A WOMAN developed crusty, bleeding sores in her mouth, which were so painful she struggled to eat or drink.
While doctors initially thought she might have herpes, they concluded the oozing ulcers were caused by her year-long vaping habit.
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The 22-year-old visited the Department of Oral Medicine in Bandung, Indonesia, after suffering for a month.
She had crusts across her lips and a sore spot on the right corner of her mouth that often cracked and bled.
There were also a yellow-ish ulcers coating the inside her mouth, cheeks and tongue.
“She was a healthy individual, and before this condition appeared, she had no history of taking medications,” medics wrote in a paper published in the International Medical Cases Reports journal, nor did she have any drug or food allergies.
Doctors couldn’t find sores on other parts of the woman’s body and tested her for the herpes virus, which came back negative.
They eventually concluded that the patient was suffering from oral erythema multiforme – a skin condition considered to be an allergic reaction to an infection or some medicines – most likely caused by vaping.
“The condition appears to be related to an allergy to vaping in an active vape user, which has never been recorded, making it a rare case,” the authors said.
Erythema multiforme is estimated to occur in less than one per cent of people aged 20 to 40 years, but tends to be chronic and has a 37 per cent chance of reoccurring.
The conditions begins as red or pink spots that become crusty lesions, leaving sufferers with burning pain or itching.
The rash usually appears on hands and feet, and spreads to the tummy, chest, back or face.
It usually gets better on its own within two to four weeks.
It rarely affects the mouth, and it’s even rarer for it to be caused by e-cigs, the report authors said.
According to NHS, the condition is most often caused by the herpes simplex virus, which is also behind cold sores.
It can also sometimes be caused by some vaccines or medicines such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antibiotics, statins and medicines for epilepsy.
The young woman in question had never smoked cigarettes before picking up her vaping habit a year prior to visiting specialists with her agonising symptoms.
“She said the reason for trying vaping was out of curiosity, and she quite often tried different types of e-liquid with different flavours,” medics handling her care wrote.
“She vapes almost every day, but not all day, only in her free time or with friends.”
Smoking vs. vaping
VAPING has been touted as an effective tool to help people quit smoking.
Though vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking, the habit isn’t completely harmless and comes with its own set of risks.
The NHS only recommends it for adult smokers, to support quitting smoking.
GP and author Dr Philippa Kaye explained to The Sun that the differences between vaping and smoking – and whether one is better than the other – is “complicated”.
“In a nutshell, vaping is better than smoking, but breathing air is better than vaping at all.”
Vaping exposes users to far fewer toxins – and at lower levels – than smoking cigarettes.
Switching to vaping significantly reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease, and diseases of the heart and circulation like heart attack and stroke.
These diseases are not caused by nicotine, which is relatively harmless to health.
But research has still linked vaping to a higher risk of failure and lung disease.
Health risks of cigarettes
- Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer
- Smokers are at greater risk for diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels
- Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs
- Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body
- It affects overall health too, such as your mouth, eyes, immune system and fertility
Health risks of vaping
- They can cause side effects such as throat and mouth irritation, headache, cough and feeling sick
- They could lead to tooth decay
- They could damage heart health
- They could cause lung disease
- They could slow brain development
Read more on how vaping can affect your health here.
Sources: NHS, CDC
Doctors thought her skin flare up might have been caused by switching to a different vape flavour, but they still advised that she give up e-cigs altogether.
They also told the woman to avoid food containing monosodium glutamate (MSG).
The patient’s case was considered a “mild” form of erythema multiforme and she was given a steroid mouthwash, as well as a solution to apply to her lips three times a day with gauze.
She was also sent home with a cream to apply to the wound area on the side of her mouth and told to apply Vaseline to her dry lips throughout the day.
The 22-year-old’s symptoms improved after a just one week of treatment.
Study authors said vapes seem to have “significant effects on oral health”, causing dry mouth, oral thrush, lesions, bad breath and even gum disease.
Vapes have been hailed miracle devices to help people quit tobacco and it should be noted that they are substantially less harmful that cigarettes.
But the devices have still been linked to a number of negative health side effects.
Scientists recently warned that vaping could damage your heart even if you have never smoked cigarettes, raising the risk of heart failure by 19 per cent.
The American Heart Association (AHA) previously said some of the chemicals found in vapes can be damaging to the heart, saying the habit may be “as harmful to the body’s cardiovascular systems as cigarettes”.
It’s not the only part of the body that could be damaged by e-cigs, with scientists linking the devices to breathing difficulties, bronchitis, inflammation of the airways and lung disease.
The government this year announced plans to ban disposable vapes and curb flavours aimed at appealing kids, aiming to roll them out by April 1, 2025, in a effort reduce the amounts of teens using them.
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