I don’t know about you, but when I was smoker – smoking while sick was brutal!
No matter how sick I was I would still manage to have a few smokes during the day, even if it destroyed my throat, made me light headed, or even worse made it really difficult to breathe – the things we did as smokers!
It was not only difficult to smoke while sick but it also created more symtoms – phlegm, coughing, increased sinusitis, and for some people, including my self, bronchial symtoms. Plus, smoking kills more than half the antibodies (don’t quote me on that, but it’s around that number) required to kill your cold, so you would end up sick longer – what were we thinking?
Vaping on the other hand – very different!
I just experienced my first cold/flu since I quit smoking and as crappy as I felt, I had none of the above symptoms – specifically the phlegm and coughing. Granted, this is just the first time since quitting, so I have no real comparison data but it still leads me to believe that I’m on the right track.
Considering the ingredients that are used to produce eJuice (Propylene Glycol, Vegetable Glycerine, Natural Flavourings, and sometimes Nicotine) , I can’t see any reason to not vape except for the vape it self drying out your throat and dehydrating you faster than normal – not necessarily good – but easy to fix and not serious.
The question is – do you want to vape while sick? Not, should you?
However, I am not a doctor and I have no scientific data to back me up. I don’t recommend you vape while sick. You should contact your physician before making this decision. Ok, disclaimer out of the way – now here are 3 simple tips to keep in mind when vaping while sick:
- Vape mentholated eJuice – it does not need to be straight menthol, though that works best, it will help sooth your throat if it is soar and/or dry and I found it clears your sinus a bit – kind of like Vicks vapor rub 🙂
- Stay hydrated – I recommend you keep hydrated in general when you vape since vaping is a dehydrating process. You should drink atleast twice the amount of fluids you would normally consume. Read my post on staying hydrated while you vape.
- Vape less – if possible or should I say if you have the will power, try to vape less than you would normally to be on the safe side. Read my post on the “Vaping Experiment“.
So there you have it. It worked for me. If you have any other tips I would love to hear them. I also posted a poll a few days back “Do You Vape When You’re Sick” I’m curious to see where everyone stands.
Stay healthy and keep on vaping!
Big Vapers 
Going for a menthol eJuice is a great idea, thanks for the tip off. I’ve vaped cherry and I think apple when sick, it dried the throat a little but nothing like regular cigarettes. If menthol isn’t for me I’m going to steer clear of vaping when sick altogether…as much as it pains me to say it’s just not great.
I have one thing to add to this great write up. Dedicate ONE setup to use for the duration of the sickness and set aside some supplies to use. This will keep the chance of spreading bacteria to the rest of your gear to a minimum. Even though there is less chance of hand to mouth / saliva contact during vaping than smoking, it’s still greatly increased compare to most other daily activities. Clean everything after every vape session, or if your non stop, at least twice a day. Use some sort of alcohol (isopropyl / vodka / everclear) on everything, and let it dry. Most flu/cold bacteria is transmitted in saliva (among other fluids). With the bacteria being on your drip tip or e-cig (and possibly multiplying depending on the strain), you run the chance of re-infecting yourself with fresh bacteria that your body is already busy trying to fight or finally got rid of. Also, even if your not a big fan of them, use a cartomizer. You can throw it away everyday as you get better. As for the taste of a cartomizer, if your sick, your taste buds are more than likely off.
All very good points – thanks for adding them – admittedly I didn’t think about using Cartos and tossing, good one!
As for cleaning I do this regularly 😉
18months now as a Vaper and I am currently experiencing my first cold and it is brutal.
Yes I want to Vape like I normally would
Yes it tastes like crap
Yes I designed an eJuice for this very purpose 6 months ago.
After persisting with my regular all day Vape for half the day (and keeping the fluids up – very important) I have just gone to my “Sick” vape which is a Eucalyptus/Menthol flavour and…
Yes, it certainly helps to alleviate the symptoms a little more than something like a regular tobacco or fruit flavour did for the first half of the day.
That sounds like a great vape – I think their could be a market for “remedy” style vapes.