A pea, then a fir tree, grass ... What’s up with all these body-as-potting-soil reports?
This headline caught the attention of Booster Shots this morning -- and how could it not?
Sprout grows in Brewster man’s windpipe
That story, from the Boston Herald, was certainly intriguing -- especially with this riveting account from the Cape Cod Times to back it up. The latter offers considerably more detail and an interview with the thoracic surgeon involved. It includes this account:
“”But as he scraped away at encrusted mass, [Dr. Jeff] Spillane realized on June 16 that the growth was not a tumor. In fact, it wasn’t even a growth.
It was a sprout. After plucking the half-inch plant from [Ron] Sveden’s airway, the thoracic surgeon picked up his cell phone.
“He said, ‘Do you have any dirt?’” [Dr. Jeff] Slater said, recounting his phone conversation with Spillane. “I said, ‘What do you mean?’
“He said, ‘You’ll need dirt to grow this bean I found.’”
Great stuff.
But surely the anecdote was so rare as to be an only-time-ever.
Then we found this: Shocked Russian surgeons open up man who thought he had a tumour ... to find a FIR TREE inside his lung
(Try not to be distracted by the bikini photos on the right of that page. We’re heading somewhere here ...)
And then there was this: Grass found growing on baby’s lung
Wow. Grass. A baby’s lung. Who knew the human body was so fertile a ground for botanicals? Clearly this inhalation-of-seeds phenomenon is a problem worthy of public warning.
So take note (after you take note of the increasing lack of easily verifiable sources as the list progresses): Inhaling seeds is indeed dangerous.
And here are some journal-published examples:
Initial temporary misdiagnosis of bronchiectasis following pumpkin seed aspiration
Ah, the risk is becoming clearer. Here’s a broader look at the true problem, more formally known as foreign body aspiration. This eMedicine account details who’s most at risk, the objects most likely to make their way into the lungs, diagnostic procedures, treatments and the like.
Odd.... There’s nothing about the dangers of sprouting seeds.
-- Tami Dennis / Los Angeles Times
