"The nervous system is what we aim to attack when we use electronic cigarettes or vapes. And we should not be surprised that the measure can be overturned quite quickly. An old maxim says that "The dose makes the poison". We never know when we will cause only a positive effect. Although in my opinion, a positive effect from such a substance cannot be expected. And when we will cross the limits of the poison".
This was stated to NOVA by the Head of the Neurology Clinic at "St. Anna" Hospital in Sofia, Assoc. Prof. Rosen Kalpacki on the case of the 14-year-old child from Pleven, who fell from a block and died after feeling sick after smoking a vape with a drug.
According to Kalpacki, the effects that such a substance causes on the nervous system are many. "First of all, there is the loss of coordination. And a real idea of the world around you. These are the motor things - loss of coordination, of fine motor movements, of feeling what the distance is. Hallucinations and illusions appear. Voices may begin to be heard. The main thing that, in my opinion, is sought when using such a thing is the feeling that you can do anything. That the world is at your feet. And in this way to overcome the inferiority complex," he explained.
And he added: "There are always lasting effects from such substances. We are not talking only in the physiological aspect. The social effects are bad. It turns out that it is socially acceptable to vape or something else. This is the problem, in my opinion, for such tragedies to occur".
When asked how winter affects the brain and is it true that January is the month in which strokes are most common, he replied: "Around the holidays, we had a series of very severe strokes. The fact is that patients were transported to our hospital from almost the entire country. Extremely severe cases. Currently, there are two young women in my intensive care unit with strokes. Strokes are indeed more common in winter. Because of the temperature difference to which we subject our bodies, the change between hot and cold. Unnaturally hot and unnaturally cold. This leads, first of all, to poor control over arterial hypertension, that is, high blood pressure. And high blood pressure is the number one cause of strokes".
Associate Professor Kalpacchi also commented on the case of midwives who filmed a video in which they dance with newborn babies. "This is a rather delicate issue. For example, we take care of people who are helpless. And this problem arises daily. Of course, medical workers work with sick people, with babies - in this case not sick, with patients. So this is their environment. To some extent, the relations in a medical team are quite different. But the attitude towards helpless people is something that everyone who puts on a white coat should always think about," he said.