A mum is warning how her teenage son "almost died" when his lung burst after inhaling laughing gas at the Parklife music festival. Alex Littler, 16, was rushed to hospital on Monday after complaining of a swollen neck, breathlessness and that his chest felt like "popping bubble wrap" when touched due to the air leaking from a ruptured lung.
The Year 11 student was forced to confess to doctors and devastated mum Cathy Mccann, 44, that he'd inhaled nitrous oxide over the weekend while at Parklife in Manchester. He was diagnosed with a ruptured and leaking lung and told he was lucky to be alive, but medics warned he may need surgery to remove air that was trapped around his lungs and heart.
Nitrous oxide is bought in cannisters and used legally for anaesthesia or as a propellant for whipped cream, however it is often pumped into balloons to be inhaled by those hunting for a 'high'. Beauty therapist Cathy said the ordeal was terrifying and Alex had vowed never to inhale the drug again, admitting that he didn't know the dangers.
Cathy, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, said: "He's said it's the worst thing he could have done. He didn't realise himself what the dangers were and he did it because all his mates were doing it.
"I come home from work Monday night and he was in bed. I asked what was up because he never goes to bed and he said his chest was dead tight and he felt breathless.
"When I pressed on his chest it was like bubble wrap, he was in pain and his neck was swollen. You only had to press it a tiny bit and it was crackling and crunching.
"I panicked and dialled 111. They said to take him straight to hospital. The doctor listened to his chest and felt the popping.
"I'm panicking, they're asking questions, about whether he's had injuries, been squashed in a crowd, been weightlifting or done anything that could have caused the damage. He said no to all of those so they told him to be honest and asked what he'd taken because we said he'd been to Parklife.
"He just came out with it and said he had balloons there and I burst into tears. I couldn't believe it, he said he hadn't had anything.
"It upsets me thinking about it, it's horrible. It could have been fatal. It could have killed him. His lung has got a hole in it.
"The gases can affect on your spinal chord, go to your brain and deaden your brain. I was beside myself because I didn't know the full facts about these gases. He was petrified."
