![]() ![]() To mark International Women’s Day, we asked piping historian, author and retired curator of the Museum of Piping, Jeannie Campbell MBE to write about women in piping. Today, you are either a piper or you’re not. Today, the piping world is vastly different. Back then, it was fairly rare, but not unknown, to see women in pipe bands as well. Anne Johnston (née Sinclair) was the first female recipient of the Silver Medal. It was only in the early 1970s that The Argyllshire Gathering and The Northern Meeting accepted female competitors in the Gold Medal and Silver competitions. We certainly have come along way since the bad old days of “blinkered sentiment” surrounding women competing in piping competitions. It’s a day that will be marked all around the world to reflect the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. While King says there’s no reason to fear playing the pipes in and of themselves, musicians should be aware of the dangers and be diligent about keeping their instruments clean.Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day. In the past, trombone and saxophonists have been diagnosed with the disease, though this is the first reported instance of a death by bagpipe. ![]() Though doctors nicknamed the condition “bagpipe lung,” experts say nearly any woodwind or brass instrument can support similar molds and yeast if they aren’t properly and regularly cleaned, the BBC reports. Sadly, by the time King and her colleagues tested the bagpipes, their patient had been hospitalized. Every time he picked up the pipes, he inhaled even more of the nasty particles, exacerbating his symptoms. When King and her colleagues tested the man’s bagpipes for potential triggers, they found that the instrument was rife with mold and yeast, thriving in the dark, damp environment. But upon return to his daily practice regimen, the symptoms rapidly returned, Sara Miller reports for LiveScience. During a three-month-long trip to Australia, his lungs began to clear up. While King’s patient struggled with his symptoms for years, she began to suspect that his beloved bagpipes -which he played daily despite his illness-may be the culprit. You do sometimes see this type of lung problem in people who work on farms and are exposed to lots of moldy hay." "These organisms are around in the air, but they're not usually at a high enough level to cause problems. "If you can diagnose these problems early and remove the trigger then they can be treated and the prognosis is really good," Jenny King, a doctor who originally helped to treat the patient, tells the BBC. But while other people in the past have contracted the condition from exposure to mold, yeast and dust found in things like pigeon feathers and saxophones, this is the first known instance of someone dying from “bagpipe lung.” The hyperactive reaction can cause scarring in the lungs that worsens over time and can eventually become fatal if the source of the trigger isn’t identified, the BBC reports. The unnamed patient suffered from a rare condition called “hypersensitivity pneumonitis” – an inflammatory condition that occurs when the immune system goes into overdrive in an attempt to eject pathogens. "It sounds like a Monty Python skit or an Agatha Christie story gone wrong," William Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, tells Liz Szabo for USA Today. But in a recent study published in the journal Thorax, researchers say they have finally identified the cause: his beloved bagpipes. By the time the 61-year-old resident of Liverpool, England died in 2014, he had spent seven years fighting a mysterious illness that left him struggling to breathe or walk. For years, doctors were stumped by their patient’s persistent lung problems. ![]()
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