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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Hi.... There Are Literally Thousands Of Anecdotal Stories Of Rashes

Hi....

There are literally thousands of anecdotal stories of rashes being associated with smoking cessation, rashes which medical professionals declare to be everything from contact dermatitis to various forms of eczema. They prescribe expensive creams, antibiotics, and restrictive diets/soaps and lotions.

I am one of their victims.

I quit smoking some four months ago. I simply decided that I would use e-cigs and various fluids to step-down the nicotine level, until I can successfully quit all nicotine. I began with the nicotine level fluid of the light cigarettes, to which I was accustomed. This went on for some two months, with great results.

Then I stepped down a nicotine level. Same brand (V2). Same flavor (black tobacco). Then holy hell broke out on my skin a week later....like I was wearing a crusty goosebump shirt, from nest to sleeve, front and back of torso, with a bit creeping up my neck and onto my lower left jaw.

As it erupted, all in one day. It prickled and stang. Sometimes it itched. Sometimes it itched a lot. Most of the time, it just felt li,e I was forming a shell over my existing skin. And the process was most uncomfortable.

I did scratch, which resulted in some blisters, puss-filled pores, pinprick in size. The doctor actually complained how small they were and poked each with a sterilized needle and swabbed for some ten minutes. Lab results? Infection present, cause unknown. They gave me antibiotics, taken for seven days. These temporarily cleared up the micro-blisters. The rash spread on to the legs, unimpeded. I was prescribed several creams, the last prescription costing $846. It did nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I still have the shirt rash, each bump literally looking like a goosebumps, with every last pore on my upper body involved, but crusty to the touch. My legs look more like angry hives.

Like many others, I am going to switch to full VG, to see if I am allergic to PG with my e-cig, but I am beginning to suspect that I earned this hell by smoking, period. So many stories of people saying it takes up to a full year for this rash to go away, not due to e-cigs, but because of quitting traditional cigarette smoking. I do hope this is the case, because I can take it if I earned it. I only wish I could know if it is a new allergy with certainty.

What tests exist to discover (specific medical codes) for allergies to proline glycol and vegetable glycerin?

Knowing would be a great weight off my mind, as I can intellectually tolerate detox, but not entertain gradual progression toward anaphylactic shock.
posted on Mon, 18 Jan 2016
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