Vaping is, unfortunately, a popular trend among folks of all ages. If you are the parent of one or more teenage children, you might be worried about this vaping trend hitting your home. If you are on the lookout for the biggest signs your teen is vaping, then you’ve come to the right place.
Signs Your Teen is Vaping
The health implications of vaping go without saying, but protecting your child’s health is about more than keeping their lungs clean. Smoking and vaping have adverse effects on the sleep cycle, making regular breathing an increasingly difficult task. This can greatly shorten someone’s lifespan and cause the development of serious conditions like sleep apnea, which require lifelong treatment. Today, your local asthma doctor in NYC will talk about some of the biggest indicators that your teen is vaping.
Foreign Flash Drives and Pens
Do you see a strange USB drive lying around with an attachment on one end? This might be the charger that a vape pen plugs into. Vape pens can look deceptively like real pens or tablet styluses, making it easy for your child to sneak them into a backpack or a bag with the rest of their items.
Consistent Coughing and Wheezing
Smoking makes you cough – there’s no way around it. Even the smoothness of e-cigarettes can still make your child cough as the chemicals and smoke tend to be harsh on the throat. What’s more, the additional vapors that come from vaping exclusively can further disrupt the immune system, making your child more susceptible to different illnesses in the future.
Sweet Smells
If you get a small whiff of something sweet, there is a chance that you may be smelling vapor from e-cigarettes. Although recent bans have made it more difficult for teens to get their hands on flavored cartridges, previous vape pods came with a number of scents and flavors that made smoking all the more enticing for someone young.
Your Teen Suffers Nosebleeds
A bleeding nose is something that everyone can get from time to time, but frequent nosebleeds are a major sign that something is wrong. Vaping can cause nosebleeds if the vapors contain the ingredient known as propylene glycol, which is a chemical that dries up all the moisture inside of your sinuses. Still, the more you vape, the less moisture you have in your nose and throat, which makes it easier for things like nosebleeds to occur.
Your Child is Chugging Water
It is always good to drink plenty of water every day. In fact, your child should be drinking at least 8 cups of water to accommodate their growing bodies. However, if your teen is drinking a lot more water than usual, it could be because they have started to vape. As mentioned before, vaping can cause dryness in the throat and sinuses, which leads to the development of a smoker’s cough. If they are drinking water like they are dying of thirst, you might want to have a conversation with them about vaping.
Keep Your Child’s Lungs and Heart in Tip-Top Shape
Vaping is an addictive trend that is sweeping the nation, and your teenager may be susceptible to early smoking because of it. Know the warning signs of vaping and have a real conversation with your child about the dangerous side effects of this bad habit. If your child is coughing, wheezing, or showing other signs of struggling, it may be time to schedule an appointment for pediatric pulmonology in NYC. Get in touch with Dr. Mayank Shukla today to learn more about the negative effects of vaping and the best treatments available to help out your child ASAP.
