Allergic reaction to E-cigarettes: Problem Solved

[Petrodus]

I introduced a friend who smokes to vaping a few months ago and he bought an eGo. A couple of months went by and every time I talked to him he mentioned how pleased he was with the PV and giving up cigarettes.

Recently, I ran into him and noticed he was smoking a cigarette. He said he had to give up vaping because of serious allergy issues every time he would vape.

Long story short: After a few minutes talking with him about variables...we got down to cartridges. Asked him when was the last time he changed cartridges. He said he never changed the cartridges because in his words "they don't wear out".

BINGO

I told him the residue liquid or batting might be contaminated. Suggested he pop in a new cartridge and see if that would solve the problem. He did. NO Allergy issues! He is now a happy camper and tosses cartridges once a week. He knows now that he could disinfect the cartridges and make his own batting etc...However, he said that the cartridges are cheap and he wasn't going to take any chances.

Wondering if others might have experienced similar issues and or have returned to analogs not realizing their allergy issues could have been avoided by changing the cartridge or changing the cartridges more often?

 

[WomanOfHeart]

I never really thought about the cartridges causing a problem. Then again, I'm get a bit of an OCD when it comes to keeping all of my PV equipment clean, including the cartridges and fillers. I have often wondered about the Mega cartomizers, since you can't just open them up and wash them out, though.

 

[Lisa B]

That is very good advice, thanks for posting that.

 

[stubear62]

Moving to the General E-Smoking Discussion Forum.

 

[cyberwolf]

That is a great piece of advice.

 

[DocWyatt]

How did you know to tell him this? Did you have an issue like this at one point, or just a guess? I have never really thought about it before...

 

[Zenfrogs]

Good call. People that have severe reactions often can often have quick reactions to items that have been cross contaminated. It often can be triggered by minute amounts of the allergen even residuals in a “clean" cart. My nephew suffers from severe food allergies which require separate plates, baking dishes and food produced in plants that do not process certain foods. For people not used to this type of allergy it can be difficult to narrow it down in the beginning.

 

[Petrodus]

Another health concern regarding the cartridges

We frequently buy new tooth-brushes and toss the old ones.

If we get sick and keep using the same tooth brush...we can just keep re-infecting ourselves. A quick rinse under the faucet is just a soft gentle summer shower for germs.

Vaping is still in its infancy stages and we are learning as we go.
We should not take for granted that everyone will frequently
toss or disinfect the cartridges.

 

[Petrodus]

How did you know to tell him this? Did you have an issue like this at one point, or just a guess? I have never really thought about it before...

No, I never had any issues like this previously to go on.

There had to be a common denominator that was triggering his allergies because he had no issues with vaping for a couple of months. I assumed there was a variable and the variable had to be the liquid or the cartridge or both.

He was thrilled to be able to go back to vaping. After vaping for a couple of months...He hated the taste of cigarettes.