Does vaping cause phlegm?

[vapingboy]

Hello Everyone,

I have been vaping for about 3 weeks now and mostly PG liquid and have started to notice this back of throat phlegm production. Seems it's more prominent with Halo liquid - Smooth 8 to be exact. Or maybe it's been building up and just recently I have been vaping Halo and it started to come up. I'm glad to see others reporting the same issue.

But I'm a little confused with posts from MissVapor and Sloth.

MissVapor says they are hunting for PEG based liquid and then sloth says he'll go back to Ecopure, but as per ecopure's website they say this about their liquid:

Establish our own laboratory here in Lancashire in the UK
Develop the CLEANEST & HEALTHIEST e-liquid available anywhere in the World!
Maintain our World renown reputation of quality.
Use the fewest ingredients possible.
Avoid the use of Propylene Glycol as a base, as used in most other e-liquid.
Use only FCC Food Grade flavourings with a Purity of minimum 99% The nicotine used in our e-liquid is 99.8% pure!
Provide customers with an e-liquid they can absolutely TRUST the contents of
Maintain batch quality and batch testing to ensure quality of all ingredients using NMR and GCMS methods.

And I think PEG is Propylene Glycol, isn't it? So, if they are avoiding it, should you really be trying to find more of it MissVapor? Or is sloth on the right path to go back to Ecopure.

 

[SikVapor]

I think it's:

Propylene Glycol = PG
Polyethylene Glycol = PEG
Vegetable Glycerin = VG

 

[Mister]

And I think PEG is Propylene Glycol, isn't it?

No, it is a different substance. PEG is Polyethylene Glycol. It is a polymer which can have various chain lengths. When people use PEG in vaping they are referring to PEG-400, a relatively low molecular weight PEG.

 

[vapingboy]

Thanks SikVapor and Mister for the fast response and clarification!!!

Can you tell I'm a newb!!!

 

[vapingboy]

So, has anyone successfuly made some DIY liquid with PEG (Polyethylene Glycol)?

Would love to know the vaping results if anyone can share, that would be great!!

Thanks guys!

 

[miss MiA]

...also, you'll regularly see some people deciding they should try to avoid the same thing/s others are deciding they should try switching to. (Tho PEG isn't one of the most common subjects of that.) Different people can have different reactions to the same things, or they might be looking to experiment in order to help determine what's behind a certain reaction.

Edit to add: This was re your original question, not the one that popped up while I was typing.

 

[vapingboy]

...also, you'll regularly see some people deciding they should try to avoid the same thing(s) others are deciding they should try switching to. Different people can have different reactions to the same things, or they might be looking to experiment in order to help determine what's behind a certain reaction.

Edit to add: This was re your original question, not the one that popped up while I was typing.

Very true miss MIA. I only asked because I'm experiencing the same reaction (back of throat phelgm) using PG. I have tried VG, but it just doesn't sit well with me. Somehow causes tightness in my chest, so I have ben vaping on either strictly PG liquid or with very little VG in it. (just enough to give more vapor I guess).

I have always bought liquids pre-made.

So, if PEG is another option, and even though I have to make it myself, I'm all for trying it - even if it's a bit on the more expensive side.

 

[MissVapor]

Hello Everyone,

I have been vaping for about 3 weeks now and mostly PG liquid and have started to notice this back of throat phlegm production. Seems it's more prominent with Halo liquid - Smooth 8 to be exact. Or maybe it's been building up and just recently I have been vaping Halo and it started to come up. I'm glad to see others reporting the same issue.

But I'm a little confused with posts from MissVapor and Sloth.

MissVapor says they are hunting for PEG based liquid and then sloth says he'll go back to Ecopure, but as per ecopure's website they say this about their liquid:


And I think PEG is Propylene Glycol, isn't it? So, if they are avoiding it, should you really be trying to find more of it MissVapor? Or is sloth on the right path to go back to Ecopure.

NO PEG is polyethelene glycol not to be confused with PG propylene glycol

 

[vapingboy]

NO PEG is polyethelene glycol not to be confused with PG propylene glycol

Got it! Sorry about the confusion.

Are you now vaping a PEG based liquid? Would love to know what you and/or others are doing to rid of this phlegm business.

Thanks.

 

[MissVapor]

Got it! Sorry about the confusion.

Are you now vaping a PEG based liquid? Would love to know what you and/or others are doing to rid of this phlegm business.

Thanks.

I could't find PEG in the states for the last 6 months but fortunately TW US just got some in so I'm excited to be able to start vaping again instead of nasty analogs..

Like I said before its the only liquid that doesn't give me horrible side effects..I did get dry eyes before but it may be because I was vaping inside..Once I get the new shipment in of PEG , I will be using it outside with menthol and pepperment non-pg flavorings (Candy Cane) from Juicy Liquid.

 

[LostInDaJungle]

I'll just chime in with my $0.02.

I've been e-smoking for 10 months. I finally decided to try some "All VG" liquid and ordered some 555 VG. Big clouds of vapor, great taste... I'm loving it.

But then I started to notice that I was phlegm central! My nose/sinuses were always stuffed up, always felt like I had a frog in my throat. But hey, it's spring, right? Pollen, allergies... At it's worst, I woke up one morning with both nostrils so full of thick mucus that it was literally hanging out of my nose.

So after 1 week on the VG, I switched back to my normal dekang juice. Everything cleared up, and my car is still yellow from pollen. After another little bit I decide to try the VG again. Right back to being very phlegmy, etc... Off the VG, back to normal.

So far I tried three times doing VG for a week, noticed the problems, went back to PG for a week and I'm clear as a bell. YMMV, but VG stuffs me up like no one's bidness.

 

[Slo Ryd]

I have noticed that if I am constantly puffing on my e-cig for LOOONG periods of time (like all day without really stopping) then I do get a build-up of phlegm in my throat. Nothing a little throat clear wont get rid of. But my advice is that if you feel phlegm starting to build up take a small break from vaping and get a glass of water to drink. Sometimes even just stopping for a few minutes can prevent phlegm from building up.

 

[four2109]

... I finally decided to try some "All VG" liquid and ordered some 555 VG. Big clouds of vapor, great taste... I'm loving it.

But then I started to notice that I was phlegm central! My nose/sinuses were always stuffed up, ...

Same here, throbbing pressure in my ears when I went to bed, woke and couldn't breathe through my nose. Even just mixing in a few drops to a 3ML.

 

[bassnut]

My experience so far:
I had a serious smoker's cough after 40+ years of smoking up to 2 packs+ a day.
In the last few months before I started vaping I took to using a Primatine Mist inhaler for asthma in the mornings.
The real reason being is that I couldn't smoke my morning cig without a coughing fit. It took 2 cups of coffee and 2 hours to clear my system before I could smoke uninterrupted. I would cough up the usual brown sometimes tinged with green phlegm every day. Several times a day.

After 6 weeks of vaping, the morning wheezing is almost gone except it takes me only one cup of coffee and 1/2 hour to clear my system to vape uninterrupted. Then I'm good to go until bedtime.

I still cough but maybe 1/10th as much. What I cough up is clear. It feels and looks and tastes like I'm coughing up the PG or VG I vaped the day before.

I can breathe deep again without coughing. I can laugh out-loud again without rasping and breaking into a coughing fit.
This is good! Really good!

 

[HellaDank]

Found this thread after noticing some build up at the back of the throat... lots of interesting info and concerns... Been cutting my e-liquid w/ 100% pure vg... anyway, looks like I'm going to try PEG from tw, lots of interesting info especially from tropical guy. Very curious to hear more about the results or similar research studies... subscribing...

 

[ncgator]

Been vaping for 8 months first started with dekang PG juices ... no problems. Tried Halo PG juices ... no problems. Then I started to dabble into 100% VG juices and noticed the phlegm and congestion build up, breathing problems and such. Have now switched to Tasty Vapor with low VG (35 and 20%) ... starting to notice the same VG symptoms. Going to begin to transition to pure PG to see what happens. Although I have a ton of TV flavors with VG that I am going to have to use up first .

 

[JoeMcPlumber]

Well i'm glad to have found this thread, having started one of my own
and being told it was probably from quitting smoking.

I'm of the opinion that the problem is VG.
Up until recently i was mixing my own juice with half PG premixed stuff
and about equal amounts of VG and water.

I was coughing like i had pneumonia.

Only recently i bought a bunch of PG based cartos and
i've been refilling with PG based liquid, (from LiquidXpress),
and my cough is gone.
It's been about 2, maybe three weeks since i had any VG-based liquid.

I'll be running out of the LiquidXpress sometime soon and i'll be mixing again,
so i'll be able to provide a bit more of an objective opinion.
I suppose i'll have to vape without my flavors for a while, to eliminate that variable.

Well anyway if phlegm is one of the more "significant dangers" with vaping,
(and what's exactly dangerous about phlegm, i might ask?),
i still think i'm better off than sucking on burning leaves.
A little film doesn't frighten me half so much as tar.

 

[aschmidy]

YES. It does. And it worsens the longer a person e-smokes. New research, not yet released, is showing phlegm might be the most significant danger of e-smoking. And it results from both PG and VG. No difference.

A film is apparently building in veteran e-smokers' lungs, causing an increased phlegm secretion. I'm experiencing it, as are others in tests lasting longer than a year. It's a serious concern and a nicotine carrier other than PG or VG is being sought.

Any cursory reading of PG's effects will show that it is an irritant. That's proving to be the case when inhaled 300 or more times a day by e-smokers. We were guinea pigs, and now some results are becoming known.

Yup, we are all guinea pigs. PG or VG. Just do whatever works best for you. For me that is 100% VG.

 

[StarsAndBars]

Ok, I have to say something. I've been using e cigs exclusively for about 7 months now. The only side affect I've experienced is having dry throat (from using liquids strong in PG, but of course chugging water helps). Then again, I smoked 1/2 pack a day for about 8 years, and never really noticed side affects, just knew they were'a come'n if I didn't quit. This is of course why I started vaping. Everything I read and heard boasted the safety of e cigs, and after reading this thread I'm terrified.

Its a little difficult to draw any real conclusion because most of the people posting problems either already have asthma, COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or were 2 pack a day for 30 year smokers. I would think a little respiratory issues here and there come with the territory.

The point is this. The reason for vaping is the same for us all...... its suppose to be safe, well safe-ish, but I keep reading a list a varying side affects people seem to be experiencing. Add that to the fact that we are the pioneers of this new product. For all we know we may as well be using lead based paint, or working with asbestos. Not to mention the fact that almost nothing is free of consequence. If its a little phlem or dry throat, it would be so worth it, but there could be neurological, reproductive, (or who knows what) problems that aren't yet uncovered. Its getting to the point now where every time I take a draw from my PV I get the same guilty "you idiot don't you know this could be killing you" thoughts I got when smoking. I'm not sure how safe this is anymore, and I don't want to be one of those people with respiratory illness saying "how could I not have seen this happening."

Would I not be crazy just to stop it all together right this second?

 

[four2109]

Stars, If you can quit vaping and not go back to analogs, oxygen would be the best and safest thing to inhale.