Very Scary and severe reaction to 100%Vg juice after thinking I was allergic to Pg

[Flat5ths]

I have been vaping for about a year now. Started with V2 e cigs, but I now use VW mod with iclears. Been vaping BWB juices, mostly casablanca 70pg/30vg, for over 9 months. About 2-3 months ago I started getting hives regularly.. couple times a week to almost every night. Could not figure out what the cause was. Didn't suspect the juice at first because I had been vaping for almost a year without any problems. When I recently upgraded to a VW mod and in turn upped my vaping the hives got worse, and so my research led me to the threads with users saying they had allergies develop over time to e juice.. pg in particular. I was then starting to feel convinced Pg was the problem. I ordered a sampler from one of the most well known 100%Vg juice vendors. Received the package last week. Loaded a tank of GJ into the iclear.. took about 5 pulls. Loved the taste and flavor. Then switched to BB.. took another 5 pulls.. about 10 min had passed I knew something wasn't right. I notice a few hives were popping up. Started to feel very light-headed, and vision was becoming blurry. Started feeling very disoriented, couldn't think straight. Started noticing my throat tightening up, becoming difficult to swallow. I have never had anything like this happen to me in the past so I was extremely confused. I hop in the car and rush to CVS for Benedryl. I'm walking in the store trying to find the right isle and feeling like I'm about to fall out. I'm really starting to think I might need to get to a hospital at this point. I grab the Benedryl and a bottle water and dose myself before I get up to the register. Went out to the car, and waited to see if things would get better or worse. About 15-20 min goes by my throat starts to open back up so I start to calm down. Major symptoms are gone about an hour or two later.

So this was a scary experience for me. I have never been allergic to anything that I know of other than Sulfa drugs, and certainly never had a reaction to anything like this. I can assume that I am having a reaction to the Vg?? That the 70/30Vg mix of the Casa I have been vaping for a while now is enough to cause hives, and that 100Vg is enough to send me into shock?? I have ordered 100%Pg sample to test.. am waiting for it to arrive tomorrow. I certainly do not want to give up vaping because I enjoy it very much, but this has been a traumatic experience, and I am now even more freaked about the hives alone than I was before this happened. Any help in this matter would be appreciated.

 

[happydave]

im not a doctor but you could be alergic to a number of things in e liquid could be the flavors, PG or VG or even nicotine. i would talk to a doctor about it.

 

[KjAthena]

please do not vape any juice until you see a DR and have an epi-pen handy. I myself have a mild allergic reaction high VG juices and it is not fun at all....sending good thoughts your way

 

[Rickajho]

There is no easy way to answer this. Allergic reaction to VG is very unusual. Not impossible, but the symptoms you are describing come up far more often with a PG allergic reaction.

It could also be an allergic reaction to a flavoring component. I never had allergies - until I was in my mid-forties. The only way to really rule things in or out here would be to get an unflavored liquid in your usual nic strength in 100 PG and one in 100 VG and... see a Doctor or Allergist before you even consider trying this. You had one of the most severe reactions I have run across here. You need to discuss this with an MD, preferably an Allergist, before proceeding with much of anything else.

 

[Nermal]

Agree with Athena. This sounds like a true allergic reaction, and could be serious. As happydave says, it could be a flavoring, but whatever it is, do stop.

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

Um..next time...hit 911 BEFORE all that...just imagine driving, airway closes up and you go unconscious at speed!!!??!?? When things are going squiffy like that have someone OTHER than yourself get you help, when your body goes into shock, impairment can make a bad situation MUCH MUCH worse...especially if noone knows you are in distress!

Take it slow and easy and be careful...having your throat close on you and cutting off your airway is a quick way to go bye bye!

Please be careful and if you think you have an allergy to something find out before it does bad things to you

Glad it all worked out well for you but driving while things are going bad isn't ever a good idea

Good luck, be safe ok

 

[Flat5ths]

thanks guys for the response. I absolutely need to see a doc about this. I certainly will not be vaping any of the juice that caused this ever again. Will a GP even be familiar enough with this context?

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

They can do allergy tests to determine if you are allergic to PG or VG

 

[Flat5ths]

WarHawk.. yes I realize all of that now. As I said I have never had a reaction to anything even close to what I was feeling so I was very confused. I was vaping Gorilla Juice, and Bobas for the first time... which are very popular and well documented online so I was very surprised. It didn't take much either, a couple of minutes vape time of each.

 

[Flat5ths]

Ok. that's good then. definitely will be tested. seems that it had to be the Vg if it was indeed the Pg or Vg

 

[Jonathan Tittle]

If you're breaking out in hives, a Dermatologist is probably who you need to see. They'll be able to recommend an allergy test. Simply let them know what you feel is causing the reaction and they can made a medical decision from there. If you're in an area where a doctor dictates who you see or where you go (i.e. you need a referral to see a dermatologist), visit your primary care physician and explain.

That said, before you continue to vape period, I would go get checked out. There's no need in you risking such extreme measures and you definitely don't need to be driving if you feel light-headed or as if you may pass out. If you can't drive, find someone to take you or, in the worst-case scenario, call 911 immediately. You could be allergic to PG, VG, Flavoring or, if there's something undisclosed, another chemical. A lab would be able to test your juice for certain chemicals that would pop up in an allergy test as well, though if they are willing to do that is up to the doctor.

Nothing personal, or against you, but as a fellow vaper, I'd urge you to goto a doctor or hospital when a medical condition arises. Too many people post on forums and while sharing is awesome! - it's not awesome to see anything happen to a fellow vaper, or anyone else for that matter and even if we did have a doctor on-board, the advice here is secondary and doesn't substitute for real-life, physical medical attention that a local doctor would be able to provide.


Take your health to heart and see what's going on . Hopefully it's nothing major and you can find out easily, then vape on as you would any other day!


Best of luck and let us know what the doctor(s) report.

 

[freeatlast!]

Scary, Flat5ths!! Please let us know what you find out!

 

[Rickajho]

thanks guys for the response. I absolutely need to see a doc about this. I certainly will not be vaping any of the juice that caused this ever again. Will a GP even be familiar enough with this context?

Unsure. When I brought up my allergic reaction to PG my Allergist was all too familiar with it. To an Allergist it's a fairly common allergy issue because PG is in a lot of consumer products. VG allergic reaction just isn't as common.

 

[Flat5ths]

I do understand the severity of the reaction.. It just feels like it came out of nowhere because I have been vaping successfully without issues for over a year now. I noticed hives appearing a couple of months ago (which have mostly just been a nusance in my mind), but just in the past couple weeks have made the connection with the juice. Certainly wasn't expecting this sudden reaction after vaping 100%Vg juice for 5 minutes.

 

[FlamingoTutu]

It sounds like you were going into anaphylaxis shock and there is a decent chance it will be worse next time. I’ve had severe allergies all my life and it’s no fun. I’m just guessing but I agree with the others, and will go further, it is probably something in the flavoring. I was sent a free sample lately that I never even opened. Had massive allergies for several weeks, Benadryl didn’t dent it in the least, until I saw the bottle sitting there one day on my desk. Put it in a ziplock and the symptoms started to go away. If I had vaped it, it would have sent me into immediate anaphylaxis shock or even killed me had I passed out before getting to an epi pen. They need to label the ingredients in the juices.

And allergist can do scratch tests to determine what you are allergic to. Please do not vape again until you have consulted with a doctor, even if it means going back to smoking. I really hope you get this sorted out quickly and that it is a flavoring component so you can quickly get back to happily vaping along.

And now you’ve said you will go to the doctor. Yay!

 

[Yakone]

Geez, scary story. Glad you're ok. Stock up on Benedryl, it's awesome stuff. You really should see you're DR. and run some tests. Be safe not sorry.

 

[NicoHolic]

Some insurance companies require your family doctor to refer you to a specialist such as an allergist. Glad it wasn't worse.

 

[vsummer1]

I do understand the severity of the reaction.. It just feels like it came out of nowhere because I have been vaping successfully without issues for over a year now. I noticed hives appearing a couple of months ago (which have mostly just been a nusance in my mind), but just in the past couple weeks have made the connection with the juice. Certainly wasn't expecting this sudden reaction after vaping 100%Vg juice for 5 minutes.

First off, you do not need a dermatologist as stated by someone above, you need an allergist. Second, that is how allergies work. Your body does not make antibodies to something until it has been exposed, so the first time you do something it won't affect you, it is the 2nd, or the 3rd, or the 100th, or the thousandth. An allergy can occur at any time when your body over reacts to something and makes antibodies, even something you encounter every day of your life with no problems. When you encounter the allergen the next time after you make the antibodies, your body declares war quickly upon the exposure (and your experience fits this scenario since it was so quick) and sometimes part of that is the massive histamine reaction you experienced and which we call anaphylaxis.

I have heard of both PG and VG sensitivities, but since your juice contains other things as well (such as flavorings and nicotine), the only way to tell would be to vape the VG ALONE and plain, and I would not recommend that at all! Ever. AFTER you have a doctor check you out and refer you to an allergist who can test you for it you may discover you are correct and it is VG but until it is proven it is best to just stop vaping. The juices that you reacted strongly too are completely VG as the maker has an allergy (severe, like yours) to PG and most flavors and juice were PG years ago when they started vaping. They created their business specifically due to PG allergy, so you can be sure there was no PG in the juice you tried if you ordered VG.

This could easily be life threatening, so I would not press your luck by tempting fate. In this extreme case it would seem cigarettes are a safer bet for you if you do have a nic fit and until you can verify with a doctor exactly what you are allergic to (VG or some unknown flavoring which you will never find out from a vendor).

Considering VG is used in many things, I would get this checked out ASAP so you do not expose yourself again.

 

[Steamix]

New VW mod ... may well be possible that pure VG at high wattage decomposes into something you're allergic to. VG has a boiling point similar to PG, but a small percentage of it starts to break down below that temperature... But no matter what, don't try to be your own guinea pig. That needs to be diagnosed before you go anywhere near your vaping gear. Not an easy thing to do, I'm sure.
Keep us posted. Luck.

 

[Rickajho]

WarHawk.. yes I realize all of that now. As I said I have never had a reaction to anything even close to what I was feeling so I was very confused. I was vaping Gorilla Juice, and Bobas for the first time... which are very popular and well documented online so I was very surprised. It didn't take much either, a couple of minutes vape time of each.

You did get the real stuff from the real vendor? Not the fake ripoff stuff that shows up at the top of a google search? Real stuff - 100 VG. Fake stuff - you just increased your PG content to 50%.