Doctors have reported an unusual—perhaps unique—case of a man masturbating his way into hospital by way of a torn lung. The 20-year-old showed up to the emergency department with severe shortness of breath and chest pain, his doctors write in Radiology Case Reports. As well as this, his face was swollen, and cracking and rattling sounds were heard from his lower jaw down, down his neck and chest, and to both his elbows. Cracking noises were heard as he breathed. He was moved to intensive care, where he received oxygen and pain relief. A CT scan found that the man had a case of "profound pneumomediastinum", where air has found its way into the space in the chest between the lungs. Air can make its way around the body, and can be picked up by physicians feeling air bubbles underneath the skin on the chest, arms, and neck. The condition can be caused by trauma to the lungs or esophagus, or through an abrupt increase in pressure within the pleural cavity — the space between the two membranes or "pleura" which surrounds each lung — known as spontaneous pneumomediastinum. "Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a rare condition and usually affects young men in their twenties," the doctors write in the report. "It can result from a variety of triggers like acute asthma exacerbation, strenuous physical exercise, excessive vomiting or violent coughing." Except for mild asthma, dismissed as a cause by the team, the patient reported no other activity that could cause the condition. The only clue was the timing of his symptoms. "He reported a sudden onset of sharp chest pain followed by shortness of breath while lying in bed masturbating," according to the doctors. The team notes that there are only a few reports of pneumomediastinum being attributed to sexual activity, "and we could not find any cases associated with autoeroticism, which makes our case unusual". It's possible that when he masturbated his way to pneumomediastinum, he may have been involved in a world-first. The condition can resolve itself, with no need for medical intervention except in severe or complicated cases. The young man was kept in hospital for monitoring while his symptoms resolved, and left within a week with no further chest pain, and a hell of an anecdote about the time he masturbated his way into the ICU. Source
