists say that smoking can lead to throat irritation, which can promote cell division into hair follicles.
The man’s throat was covered with 6 to 9 two-inch hair that sprouted there every time the doctors checked. Certain hair developed an inclination to burrow into his voice box and go upwards, eventually entering his mouth.
The patient’s cigarette smoking, according to the doctors, may have caused the commencement of hair growth. They did point out that the scarcity of these kinds of occurrences makes this assumption challenging to verify.
Doctors agreed not to provide the man remedial therapy until he quit smoking, which he did in 2020. They burned the hair root during an endoscopic argon plasma coagulation procedure.
After a year, two strands of hair reappeared and needed further treatment. Since then, no additional hair has grown back.
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