Hello guys,
Forum like these ones have helped me a lot a lot so I always told myself to give back what I have benefited so I thought that when my skin issues would be solved, I would share my story to help others. And finally, it is now almost solved! At least it is not anymore an issue.
So background, I smoked cigarettes since 19 years old until 2012, then I vaped until 12/01/2017. During that period, I began doing some DIY since spring 2016.
It was great because it was cheap, I felt much healthier especially with my breathing like during football, it was just cool.
I began to have some spots on my chin since years ago and I wouldn’t be able to say the exact date. However, it got progressively worse month after month since I began with the DIY. I realized that only when I stopped
vaping. It was not only my chin but also my cheeks. Especially around my follicles like beard. Sometimes, these spots were white, or proper big ones, or looked like eczema and at the latest stage it was all that but also I had spots which were not proper spots, It more felt like burning skin and after the shower, some transparent liquid coming out of these small holes. And after the during the day, had some yellow scab.
After seeing many times some GPs all useless giving me some antibiotics, I went to see a dermatologist in September 16: diagnosis was Folliculitis so I was again on more antibiotics and 2 different types. At first these medicines do work, but then they work less quickly and they don’t remove all the spots. And at the end, it just help the acne not getting worse even if it is already very bad.
I saw the dermatologist again on November 16 and after I mentioned I was suspecting my ecig, she said to stop it to see if any improvement. I stopped 10 days in vacation but because I also was on antibiotics I was not sure if the improvements were due to the antibiotics or for stopping the ecig. Also the improvements were not obvious anyway so I vaped again.
New year new resolution, I decided to stop for a month drinking alcohol, eating meat and anything fatty, just fish and vegetable + rice. Lemon juice every morning. Also to stop the antibiotics, and I remember one day I had painfull spots. That is when I realized it was my ecig cause I was
vaping a lot that day the 12/01/17. It was the only thing not “healthy” I was doing so it was obvious it was that.
As soon as I stopped, spots less and less. I remember seeing in a forum like this one that many ppl were also experiencing these issues and that it take in general one month after vaping for the skin to be back to normal, I guess the time all the product leaves the skin/ body. And it was my case. After 10 days, much much less spots but I had spots in places I never had before like nose and front head and much more on my cheeks. And reading the internet it was said that when you stop smoking real cigarettes this can happen (spots in new places). Then I had what looked like cysts or pocket of liquid on the cheeks. Now they decrease, almost gone.
So all the above demonstrate you can be allergic to eliquid. I was having before 100% VG but with some PG in the flavors, and then trying 100% PG. No difference, I still had these issues. I smoked rolled tobacco, my acne is pretty much finished. And obviously I struggle more at the football, I spit more and feel less healthy so I will see what I do.
But the only message I wanted to write really is eliquid can for some ppl trigger acne and very bad one. And that the doctors even dermatologists are clueless to recognize this. They will treat you with antibiotics which are not good for your gut flora and can expose you to many problems. She said that if it didn't improve she was ready to prescribe a type of medicine which reduces sebum production and impact negatively the liver and that I wouldn't be able to drink during that treatment. All this was dangerous bull..... Also another message is that probiotics helped me a lot (with the inflammation of spots, decreased the number of spots) but it is a short term solution while you try to identify the root cause.
I still rate very high the eliquid but for now I decided to stop.
Also having read a lot of forums, I know I will get comments from vapers who just don’t like anything challenging ecigs. This message then is not for you but for the ones who do experience these symptoms.
Thank you for reading and good luck