Confusing Allergy Problem - desperate not to have to give up vaping

[aburgUK]

Oh well it's beginning to look like I'm allergic to nicotine Have been vaping pure VG all day with little reaction and I'm feeling an awful lot better than I have done in ages.

The interesting thing is that I have felt no significant withdrawal symptoms so it's like my blood nicotine level was really low anyway.

Tomorrow I'm going to add some PG based flavours and see what happens. I may end up a ZERO nic vaper but that could be fun.

Anybody else trying to isolate allergies I would recommend that you spend at least 24 hours on each option because quickly switching between PG, VG, NIC , NO NIC etc makes it impossible to be sure what is causing the problem.

 

[AndriaD]

How the heck did you smoke, if you're allergic to nicotine? With the fast absorption from smoke, seems like every drag would have laid you out on the floor, if the nicotine was the allergen.

Andria

 

[PeppermintPatty]

They probably meant to say "Zyrtec" - that's a 2nd-gen antihistamine (I don't know what a beta-blocker is, but Zyrtec is like Allegra and Claritin).

Thank you! I could not figure out why antacids were coming into the picture? We would also refer to Zyrtec and the other allergy meds you mentioned as Histamine Blockers, but that is not the same thing as an H2 blocker, and most certianly is not a beta blocker.

Beta blockers are a particular class of meds that lower blood pressure among other things, but that is their most common usage. Histamine blockers and steroids are the main treatment of choice for allergic reactions.

 

[patkin]

"Allergy" should be differentiated from "sensitivity" or "intolerance." For there to be an allergy, a protein has to be present. IE: There is a difference between lactose intolerance and dairy allergy... allergy involves the proteins in dairy while intolerance is to the dairy sugars... the "ose." Allergies can be serious and even life-threatening. The sugars just affect the gut in lactose intolerance while dairy allergies affect the whole immune system, respiratory system (lungs, sinuses, etc) and mucous membranes... thus breathing. Sensitivities and intolerances pass quickly when removed.... trips to the bathroom from lactose intolerance stops once all the sugars are expelled. If the sensitivity is to something inhaled, once its worked out of the lungs the problem leaves... not always true with an allergy.

 

[aburgUK]

How the heck did you smoke, if you're allergic to nicotine? With the fast absorption from smoke, seems like every drag would have laid you out on the floor, if the nicotine was the allergen.

Andria

I can only assume that burning nicotine chemically alters it or something? If you look at the info with nicotine inhalers and gum etc it does state that allergy to them is possible and only smokers use them?

Anyway tried some flavour (PG based) and got a reaction to that so moved on to 6mg nic in VG (no other additives) and that seemed surprisingly strong.

Took some pre-mixed 12mg 100%VG juice and mixed it down to 3mg and am now vaping that. Still seems quite strong nic wise although pretty flavourless. Am beginning to wonder if people like me who hadn't smoked for several weeks before starting to vape actually need the levels of nic that people commonly talk about. Perhaps if you have virtually no nic in the system even 6mg is too much? recently I've vaped upto 32mg of nic at times, perhaps that was my mistake?

 

[aburgUK]

They probably meant to say "Zyrtec" - that's a 2nd-gen antihistamine (I don't know what a beta-blocker is, but Zyrtec is like Allegra and Claritin).

They do still do the "scratch tests" for allergies. They also have a blood test for allergies called ELISA testing (mostly used for food allergies, but probably works with anything that gets into the bloodstream). Yes, tests are expensive if you have to pay for it yourself, but not if you have good insurance. If the OP lives in England, it's probably free for him, so he might as well get them done.

With regard to the OP's reaction to nicotine, it occurred to me that extracts are done using solvents, and those solvents are often harsh chemicals such as petroleates like hexane. I don't know if there are ever remnants of those solvents that remain in the extract, but if there are, that could certainly cause an allergic reaction. For anyone who is an ex-smoker and never had an allergic reaction to tobacco smoke, it seems unlikely that they would be allergic to nicotine itself. If you're sure that you're reacting to your nicotine solution, you might try looking into whether different labs are using different solvents to extract the nicotine, and see if you can find one using something fairly innocuous - ideally, water, and if not that, maybe alcohol.

Hey Matt, that's a very interesting point, I can vape pure VG no prob (been doing it all day), add VG base nic to make it 6mg and bam I've got a rash. I'm going to check that out. Thanks Alan

 

[humpstyles]

Yeah, except Zyrtec works. Don't know about Claritin, never tried it, but Allegra might as well be a sugar pill. It does nothing at all that I could tell, at least for cat allergy. We have a cat that lives in the garage/outdoors, and I have to take a Zyrtec everyday; as long as I exercise reasonable precautions, like washing my hands after touching her, the Zyrtec is the perfect cure for that stupid allergy. Allegra was like I hadn't taken anything at all.

Good point about a previous smoker probably not being allergic to nicotine! It very well might be the extract-medium.


Andria

TBH, I just took Allegra-D 12 hour and it has significantly improved my sinus congestion. Still have a little cough, but it's not aimed at that anyway.

 

[aburgUK]

With regard to the OP's reaction to nicotine, it occurred to me that extracts are done using solvents, and those solvents are often harsh chemicals such as petroleates like hexane. I don't know if there are ever remnants of those solvents that remain in the extract, but if there are, that could certainly cause an allergic reaction. For anyone who is an ex-smoker and never had an allergic reaction to tobacco smoke, it seems unlikely that they would be allergic to nicotine itself. If you're sure that you're reacting to your nicotine solution, you might try looking into whether different labs are using different solvents to extract the nicotine, and see if you can find one using something fairly innocuous - ideally, water, and if not that, maybe alcohol.

Hey Matt,

Started thinking about your idea and wondered if there is something in VG based nic that is not in PG base. Pulled out some 12mg Halo Tribeca (PG base I think?) and am gently vaping away at it now and feeling pretty happy with it? I'll continue with it tomorrow and post back the result. Thanks Alan.

 

[KjAthena]

Nude Nicotine has 100% VG flavor concentrates and 100% VG nicotine as well. I am sensitive to high VG and vape only 70PG30VG as a result. I do have a few flavors that I must stay away from as well. Hope this helps

all Nude Nicotines products also come with a purity analysis as well.

 

[edyle]

I can only assume that burning nicotine chemically alters it or something? If you look at the info with nicotine inhalers and gum etc it does state that allergy to them is possible and only smokers use them?

Anyway tried some flavour (PG based) and got a reaction to that so moved on to 6mg nic in VG (no other additives) and that seemed surprisingly strong.

Took some pre-mixed 12mg 100%VG juice and mixed it down to 3mg and am now vaping that. Still seems quite strong nic wise although pretty flavourless. Am beginning to wonder if people like me who hadn't smoked for several weeks before starting to vape actually need the levels of nic that people commonly talk about. Perhaps if you have virtually no nic in the system even 6mg is too much? recently I've vaped upto 32mg of nic at times, perhaps that was my mistake?

If you are a heavy smoker, 24 and 36mg might be fine, but if you stopped smoking for 3 weeks, suddenly vaping 32mg is sure to make somekind of impact; and unlike smoking where you have to light up, and theres a point where it goes out, vaping a tank 32mg can surely go overboard easily if you're not paying attention.

 

[AndriaD]

Am beginning to wonder if people like me who hadn't smoked for several weeks before starting to vape actually need the levels of nic that people commonly talk about. Perhaps if you have virtually no nic in the system even 6mg is too much? recently I've vaped upto 32mg of nic at times, perhaps that was my mistake?

32mg is high for anybody, nevermind someone who hadn't smoked in a while. I smoked ultra-lights, 6mg, for more than 20 yrs, and recently had cut down from a pk a day to about 3/4 pk; I found that both 18mg and 12mg made me quite ill, but with 6mg I could vape constantly and feel just fine. Now I use 8mg, or 9mg, and that works very well. But yeah, if your system hasn't much or any nicotine in it, then any would be a great deal. I think you're wise to stay at 3mg, or maybe even 2mg. i quit smoking cold-turkey for about 3 months one time, and when I couldn't stand it another minute, I smoked a cigarette. It was a light, but it made me extremely dizzy, which of course I recognized from when I first started smoking. So yeah, when you're off them for any length of time, it takes very little to get a response. or to OD.

Andria

 

[benda]

Hey guys, I dont want to hijack the thread but I have posted a thread about this in the past with no replies so I figured I would ask here since I see so many responses. I have been having a issue with PG, I think that is whats causing it, Just wanted to know if any one has heard of this issue. I have been vaping for over 2 years, But in the last few months I have been getting break outs on my face, almost like eczema. I get a red rash around my nose and forehead. I also get what looks like pimples but they are not pimples, The are very hard and if I try to squeeze them nothing comes out, I have seen my Doctor and she seems to think its contact dermatitis. She gave me a ointment for eczema that helps out but as soon as I stop using it , the rash comes back. My skin on my face gets very dry, super dry. I have to use Vaseline on it everyday or it hurts from being so dry. I know I should probably try vaping unflavored VG with just nic, but Im guess Im just trying to find out if any of you have heard of this before? Like I said I have been vaping for over 2 years but this just started a few months ago.. Any info would be greatly appreciated, and sorry for hijacking the thread..

 

[LoveVanilla]

Yes, this is not uncommon. Sensitivities and allergies can pop up at any point. Some juices also use essential oils which can cause issues for some. Are you vaping any new juice? To me, however, this sounds more like a PG sensitively.

Try vaping VG juice exclusively for 3-4 days and see if your issue doesn't abate. If you don't want to go flavorless, some high-quality, all-VG juices include Johnson Creek's "Red Oak" line (e.g. Vanda, Domestic, Kentucky Cured) or Boba's Bounty from Alien Visions. There are others, but these are ones I enjoy. Don't procrastinate -- do it now. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[aburgUK]

Hi Everybody and thanks for all your input. I have been speaking to a friend of my who I'd forgotten was a flavour chemist who worked for one of the major tobacco companies and I think I have an explanation for what has happened to me. Basically three to four weeks ago I bought some nice 24mg juice and hit it way too hard with my Provari wound up with a nice dual coil tank and you guessed it... nic poisoning!

Had a headache and felt sick for a couple of days (thought it was a virus) but hey now the penny has dropped. Anyhow my friend tells me that it is possible for nic poisoning to lead to an intolerance to nicotine (perhaps even permanent) so now I can only tolerate < 2mg. Basically I think my smoking days are definitely over and I'm heading towards being a zero or low nic vaper. I have been vaping 1.5mg all day with no withdrawal and feel really good, so vaping really can stop you smoking!

I've ordered my favourite juices in zero nic and am going to mix them to 2mg with some 12mg that I've got in stock. Perhaps I'll increase or decrease my nic slightly over time but I don't really feel the need to right now and I think that 6mg will be my top limit from now on.

For any smoker starting vaping here are some tips from personal experience:

1. Start at around 12mg be careful going higher and if it makes you feel spaced out of foggy headed try going down in nic level before going up.
2. If you feel ill get some advice from this forum, you probably need to adjust something like PG/VG ratio or nic level.
3. A lot of the people you see in videos blowing huge clouds of vapour are probably using relatively low nicotine levels because they know better that to do it with 24mg+!!
4. Vaping is a different technique to smoking, trying to get the immediate strong hit that a cigarette gives won't happen and increasing nic to try and achieve this will likely make you ill (my big mistake). Instead enjoy the experience, it's different but much nicer when you get used to it, be patient.
5. When you start out you may feel like chain vaping, if you do, use a low nic level (even zero) until you get used to what is right for you (another big mistake on my part was chain vaping high nic levels).
6. Treat vaping with respect and enjoy it, it can change your life amazingly for the better but please remember that in high enough concentrations nicotine is a dangerous poison (I'd been smoking for a very long time and I never really understood that until now).
7. Join this forum and listen to people here, they can help you to avoid the pitfalls and really change your ciggy addicted life for the better.

Happy Vaping

 

[AndriaD]

Hey guys, I dont want to hijack the thread but I have posted a thread about this in the past with no replies so I figured I would ask here since I see so many responses. I have been having a issue with PG, I think that is whats causing it, Just wanted to know if any one has heard of this issue. I have been vaping for over 2 years, But in the last few months I have been getting break outs on my face, almost like eczema. I get a red rash around my nose and forehead. I also get what looks like pimples but they are not pimples, The are very hard and if I try to squeeze them nothing comes out, I have seen my Doctor and she seems to think its contact dermatitis. She gave me a ointment for eczema that helps out but as soon as I stop using it , the rash comes back. My skin on my face gets very dry, super dry. I have to use Vaseline on it everyday or it hurts from being so dry. I know I should probably try vaping unflavored VG with just nic, but Im guess Im just trying to find out if any of you have heard of this before? Like I said I have been vaping for over 2 years but this just started a few months ago.. Any info would be greatly appreciated, and sorry for hijacking the thread..

I have to wonder why you think it's related to vaping, if you've been vaping for 2 yrs, and in the last few months have this issue? Could it be.. that it's not related to vaping at all? That you've simply developed eczema? It does happen to lots of people that have never even seen an e-cigarette.

Andria

 

[aburgUK]

Halo Tiki Juice zero nic... Lovely and tasty! And a decent smokey TH!

Also was really suprised, bought some Halo Tribeca in Zero nic, was ok but a bit tastless. added a tiny bit of Tribeca 12mg to give me about 1.5mg nic and it was really nice with good TH and you can chain vape comfortably.

 

[FireDragon1138]

That sounds like good advice, Alan. I think some people are so terrified of nicotine withdrawl they start out on a juice that is too strong.

When I started out it was with 16mg and that tended to make me ill. I had been a non-smoker for some time, too. 16mg was all that was available for Blu, at the time, though. I got some Fin disposables at 8mg and did better.

You can lose tolerance to nicotine very quickly.

 

[benda]

I have to wonder why you think it's related to vaping, if you've been vaping for 2 yrs, and in the last few months have this issue? Could it be.. that it's not related to vaping at all? That you've simply developed eczema? It does happen to lots of people that have never even seen an e-cigarette.

Andria

Hello, the reason I think its from the PG is after I used the ointment from my doc, it cleared up,I normally vape 50/50. I had my juice guy mix up the juice I vape on the regular but this time he made it 80vg 20 pg . I vaped only that juice for about 10 days, the symptoms came back while i was vaping the 80/20 vg/pg but not nearly as bad and I was not using the ointment at that time. once that juice ran out I went back to vaping my 50/50 juices and with in 2 days my face broke out big time.. I was just wondering if any one had this exact same symptoms, I have heard of itchy skin before but I have not heard of the break outs like I get. I ordered some 100% vg and I will see how it goes... Thanks for the input guys

 

[aburgUK]

Hello, the reason I think its from the PG is after I used the ointment from my doc, it cleared up,I normally vape 50/50. I had my juice guy mix up the juice I vape on the regular but this time he made it 80vg 20 pg . I vaped only that juice for about 10 days, the symptoms came back while i was vaping the 80/20 vg/pg but not nearly as bad and I was not using the ointment at that time. once that juice ran out I went back to vaping my 50/50 juices and with in 2 days my face broke out big time.. I was just wondering if any one had this exact same symptoms, I have heard of itchy skin before but I have not heard of the break outs like I get. I ordered some 100% vg and I will see how it goes... Thanks for the input guys

My guy in the UK uses the PG free flavour concentrates that Vaping Zone make. I'm really enjoying their flavours and they do true 100% VG juices based on the same flavours so they should be good.

VG E-Liquid VZ USA 100%VG - E Cig eGo, E juice, Mods, Cartomizers, Liquid Nicotine, DIY Flavorings

 

[Froy]

try 100% PG