Does vaping make you more vulnerable to respiratory illness?

[Mattsweetie]

The only real problem i could possibly foresee would come from not cleaning your drip tips every once in a while and somehow, someway, all the bacteria buildup leads to some sort of infection whether that be in the lungs or the mouth. Even if this were possible, the chances would be slim

 

[Lyndagayle]

Well, here's my story....... I've been vaping for close to 5 years now. The last 3 years I smoked, I was having severe respiratory infections every 3-6 months and when I went in for a pre-employment physical, I was diagnosed with COPD. Fast forward 9 months and I quit smoking and started vaping. My last respiratory illness was February 2010, I started vaping March 2010 and I haven't had a single respiratory illness since. I've had 3 spyrometer tests since that date and they are normal for my age range (I'm now 60). I have no signs of COPD. I boldly proclaim that I am LESS vulnerable to respiratory illness!

 

[mostlyclassics]

My experience parallels so many here.

When I smoked, I'd get three to five colds per year, and about every other year, one of those would turn into bronchitis.

When I started vaping, I came down with a case of "quitter's flu." After my respiratory system cleared out from 47 years of three packs per day -- took several weeks -- I haven't had a single cold. It's been almost four years. And I'm ecumenical about vaping: I let smokers -- even those who are obviously coming down with something -- take hits off my rigs. And I never clean drip tips.

If you're using any significant percentage of propylene glycol in your e-liquid, remember that before the invention of micropore filters, many hospital ventilating systems (especially in ERs, ORs, ICUs, neo-natal wards, etc.) pumped lots of propylene glycol into the rooms. The stuff is an antibacterial and antiviral.

 

[Katmar]

I have definitely been LESS prone since I started vaping. No colds or other respiratory illnesses.

 

[Sir Pouncival]

I quit smoking and started vaping in October and caught that nasty virus that has been going around mid-December. Instead of getting bronchitis and coughing up a lung for three weeks or more, I got a mild cough for a few days. I never got the quitter's cough when I quit smoking. I noticed that when I did start coughing with this virus, I coughed up a bunch of phlegm that had those little black specks. It turned out to be a good thing because it cleared out all that old phlegm that was stuck in my lungs. I still cough up a little bit of that tainted phlegm during my morning showers. I haven't been diagnosed with asthma or COPD yet, so for people like me who are relatively healthy otherwise, I don't think vaping causes an increased risk for respiratory infection. However, I do believe that individuals with respiratory diseases can be sensitive to the components of the juices and in those cases vaping could make any exacerbation of the disease worse.