From Bagpipes to Bonsai: Reddit Users Are Sharing the Hobbies That Slowly Destroy Your Lungs

A thread posted to r/AskReddit asked users which hobbies are "considered silent killers the longer you do them", gathering almost 2000 comments.

Replies to the post centered overwhelmingly on respiratory damage from repeated, long-term exposure to dust, mold, and other airborne particles common to certain hobbies.

One commenter pointed to bagpipes, warning that "if you don't properly clean regularly, they can get mold and other nasties breeding inside and the player can develop 'bagpipe lung.'"

The general claim is supported by a documented case published in the journal Thorax and covered by Live Science: a 61-year-old bagpiper in England developed hypersensitivity pneumonitis after fungi were found growing inside his instrument.

He died in 2014 after the condition caused permanent lung scarring. Doctors who treated him found several species of mold and fungus growing in the bag, neck, and reed protector of his bagpipes.

Resin crafting drew a similar warning. One user wrote, "If you don't work in a well-ventilated space, it can wreak havoc on your respiratory system," pointing to fumes released while resin cures as the underlying hazard rather than dust.

A commenter who keeps chickens described wearing a "3M 2097 respirator" while cleaning the coop, explaining the long-term respiratory risks tied to bird dust exposure.

They also said that they use the respirator while mowing their lawn as well, explaining that the dirt kicked up on their unpaved road is silica-based and carries a long-term risk of silicosis. "Everything that isn't fresh air can wreck your lungs, it seems," they added.

Woodworking came up as another common culprit, with one Redditor writing that "excessive saw dust exposure" over time can harm the respiratory system.

They also noted that several types of wood dust, cedar in particular, carry toxic and allergenic properties that can trigger both breathing issues and skin irritation, and recommended wearing a mask whenever a job produces heavy sawdust.

Bonsai cultivation was the least expected addition to the thread. One user wrote that "many that are avid in the hobby have significant exposure to Sphagnum moss," which is commonly used for rooting and moisture retention, and said inhaling spores from the moss has been linked to sporotrichosis and other respiratory issues, sometimes called "Rose Gardener's Disease."

Brian Batchelder, who hosted the PBS series 'New Horizons in Bonsai' in the 1990s and popularized growing bonsai trees directly in sphagnum moss, is widely discussed within bonsai communities as having died from a lung infection tied to moss spore exposure.

That claim, however, is disputed even among people in the hobby. One poster on the forum Bonsai Nut described the story as "purely speculative," saying they had only ever heard it repeated secondhand rather than confirmed through any official source.

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify Brian Batchelder's cause of death, as no official medical record or news obituary confirming the sporotrichosis claim was located during reporting. The details above otherwise reflect the claims made by commenters in the original Reddit thread.