It can progress rapidly, and it can be fatal. The condition is also known as respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF), non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, adult respiratory distress syndrome, wet lung, and Vietnam lung, among other names.
In general, individuals with wet lung regain maximum lung function within six months. However, even with improved lung function, many people may experience long-term effects from ARDS, such as muscle weakness or cognitive impairment. Complications may also include multiple organ system failure and, sometimes, death.
Pulmonary edema that develops suddenly (acute pulmonary edema) is a medical emergency that needs immediate care. Pulmonary edema can sometimes cause death. Prompt treatment might help. Treatment for pulmonary edema depends on the cause but generally includes additional oxygen and medications.
"Wet lung" is a casual term for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This condition occurs when the lungs are filled with fluid instead of air. The fluid in wet lung could be pus from infection, fluid backed up in the lungs from heart disease, or blood from either lung or heart disease.
Fluid around the lung (pleural effusion) is a potentially dangerous condition that can masquerade as something less worrisome. What may seem like chest pain or coughing due to a bad cold could actually have serious health ramifications. It's not that rare, either.
Wet lungs are caused by a delay in the clearance of fetal lung fluid after your baby is delivered. Extra fluid makes it harder for small air sacs in the lungs to stay open. This causes your baby to breathe rapidly. During vaginal delivery, pressure on the newborn's chest squeezes fluid out of the baby's lungs.
ARDS usually develops within 24 to 48 hours of an incident or the onset of a disease, but symptoms can take 4 to 5 days to appear.
They can also sound like bubbling, rattling, or clicking. You're more likely to have them when you breathe in, but they can happen when you breathe out, too. You can have fine crackles, which are shorter and higher in pitch, or coarse crackles, which are lower. Either can be a sign that there's fluid in your air sacs.
However, research has demonstrated that e-cigarettes like JUUL can cause many of the same conditions as traditional cigarettes including wet lung, also known as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).
For those with pulmonary edema, though, the lungs begin to fill up with fluid instead of air, resulting in a shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and in severe cases a bloody cough. Depending on the cause, the signs and symptoms of pulmonary edema may appear suddenly or slowly over time.
Excess fluid in the pleural space is called pleural effusion. When this happens, it's harder to breathe because the lungs can't inflate fully. This can cause shortness of breath and pain. These symptoms may be worse with physical activity.
Thoracentesis is a procedure that a provider uses to drain extra fluid from around the lungs (pleural space) with a needle. It's used to test the fluid for infection or other illnesses and to relieve chest pressure that makes it tough to breathe. Thoracentesis is a short, low-risk procedure done while you're awake.
Outlook / Prognosis
Heart failure, a common cause of cardiogenic pulmonary edema, is a chronic disease that can get better with treatment. Out of every three people who've been in the hospital because of heart failure, one person lives five or more years after their stay.
It's usually a result of heart failure. When a diseased or overworked left lower heart chamber (left ventricle) can't pump out enough of the blood it gets from the lungs, pressures in the heart go up. The increased pressure pushes fluid through the blood vessel walls into the air sacs.
Pulmonary edema is often caused by congestive heart failure. When the heart is not able to pump efficiently, blood can back up into the veins that take blood through the lungs. As the pressure in these blood vessels increases, fluid is pushed into the air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs.
Symptoms of pneumonia may include: Fever. Chest pain. Productive cough (may be described as a "moist" or "wet" cough)
Pleural effusion, sometimes called fluid on the lung, can happen for various reasons, ranging from an infection to cancer. It does not usually have specific symptoms, but you may have signs of an infection or experience chest pain or difficulty breathing.
All medical witnesses to describe pulmonary edema agreed it was painful, both physically and emotionally, inducing a sense of drowning and the attendant panic and terror, much as would occur with the torture tactic known as waterboarding.
Breathing in the harmful chemicals from vaping products can cause irreversible (cannot be cured) lung damage, lung disease and, in some cases, death.
1: Vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it's still not safe. E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavorings and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. Regular tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic.
Wet lung can be caused by vaping cannabis, CBD oils or similar products, health officials say. Vaping is using a battery-powered device to heat liquid-based nicotine into an inhalable vapor. The liquids often come in enticing flavors, like cotton candy or bubble gum.
Primary medication treatments include antibiotics and/or antivirals until infection is ruled out as well as corticosteroids to help fight inflammation in the lungs. Patients with more severe cases will need hospitalization and, because they may be unable to breathe on their own, could be placed on a ventilator.