Hi CB and welcome to the thread. I am sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time with vaping, especially in the beginning. It does sound like you may have an allergy or sensitivity to PG. One of our regulars here, FL Lori has done a few Blogposts on PG allergy and has done quite a bit of research on it, since she has the same problem. Here is a link.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/fl-lori/4229-vg-based-juices.html She has more blog posts; you can access them from that link.
I vaped for just over 3 months with no problems until one day I tried a Vanilla Custard juice and after vaping it a while it felt like it was burning my mouth and throat. After a bit my throat started closing up. Yup, an allergic reaction. Quickly took 3 Benedryl and hoped it would calm down and stop. It took over 2 weeks of vaping straight vg and slowly introducing diluted juice to get back to regular vaping. I also discovered I have a sensitivity to cinnamon, can not vape it. It gives me a burning sensation but no burns or swelling. It took several months for my tastebuds to heal properly to where I was tasting flavors normally again. Nasty business and hard to track down the source. Any percentage of pg/vg does not bother me but high vg will give me a heavy feeling in my lungs/chest.
I have to avoid Vanilla Custards and any juice that has Diacetyl in it. Also have to avoid actetyl proprionyl, 2,3 pentaanedionne and acetoin which somehow break down into diacetyl. Many vendors will state they do not use Diacetyl but not disclose whether they use the other chemicals. You, the consumer, have to contact each vendor and ask. It has been stated in several threads and from several sources that if it is a custard or butter type flavor it has diacetyl or one of its substitutes in it. The people who have reactions is a small percentage. But it is something to be aware of.
With the cinnamon, my Dentist told me that cinnamon is an irritant. He has had many patients come in with burning sensations and he tells them to stop using cinnamon chewing gum, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. So it is an irritant and will bother some more than others.
I know of many vapers who use the custards and cinnamon juices with no problems. It may be an individual thing. But it is worth it to rule out those potential sources of your problem. Hives is one symptom, but I never got that symptom, I had the burning and swelling.
It can be a slow, annoying process of elimination. Keep notes and do not give up. You will figure it out eventually. My solution is that I deal with only a couple of vendors now that I trust to tell me the truth about whether their juices have these ingredients in them. If a vendor will not tell me if Cinnamon is in their Unicorn Poopie juice or in their Angel's Farts juice, then I do not do business with them. And you will run into vendors that will not tell. Some may not know because they do not know what is in what their supplier gives them.
Sounds like you need to install some GPS trackers.
