Could wearing a down jacket damage your lungs?

According to media reports on February 7,A man eventually developed respiratory failure and was diagnosed with "down lung" after wearing a low-quality down jacket that leaked down for more than 12 hours a day.According to doctors, the essence of "down lung" is hypersensitivity pneumonitis. It is not a standardized medical diagnosis name, but a popular expression for hypersensitivity pneumonitis or interstitial lung disease caused by long-term inhalation of down fibers or the tiny protein particles contained in them.

Simply put, after the human body inhales tiny allergens such as poultry protein, dust mites, and mold contained in down, the immune system overreacts and attacks its own lung tissue, causing alveolar and interstitial inflammation.

Inferior down products are the main risk source of inducing "down lung". On the one hand, their production process has not undergone strict cleaning, high-temperature sterilization and mite removal treatment, so there are a large number of residual allergens such as poultry protein, dust mites, molds and other allergens.

On the other hand, low-quality products have poor fabrics and stitching techniques and are prone to "down leakage". Tiny down debris will directly float into the air, increasing the risk of inhalation. On the contrary, high-quality down products have a significantly lower probability of allergy.

Doctors remind that damaged down jackets and long-term wear may increase the risk of "down lung".