PG causing sinus irritation?

[varitablevoltage]

I developed sinus problems during the tail end of my smoking days. Smoking caused my sinuses to swell or otherwise feel stuffed up. The problem has died down a bit when I switched to an e-cigarette but I still finding my sinuses getting a little stuffed up when vaping. Now, it could be just a condition that hasn't repaired itself yet from my quitting smoking, something I gotta see a doctor about, but I am wondering if possible that I may be allergic to PG and that the irritation is effecting my sinuses the same way as when I smoked.

Might as well ask here too. The residual feeling in the throat, kinda like what it feels the day before you get a cold, I get from vaping a certain amount, is that the nicotine in the juice?

 

[Wiz62]

hmmmm, allergic to nicotine maybe? maybe try some 0mg nic to see if you get the same reaction? (just a guess)

 

[varitablevoltage]

Hmm...That's a possibility. Though I smoked for years before the sinus problems started up.

 

[Dbailey]

Sounds like a pg issue. Most people I know that have light pg issues can do 50/50. Keep yourself very hydrated while vaping. This will help also if its an allergic thing.

 

[xb9rguy]

Do you use straight PG juice or is it a mix of PG and VG? I know I usually use a 70PG to 30VG ratio and just swiched to 50/50 just to try it and feel like it's drying my sinuses up more, that or I'm just getting sick. Either way though try different mixtures and levels of nicotine like the others said. But if you are using a PG/VG mix it could also be the VG doing it. Wether I'm getting a cold or not I will be going back to 70/30 when I get done with this 50/50 that I have.

 

[flowerchild]

I have a pg allergy it gives me a sinus infection and a headache that would knock over a bull. As i live in NZ and vapeing isnt common here no doc could tell me if it was vapeing causing it as none of them had ever heard of an electronic cigarette.I had back surgery at the beginning of the year and i see a surgeon once every month and various docs/nurses not 1 of them had heard of vapeing so I had to self diagnose and trial and error of juices found the cause of my problem. As your symptoms started before you started vapeing it couldnt be PG but maybe it aggrivated it. I would suggest going to a doctor as nobody here can tell you whats wrong everybody would be throwing in a guess. Let us know how you get on.
Welcome to ECF and good luck with your journey

 

[Dbailey]

Do you use straight PG juice or is it a mix of PG and VG? I know I usually use a 70PG to 30VG ratio and just swiched to 50/50 just to try it and feel like it's drying my sinuses up more, that or I'm just getting sick. Either way though try different mixtures and levels of nicotine like the others said. But if you are using a PG/VG mix it could also be the VG doing it. Wether I'm getting a cold or not I will be going back to 70/30 when I get done with this 50/50 that I have.

Vg does tend to dry me out. I drink lots of fluids. Seems like im used to it now. Almost 2 years of high vg.

 

[KerryK]

I do suffer from nasal irritation from vaping as well. I stay hydrated and use a nasal moisturizer to flush and hydrate my nasal passages, helps. If it gets too bad I go on nic gum for a couple days and give vaping a rest.

 

[Dbailey]

Well like flowerchild said, might check in with the Doc and make sure its all good.

 

[NanW]

Hello and welcome to ECF, and a huge congrats on getting off the stinkies!!!!! I have a few thoughts on your experience and hope some or any of what I share helps.

Since the problem was there before you started vaping it is possible that there is another cause or maybe residual from the ciggies. Have you looked up the things that the body goes through when stopping the cigs? You will experience a lot of physical, and maybe even mental, changes over the next few weeks or even months. Often these changes or experiences have nothing to do with the e-cig at all, but because it is the newest thing it is the most looked at.

A few weeks in I got the worst sore throat ever, first thing I thought was oh maybe I'm getting sick. Then I did some research, found out it is a common side effect of getting off the cigs. Then realized that I was also not drinking enough water. So grabbed some cough drops and drank more water, problem solved and my ecig was wonderful again.

My point is, it may not be the ecig or the pg.

 

[vsummer1]

Welcome to ECF. There is a trial and error period on vaping, you will find the right set up and the right juice though. I hope you find your perfect set up sooner than I did, and having come here is a great start! There are so many helpful people here.

I had the exact same problem from cigarettes, and was okay when I first started vaping but quickly found out that I needed a lower PG. I am okay with 50/50, or 30/70. If I vape a juice over that, I really load up on the water or I get that "fullness" feeling. But there is a flavor I truly LOVE and it is a proprietary mix so I have no way of knowing the PG ratio. When I vape that, I rotate it with others and drink a bit more water

I drink 2 to 3 liters of water a day. Problem solved! Sometimes when I don't drink enough it returns and I know I need to drink more. I certainly wouldn't want to tell you to not see a doctor, as I have no way of knowing the extent of your sinus problems, so if you feel it may be an infection, you need to be seen.

 

[varitablevoltage]

Hey thanks for the replies. I'm gonna go see a doc about it. Most definitely the issue started due to smoking and perhaps working in an autoshop with fumes for a period, I might have harmed my sinuses or developed a sensitivity. Smoking would congest me, one of the reasons I quit. I still notice I get a little congested when vaping, maybe I just need to heal up some more from smoking. I was just curious if PG might cause my sinuses to flare up. I am gonna try a 50/50 mix (been on 70/30 mix) and see what happens. Also gonna go down to 6mg of nicotine from 12-18mg.

As for the throat feeling, not sure what that subtle feeling is. Dryness or...I dunno. I only notice when "heavy" vaping. When I try the 50/50 and the low nic perhaps I will see if that is related. On a side note, shouldn't vaporizing be more...hydrating?

 

[Ray D]

Hey thanks for the replies. I'm gonna go see a doc about it. Most definitely the issue started due to smoking and perhaps working in an autoshop with fumes for a period, I might have harmed my sinuses or developed a sensitivity. Smoking would congest me, one of the reasons I quit. I still notice I get a little congested when vaping, maybe I just need to heal up some more from smoking. I was just curious if PG might cause my sinuses to flare up. I am gonna try a 50/50 mix (been on 70/30 mix) and see what happens. Also gonna go down to 6mg of nicotine from 12-18mg.

As for the throat feeling, not sure what that subtle feeling is. Dryness or...I dunno. I only notice when "heavy" vaping. When I try the 50/50 and the low nic perhaps I will see if that is related. On a side note, shouldn't vaporizing be more...hydrating?

Vaping draws moisture out of you. It's dehydrating. That's why you need to drink a lot, especially if chain vaping.

If I don't keep myself hydrated, my throat will get a soreness/dryness to it, and my mucous membranes and linings of my nose and sinus will dry out like the Saraha. This may be the cause of your problems. Avoid exhaling through your nose for a while and pound the fluids. See if that helps.

 

[synthsiggy]

If what you're doing is vapin pg then the irritation is from that right !. Pg is also responsible for the throat hit you're experiencing. People get the same symptoms from theatrical smoke/fog machines. A reasonably good throat hit can be achieved from vegetable glycerine/glycerol aqueous or otherwise. Though some people say vg is either too sweet or too thick or both. Vg can cause the coil to clog but this doesn't happen for a few days and even then just rinse it out. You could try mixing the two together until you get the right balance that suits you. With the right hardware and enough volts a good throat hit can be achieved with vg. Plus it provides a lot more vapour than propylene glycol. Try mixing 70% vg with 30%pg. 70% for the vapour and the 30% for the throat hit. If that doesn't work stick with vg and boost it with more volts. You will not get any irritation vaping vg.

 

[synthsiggy]

i personally use 100% vg 4.5%mg nicotine. Don't get any problems. Try pure vg. I guarantee it will cure all your ills.

 

[yzer]

I had problems with sinus irritation last summer. It was caused by either PG or flavoring additives in the e-juice. I eliminated both and the problem went away.

Vaping will dry you out, especially during the first couple of weeks and especially the mouth, throat and nasal sinuses. The solution is to hydrate more often: drink more fluids. After a few weeks this problem may lessen as the body gets accustomed to vaping.

In the OP you said you were experiencing the sinus problem when you smoked and before you started vaping. That's the clue that something else may be going on.

It's good that you are seeing a doctor about the sinus problem. It could be caused by any number of things from allergies to a sinus infection to dental problems requiring a root canal.

 

[ajventi]

I had a similar experience when I started out, I also had just been coming off a bad sinus condition, and in the first week my sinuses got very congested. I don't think the vaping was totally to blame, although I do think it aggrevated the condition. I know when I started I was exhaling through my nose, and I began to minimize that. I also wasn't hydrating enough, and have gotten into the habit of always having a glass of water nearby. I think to some extent there's an adjustment your body makes from being used to the smoke you had been taking into your mouth, lungs and nose to the different chemistry of the vapor. It's probably quite a shock to your system. I wouldn't be suprised if there's a small amount of reactivity from the tar in your system as well.

On a side note, I've been fighting a cold all week. When I was a smoker my average cold would end with a bout of bronchitis that sometimes lingered for weeks. Yesterday the cold dropped to my lungs and I had a bad day of coughing things up, but it feels like today it's already finished, and that would have never happened when I was smoking.

 

[varitablevoltage]

As an update. Haven't seen the doc yet but I did start using a kind of sinus wash I bought at the drug store which hydrates and moisturizes the sinuses. That has helped considerably. By Monday I got some 50/50 6mg juice coming in so I'll see if that helps. I think I just need to keep experimenting. I think smoking made my sinus glands super sensitive and they are still healing.

 

[PapawBrett]

I once broke my nose (in Barcelona) and reset it myself while still drunk on spanish rum. The next day the doctors said they couldn't do a better job, but I've had sinus problems ever since. 40 Years of smoking didn't help. I've had sinus surgery, use Flonaise and Cleratin, and have to be careful around dusty/ industrial areas. For me personally, I try to keep the PG at a max 30%. 30/70 PG/VG or even 20/80 PG/VG seems to help prevent my allergies from flaring up. I try to avoid Vendors who will not work with me in this regard. There have been a few "Gotta Try...." juices I've tried anyways, and if the PG is higher I can tell one the first vape by the throat irritation and immediate swelling in my sinuses. Based on my personal experiences, I would say try a few 100% VG vendors (HHV, VV, HB and others) and then ease back into a mixture that you're comfortable with. But that's just based on my experiences.....

 

[jayscott]

I have had sinus problems my whole life. Smoking im sure made them worse and vaping does tend to aggravate them. I spoke to my doctor and he said I should use a saline nasal spray. Haven't gotten around to buying it yet, but i've found that never blowing vape through the nose like cig smoke has helped a bit.