got a cold, and a question

[AndriaD]

Well, I've got what seems to be a cold, to judge from the usual headcold symptoms. My question is about PG. Lately I've been vaping a very high level of PG, 90%, because of a bad reaction I had from an ejuice over the last few weeks, with my breathing getting worse and worse, so I finally stopped vaping that juice, and have been vaping high PG to give my lungs a break -- I discovered a while back that my lungs respond much better to PG than to any level of VG over 25%. However, since I've had this cold, I've had the most ungodly sore throat, very red (I don't have tonsils, so can't tell anything about them), and the inside of my nose has been ungodly sore, and bleeding quite often after I blow my nose -- which naturally I have to do a lot, having a cold.

I'm wondering, could this high level of PG, coupled with the irritation of the cold, cause this sore throat, sore nose/sinuses, and nosebleeds? I'm not running a fever, so I doubt very seriously there is any reason to suspect strep, because otherwise the red, irritated throat would be very worrisome. I'm thinking maybe I'm noticing the throat/sinus/nose problems more, because I don't have the usual deep chest cough that I always got when I had a cold as a smoker -- my lungs are fine, it's just hell from the neck up. And also concerned that maybe my high PG level is irritating further, mucous membranes that are already quite irritated from the cold. I've added a bit of VG to the juice I'm currently vaping, to bring the level to 80PG/20VG -- I still don't want to vape much VG, because it causes so much trouble with my lungs, but I thought it was worth trying just lowering the extremely high PG level a little.

Any thoughts?

Thx!
Andria

 

[Katmar]

Well, I've got what seems to be a cold, to judge from the usual headcold symptoms. My question is about PG. Lately I've been vaping a very high level of PG, 90%, because of a bad reaction I had from an ejuice over the last few weeks, with my breathing getting worse and worse, so I finally stopped vaping that juice, and have been vaping high PG to give my lungs a break -- I discovered a while back that my lungs respond much better to PG than to any level of VG over 25%. However, since I've had this cold, I've had the most ungodly sore throat, very red (I don't have tonsils, so can't tell anything about them), and the inside of my nose has been ungodly sore, and bleeding quite often after I blow my nose -- which naturally I have to do a lot, having a cold.

I'm wondering, could this high level of PG, coupled with the irritation of the cold, cause this sore throat, sore nose/sinuses, and nosebleeds? I'm not running a fever, so I doubt very seriously there is any reason to suspect strep, because otherwise the red, irritated throat would be very worrisome. I'm thinking maybe I'm noticing the throat/sinus/nose problems more, because I don't have the usual deep chest cough that I always got when I had a cold as a smoker -- my lungs are fine, it's just hell from the neck up. And also concerned that maybe my high PG level is irritating further, mucous membranes that are already quite irritated from the cold. I've added a bit of VG to the juice I'm currently vaping, to bring the level to 80PG/20VG -- I still don't want to vape much VG, because it causes so much trouble with my lungs, but I thought it was worth trying just lowering the extremely high PG level a little.

Any thoughts?

Thx!
Andria

It sounds like the drying effects of PG are irritating your nose and throat. Not much you can do, since you don't want to increase the VG, which I don't blame you. Maybe try to vape less for the duration of the cold. Hope you feel better soon.

 

[AndriaD]

Well as I said, last night I did add a bit more VG, to bring it to 80PG/20VG, instead of 90/10, and it did seem a bit more soothing.

I could tell when I woke that my throat wasn't *quite* so sore, so I'm hoping this mess will be gone in a few more days. I've always said that a cold is the least sick to feel the most awful -- and I really don't even *feel* bad, especially since I'm not coughing up a lung every 10 minutes like I used to do with colds -- it's just this soreness in my throat and sinuses and nose, and the nose bleeds, ugh.

I'm keeping some water steaming on the stove; some *good* vapor with no PG in it at all! It also keeps it warmer in here with the higher humidity, so I don't have to use the furnace and further dry out my nose and sinuses.

I guess now it's just a matter of waiting for this dreck to take a hike. *sigh*

Andria

 

[abpigdoc]

Just a thought, Andria, it might be helpful to get an actual vaporizer, and set up a "vape room", see if that helps.

 

[AndriaD]

Just a thought, Andria, it might be helpful to get an actual vaporizer, and set up a "vape room", see if that helps.

Hmmm... I used to have one, but during one of our moves, I think we trashed it, it got kinda moldy. Right now just keeping the water going on the stove seems to be helping -- I put some salt in the water, too -- and I definitely think the 80/20 mix is better than the 90/10 mix, my throat isn't nearly as sore today as it was yesterday, and my nose/sinuses don't hurt so badly. I think I'm pretty much on the down-slope of the cold, I first started feeling it about Friday, last week. And since I'm not having that awful chest-cold complication, it probably won't take nearly as long to take a hike as in years past, when I smoked.

Thx!
Andria

 

[Maiar]

I recomend nasal irrigation. You can get spray bottles of saline solution at any pharmacy. Keeps everything in your head all nice and moisturized. If you're cheap like me though, you can make your own saline at home with basically salt and baking soda.
I had severe nasal problems when i was a kid and the ENT recommended the homemade stuff. I just keep refilling the bottles i bought with homemade stuff.

 

[AndriaD]

Well, I'm delighted to report that the cold is definitely on the way out. And apparently adding just that tiny bit more of VG helped a great deal, my throat soreness is almost entirely gone, but last night I was wheezing a bit so I had to go back to about 85% PG. The 90% PG wasn't hurting either my throat or sinuses until the cold set in, so apparently the soreness was just because of the combination of irritants, the cold and the high PG. But it's good to know what my own limits are, since I do have to stick to high-PG vaping.

I'm kinda cheap, mostly broke, and pretty much lazy. We have a whole-house water purification system, with a further reverse-osmosis tap at our kitchen sink... this week I've just been running that over my little finger, and "snorting" up droplets of purified water, until I can feel it running down the back of my throat -- probably not as good as saline, but it served to at least keep it moist in there, and get it moving (along with the sudafed I've been taking, and drinking more water).

Keeping that water steaming on the stove has helped a great deal in keeping the air more humid, a direct moistening of the air I'm breathing, and that is also helping by the humidity keeping it warmer so I don't need to run the furnace so much, which was just drying the air and making the sinus problem worse. I may keep doing that thru the winter anytime the temp gets pretty low, just because the PG is very drying and potentially irritating to my sinuses; it should also help us keep the gas bill low, by not needing to run the furnace so much; I doubt if the small amount of electricity to keep the water just at the steaming temp will be very costly.

Thx!
Andria

 

[ABx009]

I recomend nasal irrigation. You can get spray bottles of saline solution at any pharmacy. Keeps everything in your head all nice and moisturized. If you're cheap like me though, you can make your own saline at home with basically salt and baking soda.
I had severe nasal problems when i was a kid and the ENT recommended the homemade stuff. I just keep refilling the bottles i bought with homemade stuff.

However, there have been problems with people using tap water in Neti pots getting unusual infections (like amoeba infection). If you're going to DIY, you should make sure to get distilled water. I sometimes get the saline spray for allergies, though, and found that the Rite Aid store brand sold for a little more than a dollar.

I hesitate to mention this, because it's purely anecdotal and I don't know if it would apply, but every year I would have horribly chapped lips for the entire winter until I got some vitamin E. I only take them at the first sign of chapped lips, but it only takes a day or two to clear up and then I stop taking them. The chapping was definitely due to environmental factors (bus commute, going out to smoke, smoking), but seemed to give my body what it needed to repair. There might be other stuff that would help as well, but I try to take a very conservative stance with supplements due to some of the bad stuff that goes on with them, but your doctor might have some recommendations (when I found out that a medication interfered with a particular mineral, my doctor responded: "Oh! Yeah, you should probably take x, y, and z" -- they often forget about that stuff.)