An Arkansas teenager was left critically ill after his vaping addiction caused such severe dehydration his urine turned black.
Jake Melton, 15, was rushed to the ER earlier this month after developing extreme dizziness, nausea and bloodshot eyes that made him look like he was ‘high on drugs’.
He arrived at school earlier in the day feeling ‘like everything in my body was hurting’, and visited the school nurse who suggested his mother, Melony Sample, take him straight to the ER.
At the hospital, he fell unconscious, triggering alarm among doctors who carried out a barrage of urgent tests.
Results showed Jake was suffering extreme dehydration and at risk of kidney damage — which doctors said was a direct result of the vape he was using constantly throughout the day.
Despite remaining unconscious for more than 30 hours and his mother pleading with the teen to quit, Jake said he is ‘addicted’ and has no plans to stop his deadly habit.
Jake passed out at the hospital and remained unconscious for more than 30 hours due to his excessive vaping
The teen’s mother is warning parents to watch out for their children wearing hoodies as she believes it’s a sign ‘they’re most likely vaping,’ using the garment to hide the e-cig
Nicotine, present in some vapes, has long been known to dehydrate the body, mostly due to its impact on your body’s intricate balance of fluid and salt.
E-cigarettes also contain liquid with propylene glycol, a substance that attracts and retains water molecules in the body, meaning when you vape, the substance consumes the water from the body and prevents it from being absorbed, leading to dehydration.
Melony believes her son’s dehydration was exacerbated by his job.
The teen works part-time laying rocks and Melony said he overexerted himself while excessively smoking while he was working because he was ‘hitting the vape’ instead of eating and drinking.
The mom-of-three was unaware her son was smoking the equivalent of five cigarettes a day and had also started using menthol nicotine pods, which have been linked to higher numbers of toxic microparticles.
Melony said: ‘[The vaping] literally dehydrated him so bad that he ended up in the hospital. His urine was blackened.
‘I think he was vaping a lot but he wasn’t supposed to be doing it like that. I found that out because he pulled out the vape while we were out. I now know he was vaping at school and wasn’t supposed to be. I thought it was under control.
‘Especially if you’re working, vaping will amp you up and make you feel like you can do more than you can and you’ll over push yourself and dehydrate quicker.
‘Then instead of taking a drink, they’ll hit their nicotine. Instead of eating, they’ll hit their vape. Then they lose control. They don’t know what they’re doing.’
Jake arrived at school earlier in the day feeling ‘like everything in my body was hurting’, and visited the school nurse who suggested his mother, Melony Sample, take him straight to the ER
Melony Sample feared her son would die and has vowed that ‘every vape I’ve seen or will see in the future will be broke and trashed’
Jake says he started vaping two or three years ago after seeing students at his school smoking in the bathroom and he wanted to ‘fit in.’
However, it quickly became an ‘addiction’ and he moved from flavored nicotine to menthol.
‘I was using all kinds of vapes, Juuls, Elf Bars, Juice Heads, Vuses, and more. I finally switched from flavored nicotine, to menthol,’ he said.
Jake was using a five percent menthol nicotine pod, which is the equivalent to around 20 cigarettes, and was smoking around one pod every four days.
‘Every morning it felt like I had to hit it just to fully be awake,’ he said.
Melony revealed her son had complained of feeling sick one morning and after visiting the school nurse, two vapes were found in his backpack, which Jake said he was keeping safe for a friend.
She became concerned that her son’s vapes had been spiked with an illicit substance as he ‘looked like he was on drugs.’
Cops were called in to check the vape pens for drugs, being ‘dead set’ they had been laced, but tests showed no evidence of drugs and revealed Jake’s symptoms were extreme effects of excessive vaping.
Melony said: ‘Jake went to school and they immediately called me and said he looked like he was on drugs. They were asking what he had taken and of course, he hadn’t taken anything.
‘They had a cop and a superintendent in the office and they were searching Jake’s bag and they found two vapes. They sent them off to be tested for drugs because they were dead set that he was slipped something through a vape.’
Jake was rushed to hospital and after testing, she discovered her son was suffering from extreme dehydration, caused by excessive smoking.
Taking to Facebook , stay-at-home mom Melony shared her son’s terrifying ordeal and issued a warning to other parents about the dangers of their kids vaping
After sleeping for around 30 hours and being given fluids through an intravenous drip, Jake was discharged, but his mother admitted she is ‘scared’ he will continue vaping as he ‘doesn’t remember any of it’.
Melony said: ‘It was a terrible experience. We get down to the ER and they had him tested for everything but all he had was the vape.
‘I was awake for over 30 hours and he was asleep for that long. He wouldn’t talk. When he would wake up he’d curl up into a ball and shiver and jerk.
‘He’s still really confused. We’re home but he’s still in and out. He doesn’t remember any of it. It was just like he was asleep pretty much. I think he thinks I’m just being mean now.’
Taking to Facebook, stay-at-home mom Melony shared her son’s terrifying ordeal and issued a warning to other parents about the dangers of their kids vaping.
In the post, Melony said she feared for her son’s life and vowed that ‘every vape I’ve seen or will see in the future will be broke and trashed.’
Melony told other parents to watch out for their children wearing hoodies in hot weather as she believes it’s a sign ‘they’re most likely vaping’, using the garment to hide the e-cig in their hands.
The mom, who does not vape herself, admitted she was unaware how frequently her teenager used vape pens.
She also revealed she wants e-cigarettes ‘all to be banned’ and hopes to spread awareness of her son’s terrifying experience to encourage parents to stop their children from using the products.
Despite the dangerous ordeal, Jake admits he plans to continue vaping as the potential risks do not ‘bother’ him.
He said: ‘Being in hospital could’ve been scary for some, but I’d continue doing it knowing the risks and the side effects. It doesn’t bother me.’