Anyone ever gotten a black tongue from vaping?

[Mariss716]

I switched up my ejuices to 80/20 for higher TH and flavor recently - too many juices taste muted to me, even in an RBA, even with extra flavor. I have this problem from multiple vendors.

I change my juice frequently, and had a new shipment I'd steeped about 3 weeks I decided to start using today. I noticed that this morning, after vaping a tank of menthol-fruit blend (I don't normally vape anything menthol), then starting on a raspberry w/cream flavor,...

my lips were a tad swollen where I had the drip tip. Sometimes I get a bit of an allergic reaction to foods and I'm not sure why, so I wasn't concerned. I just vaped from the other side of my mouth lol.

But then this afternoon, after laying in bed and vaping quite a bit, I noticed more and more that my tongue was sore and feeling a bit swollen too. I didn't get up to check - I have been having a bad week, I had battled tumors in my leg last year and my recovery has been abysmal. So I am on lots of pain meds, other drugs, and I sometimes just sleep for days or don't get up for days, my mom brings me food and I vape.

That aside -

I went to brush my teeth after watching an ep. of Game of Thrones, looked in the mirror and I'll be damned but my tongue had a thick black coating on it. YUCK. I had to scrape the hell out of it with my fingernail to get the majority of it off. Underneath my tongue was lumpy and raw. It didn't hurt a lot, was rather numb actually.

It's not Geographic Tongue either because it's not in patches. It was really almost 3/4 of my tongue back to front. It's not Thrush either, that's white patches.

I remember having a reaction once when I switched my mouthwash to an awful Crest Pro Health rinse that I found out after the fact, caused black tongues. Something about the product reacting with the bacteria on the tongue, and creating the coating. What else? I don't use alcohol rinses. I am using Tom's natural rinse (will never use alcohol rinse again). I know Bismuth can cause black tongue as well; I don't take that but I do take Lactulose, that is not in the same class however. I am not on antibiotics either.

Thus, I figure something I vaped today caused a reaction with the bacteria in my mouth. The raspberry that gave me a burning sensation? Perhaps the menthol? Perhaps I am dehydrated? Perhaps it's all the Rx? Perhaps I am an enigma?

I will be careful to drink more. vaping can dehydrate and dry mouth is a playground for mouth nasties. And I drained my tank of that juice (no naming names as it's not the vendor's fault), filled 'er up with NLV Renegade and the tongue will mend.

I'm not freaking out, if it had never happened before I might have, but I am a bit surprised and concerned. I have been vaping for 8 months with probably 30 different juices over all and never had an issue. Has anyone else experienced this with vaping? I did a search on ECF and didn't see anything but I'm Googling as I am typing this, getting a few more hits.

Yeah I know, talk to your doctor or dentist, don't talk in a forum. Believe me, I actually get a lot of "I don't knows" from doctors!

 

[Hulamoon]

That sounds godawful and something you really don't need on top of all the other wars you're going through! Other than the usual and expected missive we would ALL state - go to your doctor, it could be a seperate health condition and not a reaction to vaping etc blah blah blah.....My first inclination is that if it IS due to vaping, you're having a severe reaction to PG. I'd try VG (go to the store and buy some glycerin) and try that. If you don't have any reactions, then order 100% VG with extra flavor. Maybe some other guys can suggest hardware that might give you a better hit. But drink a LOT of water when you vape repeat.... drink a LOT of water when you vape and bring that PG down down down.

 

[Rickajho]

Black tongue? That's new to me. But swelling of the lips, throat or tongue is an indicator of an allergic reaction. The question there would be is it a reaction to PG or VG, or a reaction to a flavoring ingredient itself. I would suggest getting some unflavored 100 PG and 100 VG in your usual nic level and try each to begin sorting this out.

 

[Mariss716]

Thanks, yeah, I will go back to a stronger VG in the ratio and just live with the muted flavors. What good is more flavor when you've destroyed your tastebuds in the process? Lol. I will just have to do more experimenting. I have 65/35 NLV Renegade in the tank right now, so far vaped 2ml and downed 2 glasses of water and the swelling is down. Will stick to this routine tomorrow then maybe this week I'll try straight up VG and see how I do with that. I have never tried higher than 50/50, but now I have the hardware that can handle a thicker juice.

And sometimes I do forget how dehydrating vaping can be - I'll forget to compensate by drinking lots of water and my mouth feels ghastly after an all day chain vape.

I'll run this by my PCP the next time I am in, I literally have to go in with an agenda to cram in everything to a 15 minute chat.

Oh well, I will take this minor vaping setback over the cigarettes they replaced any day!

 

[Mariss716]

Black tongue? That's new to me. But swelling of the lips, throat or tongue is an indicator of an allergic reaction. The question there would be is it a reaction to PG or VG, or a reaction to a flavoring ingredient itself. I would suggest getting some unflavored 100 PG and 100 VG in your usual nic level and try each to begin sorting this out.

I'm thinking it was a combination of factors - dehydration, flavoring or menthol or too high % of PG that didn't agree with me. I must have had a bit of an allergic reaction plus created an imbalance that resulted in the black tongue, I'm pretty sure that's bacterial.

Yeah I will go ahead and order the straight VG, I'll drop by ECigExpress, they have 30ml bottles of my 12mg nic for $3.99. http://www.ecigexpress.com/nicotine...flavored-e-liquid-nicotine-select-size-p-1479 Mt Baker Vapor is also in town so I get my orders fast and I'll try a max VG mix too.

How gross eh? Thought I'd never have to deal with black anything AGAIN after dropping the smokes.

 

[mostlyclassics]

You also might want to look up "black hairy tongue" (I'm not kidding!) on wikipedia. There's a picture.

 

[Dougiestyle]

You mentioned adverse reactions to alcohol-based mouthwash. This leads me to think that your black tongue could be related to one of the flavorings in one of your liquids that has a strong alcohol content. I know when I DIY menthol for my parents, the mix of flavor is 50% PGA @ 15% in the final product, so their niquid is close to 8% alcohol.

Check with your e-liquid vendors for alcohol content if that's a catalyst for oral problems.

I'm saying a prayer for your confort and ease. Seems like you got some cruddy ailments. I hope things get better for ya!

 

[HunterSeeker]

You also might want to look up "black hairy tongue" (I'm not kidding!) on wikipedia. There's a picture.

oh yuck there is a picture. Seems like it looks worse than it is though........ yuck.

 

[Mariss716]

You mentioned adverse reactions to alcohol-based mouthwash. This leads me to think that your black tongue could be related to one of the flavorings in one of your liquids that has a strong alcohol content. I know when I DIY menthol for my parents, the mix of flavor is 50% PGA @ 15% in the final product, so their niquid is close to 8% alcohol.

Check with your e-liquid vendors for alcohol content if that's a catalyst for oral problems.

I'm saying a prayer for your confort and ease. Seems like you got some cruddy ailments. I hope things get better for ya!

Thanks, I wonder if it was the menthol. I do steep my juices caps off, airing out some of the alcohol. But I will also ask next time before purchasing again. It actually kinda came back, I had to whiten my teeth and scrub the hell out of my tongue so bad it was bleeding, swollen and very raw. Not good.

I know I am very sensitive. I am starting to realize that this is happening with higher PG, sweeter vapes, maybe menthol, and in the newer batch I'd bought from a vendor who has been a go-to in the past.

I hate to waste all that juice but once my tongue heals after vaping nothing but NLV Gold and Renegade for a week, I'll try them again one by one. If it happens again I'm going to trade or gift them. I am sure my issue is "just me" but it's quite unpleasant even if benign.

Yes as you can see, I have a pretty big concern to deal with that is rather soul and wallet-draining, so all the other problems that crop up either because of it or are unrelated to it get a side-effect pill thrown at them, or not dealt with at all.

 

[Mariss716]

You also might want to look up "black hairy tongue" (I'm not kidding!) on wikipedia. There's a picture.

Lol yeah that's why I didn't go posting photos here. Gross. But GIS and that's a pretty frightening sight when you open your mouth and say AHHHHH.

 

[Hulamoon]

Thanks for popping by Mariss, I was about to ask you how you are doing. Like you say, you have more than your fair share on a plate right now without this happening. If you have a paypal account, then sign up to get "verified" for classified ads on ECF, both buying and selling or trading. At least you can recoup some of your dollar outlays by selling them onwards. And drink water, lots n lots of water. Hang in there and it will improve.

 

[tammyh]

Does your whole lip swell. I have noticed swelling on my lip on the side I generally vape from. It has to be related to vaping because I was vaping in early 2012 and had the same problem. Took a break for about 6 months and it went away shortly after quiting. Now that I have have started up again it has returned. Its almost like a cold sore but not really. Maybe juice aggravating my lip?

 

[Rickajho]

Here's hoping you get it sorted out. I'm betting the unflavored experiment will help you figure out what's going on.

Do you have any other stuff going on? One of my friends is allergic to PG, and her only reaction is a rosacea like break out on her face, primarily around the mouth, nose & cheeks. It took her about a year before she made the connection to PG. Dropped to 20% or less PG, skin problem went away.

I don't want to pry, but was wondering of you were on any treatment that inhibits your immune system, directly or indirectly. (You don't have to answer that here.) Just wondering if your mouth is having a problem handling normal bacterial loads and vaping is somehow aggravating the problem. I don't know - just throwing up ideas here.

Feel better!

 

[Racehorse]

I got black tongue once, when my dentist recommended a new mouthwash to me.

What was the main ingredient? PG.


Black tongue is not dangerous, so don't worry. It goes away. Mine did as soon as I stopped using that mouthwash and switched back to listerine.

 

[Koman]

No, haven't had such problems.

 

[fredddddie]

I had a dry black/brown tongue when I first started vaping over a year ago. I was using 808s with cartomizers and no drip tips, and vaping 80/20. Turns out I have a PG allergy. My throat will swell and I get a rash on my neck if I vape too much PG. I have other food allergies as well. Since I went to mostly VG (other than flavorings), my tongue has been a normal color.

 

[jazon1]

im guessing it was a reaction to one or a combinations of the flavors used,considering you have been vaping for 8 months now im sure you have had your share of vg and pg before this. was there a new flavor you used that day ?

 

[Faylool]

If you use pepto bismol and don't rinse after it'll do that.

 

[Racehorse]

I had a dry black/brown tongue when I first started vaping over a year ago. I was using 808s with cartomizers and no drip tips, and vaping 80/20. Turns out I have a PG allergy. .

then black tongue seems to correspond to PG sensitivity, since like I said, only time I've ever had it was when dentist recommended new mouthwash, and PG was the first main ingredient........there was nothing else in there other than minty flavors and I know its not that since I never got it with my toothpaste or from vaping minty stuff. Mouthwash was high PG, and my tongue turned black.

 

[Katattack]

Only time I've had a black tongue is (as mentioned by Faylool) when I ate a Pepto tab and didn't rinse my mouth out. The bismuth binds to traces of sulphur in your saliva and reacts by turning black. I wonder if it might be some similar reaction going on.