He died due to extensive lung damage consistent with acute respiratory distress syndrome and tissue fibrosis, the study said. The doctors identified multiple potential precipitating antigens isolated from his bagpipes. The man had a dry cough and progressive breathlessness for seven years, despite treatment with immuno-suppressant drugs. It is thought to have been caused by regularly breathing in mould and fungi lurking inside the moist interior of a set of bagpipes. The warning comes after a 61-year-old British man died of chronic inflammatory lung condition called hypersensitivity pneumonitis. London: Love to play wind instruments like trumpets, trombones, saxophones or bagpipes? Be careful as you may be at a heightened risk of developing a deadly inflammatory lung disease dubbed as ‘bagpipe lung’, warns a study. "We're just suggesting having this awareness can only make playing a more safe and enjoyable activity for everybody.Cleaning instruments immediately after use and allowing them to drip dry could theoretically curb the risk of microbe growth. The optimum drug therapy to try to prevent the progression of HP is also unclear.ĭespite the warning, the authors aren't recommending anybody quit playing music. Use a brush and a disinfectant and water solution to clean each piece.īut King admits there is no gold standard way to clean an instrument. Take the instrument apart piece by piece. authors suggest cleaning an instrument as follows: There is also this gross bagpipe seasoning to keep the inside airtight," Goodtimes said in an email.
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Ian Goodtimes, a professional bagpiper from Toronto, said he thinks the instrument is supposed to be cleaned out with disinfectant once a year. If there is a lot of inflammation in the lungs, it leads to scarring, which is irreversible and ultimately fatal. King said this sort of lung condition has hundreds of causes and risk factors. There have been previous cases reported in the medical literature of the illness in saxophone and trombone players attributed to fungi and yeast. "So I think it's really important that people who play these instruments are aware that there is a risk and clean their instrument regularly and are also very aware if they get any respiratory symptoms it's important to go straight to your doctor to report it." "Feasibly any wind instrument or brass instrument could have these moulds or fungi and although not everybody who plays it who is exposed will get this condition, there is a possibility by exposing yourself that you could develop it," King said in an interview with CBC Radio's As It Happens. They determined his favourite instrument was the likely cause based on his history of playing it almost daily, coupled with how his symptoms improved when he took a break while on vacation, and because of the fungi found on samples taken from the bagpipes' reed, back and neck. "This is the first case report identifying fungal exposure, from a bagpipe player, as a potential trigger for the development of HP," King and her co-authors wrote. What was different? The man played the bagpipes daily as a hobby, but he didn't take the instrument to Australia. He was able to walk 10 kilometres on the beach without stopping.īut when he returned to the U.K., his breathing deteriorated rapidly. His symptoms improved dramatically during a three-month trip to Australia in 2011. Jenny King of University Hospital South Manchester and her co-authors wrote. He was finding it hard to breathe before his admission to hospital, Dr. His condition worsened to the point he was limited to walking 20 metres. The illness is often associated with occupational exposures, such as among people who work with pigeons and breathe in particles from their feathers or droppings. He never smoked and his house didn't have mould or signs of water damage. He had a previous diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), a chronic inflammatory lung disease triggered by the immune system's response to an inhaled protein from the environment. who had a dry cough and worsening breathlessness, despite treatment, for seven years. In Monday's issue of the journal Thorax, doctors describe the case of a 61-year-old man in the U.K.
Musicians take heed: Wind instruments need to be cleaned regularly to prevent the growth of fungi that can cause "bagpipe lung," say doctors who reported a rare, fatal case.
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