Switzerland, April 17: A 20-year-old man in Switzerland ended up in hospital for a week after he suffered a rare lung injury while masturbating.
According to the reports, the man visited the emergency room after experiencing a “sudden onset of sharp chest pain followed by shortness of breath while lying in bed masturbating”.
Upon examination, doctors found that the patient’s face had swollen, and distinct cracking noises could be heard when he breathed in and out. His case history showed that he suffered from mild asthma.
An X-ray of the patient’s chest revealed that had a rare condition called pneumomediastinum, or when the air circulating through the respiratory system ends up escaping into the space in the chest between the two lungs. The man’s air sacs were also damaged, and he required high doses of oxygen.
Pneumomediastinum can be caused by physical trauma to the lungs or oesophagus. It can also spontaneously arise when a sudden increase in pressure within the chest cavity causes a tear in certain lung membranes, allowing air to leak out.
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This kind of injury is more likely to happen in young men, and known triggers include an acute asthma attack, strenuous exercise, or violent vomiting.
Doctors keep the man in the intensive care unit for observation, and he was given antibiotics to ease his chest pain. Fortunately, he made a swift recovery and was discharged after four days.
In the report, doctors also noted that this case of pneumomediastinum was unusual as the injury was brought on by masturbation, which was previously unheard of.
