A mum was left with painful burn-like rashes all over her body after a serious allergic reaction to VAPING for the first time.
Lisa Santiago-Griggs, 42, is calling for a change in law which would require anyone trying a vape for the first time to be tested for allergies.
She was admitted to hospital on Sunday – 24 hours after trying a vape to medicate long-term pain from a broken back.
Speaking from a hospital bed today where she is on a drip, Lisa said: “I’d never vaped or even smoked before so it was new to me.
“They just sold it to me and sent me on my way without any advice of the possible side-effects.
“At 2am, I woke with an itch and all of a sudden by 4,30am I was completely covered in a painful rash.
“I’ve never had an allergic reaction to anything before – this was horrible.
“It was a covering my body, very painful, and it felt like my skin was burning from underneath, burning up from the inside.”
Lisa, from Kingswood, South Glos., suffered from a broken back four years ago and had been taking cannabis CBD oil tablets to help cope with the pain of her long-term condition.
She moved onto the vape in the hope that it would help ease the pain.
Lisa took several anti-histamine tablets to fight the rash but they had no effect – and she presented herself to Southmead Hospital in Bristol.
She said: “It was starting to blister now, and getting serious.
“They took me straight in and I’ve been here ever since. They are treating me with steroids and I’m on a drip
“I have to stay in until it’s calmed down and they can work out exactly what is going on.
“I am 100 per cent convinced it was the vape.
“It’s not like I’ve been out doing anything else. It was the first time I’d ever had a vape and I didn’t realise it can cause this kind of reaction.
“Doing a bit of research, I’ve found that this has been known, but they don’t tell you. Most people aren’t aware.”
Lisa said she would not normally share images of her own body on the internet but thought it was important for the public to know.
She said: “These aren’t pretty pictures and I’m not body confident, but I feel these need to be seen, to understand how bad a reaction can be.
“I felt like I was on fire from the inside out.
“It was unbearable and it affected by internal organs, like my heart rate, blood pressure and lungs.”
Lisa said she wants vape shops to agree to only sell a full vape to someone after they have tested it and waited 24 hours.
She added: “They do exactly this in the hairdressers to check you won’t have an allergic reaction to a new hair product, so why can’t they do this for vapes.
“I appreciate it works for some and not everyone will have an allergic reaction from vapes, but it is more common than you think – a quick Google search will tell you – but it appears serious allergic reactions like mine due to the product being ingested can’t be treated quickly.
“I’ve had 50 hours with no sleep now.
“I’m sure the pictures will get picked apart, but my main concern is getting my story out there.
“People need to share this to make stockists advise the customer to sample the product then come back and buy the next day and purchase if no reaction – you could be in the percentage allergic to an organic product, mixed with fruity liquid called propylene glycol.
“This seems to be the most common one to cause the reaction.”
