Psoriasis and vaping?

[Nickt1970]

I am desperate for anyone who suffers from moderate to severe Psoriasis to share their thoughts on the effect switching to vaping from cigarettes has had on their condition. There doesn't seem to be much information available on this subject, either on ECF or the Internet in general, but surely there must be others like me who's psoriasis has been effected by quitting analogues? My experience so far after 3 months exclusive vaping leaves me a bit confused. I have suffered from Psoriasis for 13 years now, with it increasing in severity with every passing year. However, after changing career 18 months ago I had seen a huge improvement in my P, to the point that about 5 months ago I was almost completely clear for the first time in 13 years. Clearly, removing myself from a stressful (catering) career and starting a gardening business had been a smart move. However, having stopped smoking 3 months ago and switched to vaping I have been surprised to see a rapid increase in my P, which had returned with painful severity. In fact I would go so far as to say the patches that have returned are intensely painful, red raw, and more itchy than ever before. So, here's my dilemma, could vaping be the culprit, either the PG or flavourings? In the interest of science I even did a patch test on my arm with pure PG to see if I might be allergic to it but the result was negative. I really hope that vaping is not to blame, so I've made this post in desperation to try to get some answers. Please share your thoughts.

Thanks, Nick

 

[Sad Society]

I wont post a long answer since I'm on my phone. But I have psoriasis and its no where near better than it was before. Cigarettes or vaping ....nicotine can be a factor in flare ups. And it isn't good for psoriasis. If you have VG you can put that on your skin and in your eliquid. But creams and moisturizers made to help psoriasis is only temporary. It all has to do with diet and what you put into your body. Bottom line...you can switch juices VG PG but it wont help unless you go with zero nicotine. And that wont even completely clear your skin. Sorry to say since there is no definitive cure.

 

[Oomee]

You did say that stress is a big trigger for flare-ups , and giving up the ciggies can be very stressful .

 

[Caridwen]

Here's a couple threads, I posted in them as well:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/health-safety-e-smoking/2301-psoriasis-e-smoking.html

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/health-safety-e-smoking/403210-psoriasis-pg-vg-content.html

You might get some antidotal stories, but I don't think anyone knows. Your body goes through a lot of changes when you quit smoking. Could be from that -

I'll move this to Health.

 

[CRkfx1]

Not sure about Psoriasis, but I've noticed a reduction in my skin related ailments, specifically facial acne.

When I smoked analogs, any infection on my face seemed to last for weeks. Since I've been vaping, the outbreaks have greatly diminished and those that do appear, recede within a day or two. In my completely amateurish opinion, I feel this is attributable to the smoke residue that analogs left on my face would cause infections. In contrast, the antiseptic qualities propylene glycol around my face seem to heal infections.

As to the psoriasis, the recurrence since you began vaping may be due to the dehydration factor. Do you find yourself needing to use lip balm even on humid days? Or feel abnormally lethargic on very hot days? Do you have extreme dry-mouth when vaping? Then you might need to increase your water intake. I average about 1.5 gallons a day, much more if I venture outdoors on hot days. From what I've read, vaping sucks a lot of moisture from your body.

Hope this helps
-CRk

 

[gmb225]

i have eczema. started long before i started vaping. i go through flare ups that sometimes takes steroids to calm it down. its an auto immune disease, cant blame vaping on it. only thing ive ever found that helps is to put mineral oil on the spots daily especially after getting out of shower. helps more than anything to control itching and discomfort. scratching just makes it worse.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

You need to go see your doctor and discuss the impacts of quitting smoking on your condition.

That said, weeks after I quit smoking completely, I got a nasty case of the "quit zits." I had moderate acne when I was a teenager that went away as I got older. But at age 50, when I quit smoking, it came back with a vengeance.

So too did my nasal allergies. As a kid, I was allergic to the pollen of trees, grasses and weeds. That has also come back with a vengeance.

My doctor congratulated me on quitting and told me that I needed to make sure to stay hydrated.

 

[Dieseler]

Wife had it "severe" for many years when on analogs and it still was there when vaping last 2 years.
What helped her clear it up and i suggest ask your Doctor if your "serious" about clearing it up
is a product called Stelara in form of shots.

But one has to stick with the shot program @ 1 shot once a very week or 2 week intervals (forget) for period of time then once only every 3-4 months as it builds up in your body your problem dissipates greatly.
Side effect are different for everyone i imagine hers were some headaches at first but no more now.

Worked for her and our insurance covers it.
Best Luck.

 

[Davetampa]

I used to have it...when I started using "TGel" shampoo (the newtar" version) it disappeared quickly.

 

[vapero]

I have it also and have not seen real changes either way when switching from analogs to vaping

 

[stevegmu]

I have had psoriasis for 13 years- always had it, actually, but the symptoms first appeared 13 years ago. In the 4 months since I quit smoking, it has cleared up to the point I only go to UV lightbox treatment once a week, vs. twice. Nicotine is bad for P and I'm getting far less vaping than I did smoking. I have also begun a healthy living and diet program. I have reduced strength to 18 mg from 24 and plan on working my way down to 12 in the next couple months.

I have great insurance, so have been able to try virtually everything on the market, as far as creams. The ones I have found to work are Triamcinolone, Halog and Taclonex. If I get a flare up, I get shots of cortizone in the areas. Uncomfortable, but extremely effective.

UV treatment is what really made the difference for me. Many dermatologists don't have lightbox booths, as they are very expensive and many insurance programs don't cover the treatment, however. It is really the only treatment I have found to work, to the point I'm basically in remission and go once a week as maintenance, not so much need.

From everything I have read about immunosuppressants, and from what my dermatologist has told me, I'll never use them. They are proven to work, but the possible long term side effects aren't worth it, for me.

As mentioned, diet is very important. Artificial food colorings, especially reds and yellows are bad for P.

 

[Nickt1970]

Thanks for your reply, it prompted me to do some research on the Internet, and yes, I think you're right about nicotine being the culprit. I started vaping on 36mg, down to 24 now but i'm still probably getting way more nic than from smoking. There's enough research to suggest that nicotine replacement therapies and psoriasis don't mix, even the patch and gum manufacturers guidelines say to avoid their products if you suffer from psoriasis.
The lack of a cure shouldn't discourage us from making lifestyle choices to help our condition. In my case, by de stressing my life as much as possible and cutting down on alcohol the improvement in my P was nothing short of miraculous. I thought that quitting smoking would help too, but sadly it seems I was wrong! It looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and quit vaping now, I just can't bear the thought of my P returning to how it was.
Again, thanks for the info.

 

[Sad Society]

If you think you're getting more nic from vaping than smoking than cut down even more. I use 12mg nic

Check out a product called MG217. They have coal tar shampoo and coal tar ointment. The ointment is like Vaseline with coal tar added. And you have to be consistent in applying the product. You really won't see results happen overnight. But in one or two weeks you will see improvement with constant use. Even if you are applying only once a day. I apply once a day before bed.

I don't know if the product is available where you are at, but it can be had on the internet. MG217 has low coal tar, only 3%. The highest they can legally put in the product where I live.

Based on where you are at...you can probably 'legally' get products with a higher coal tar content (but not MG217). But be careful since studies have shown coal tar to be a risk for cancer. But highly unlikely if used right, and in low doses. The reason being, after using coal tar, that part of your skin where applied is more sensitive to the sun and tanning beds.

This is not a cure. But a way to keep psoriasis under control.

 

[stumpfreeman]

I have moderate guttate P. I have read that nic does affect P, but have realized that alcohol is the main culprit for me and flair ups. Vaping seemed to reduce the frequency of my flairs and actually help me stay clear. Although, I am getting way less nic than I was before the switch. If you don't drink alcohol, maybe it is the nic, those are pretty strong liquids your using. I am at 12mg and looking to go down to 8mg.

 

[Nickt1970]

I'm only just starting to realise just how much nic I was getting when I switched. 25-30 Marlborough Reds a day, so 30mg nic? But I was vaping 5+ ml of 36mg, thats 180mg of potential nic, even at 50% uptake that's a shed load of nic! So if the link between nic and Psoriasis is true, it's a wonder I'm not in hospital.
Alcohol is a big factor in my flare ups too, so I've tried a two pronged attack this week, no alcohol and stepped down nic to 4ml of 12mg a day, just the occasional blast of 24. So far so good, the P has flared down quite a bit, so I'm going to push on and try and get down to 6mg ASAP. I have to say, reducing nic strength was a lot easier than I imagined, I still get a good hit off 12mg, just wondering how low I can go now.
Aside from the effects of nic on P, the biggest lesson I've learnt from my experience so far is, don't be too quick to start with too high a nic content when you quit analogues, some of the withdrawl symptoms are nothing to do with the nic, just all the other crap in cigarettes.

 

[retired1]

The only thing that has worked on mine is Taclonex, which is bloody expensive without insurance. I've cut down to 6mg on my nicotine content in my juice with no noticeable difference (started out at 24mg).

As for the shots. No way. Not after reading the possible side effects.

 

[SharonH]

I have moderate P. In the past several years, the only time it COMPLETELY cleared up for me on it's own was when I got legionellis and went from smoking 40-45/day to 0-3 a day for a month. As soon as I started vaping around 12 weeks ago and cut back on analogs, it started to clear up. The lower my analog count is, the better P is. Since starting vaping, I have not had to use any prescription creams and just used regular aloe vera skin cream to keep it under control. I am vaping 100% VG or pretty close to it.

Personally, I don't believe nicotine is the culprit but all of the other junk in analogs.

As was mentioned, stress is a huge factor as well as diet. I avoid processed foods almost entirely - especially things with nitro in them. Nitro seems to cause flare-ups for me. Too much acids (fruit/juices/tomatoes) can also cause issues for me. If I didn't eat clean and was still smoking analogs like I was before, I KNOW it would be in the severe category. I really believe that we can control P almost 100% by what we do to our body and by managing stress well.

Caridwen - read your comments in other thread. P seems to come up where you have had skin damage. I got it when I had my carpets cleaned and was on knees to play a video game and didn't realize it mustn't have been dry. It caused skin damage on knees and feet and boom - P kicked in. Dermatologist said it's usually some kind of skin trauma for those of us who get it when we're past teen years that will trigger it.

 

[voltaire64]

Here's an interesting piece on nicotine and psoriasis. For the record, I developed psoriasis @ 26 years old and was a smoker. Switching to a vaporizer has had no effect positive or negative.
http://www.psorsite.com/docs/smoking.html