A pulmonologist has advised musicians to sterilize their instruments with rubbing alcohol following each use after a music student developed hypersensitivity pneumonitis from inhaling mold in her trumpet.
Since instruments accumulate saliva during use, they can develop mold if they are not cleaned and dried thoroughly, said Chang Meng-hsiang (張孟祥), a doctor at Feng Yuan Hospital’s Pulmonary Medicine Department in Taichung.
When a musician plays the instrument, they inhale and exhale mold, which causes allergic symptoms and respiratory discomfort, and could trigger disease, he said.
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
A 22-year-old student surnamed Huang (黃) said that she would often develop a minor cough after using her trumpet, so each time she would stop playing for a few days.
She said she had no idea that her hypersensitivity pneumonitis was triggered because her instrument was not clean.
People normally stop playing their instruments for a period of time if they feel unwell or lack energy, making it difficult to identify the allergen, Chang said.
Huang was hospitalized for a week, but has fully recovered, Chang said, adding that she was treated with steroids, whereas regular pneumonia is typically treated with antibiotics.
Chang said he has also treated farmers who developed allergic reactions similar to pneumonia after working in humid conditions or with mushrooms, soil or hay, because they breathed in mold.
Trumpet instructor Chang Yao (張堯), who has 43 years of experience performing, said he dries his trumpet’s mouthpiece and valves after each use, and regularly disassembles it for cleaning.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as