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Ejuice Absorption Through The Skin


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Is it possible for the ejuice to be absorbed through the skin? I notice that when juicing cartridges the bottle will leave a bit and drip down the sides. I usually try to keep a tissue near but I'm concerned i'm "over-dosing" nicotie into my system by handling bottles that are damp.

Brian

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Is it possible for the ejuice to be absorbed through the skin? I notice that when juicing cartridges the bottle will leave a bit and drip down the sides. I usually try to keep a tissue near but I'm concerned i'm "over-dosing" nicotie into my system by handling bottles that are damp.

Brian

I'm no physician but my immediate response would be yes, it can absorb through your skin. However I seriously doubt you need to worry about over-dosing. It seems to me you would have to leave it on your skin for an extended period of time to really absorb a significant amount. I wash my hands when I get it on me because it leaves a slightly sticky residue which I find to be annoying, but I don't really worry abut the effects of absorption so much. Maybe I'm living in blissful ignorance, but I wouldn't stress it.

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I'm no physician but my immediate response would be yes, it can absorb through your skin. However I seriously doubt you need to worry about over-dosing. It seems to me you would have to leave it on your skin for an extended period of time to really absorb a significant amount. I wash my hands when I get it on me because it leaves a slightly sticky residue which I find to be annoying, but I don't really worry abut the effects of absorption so much. Maybe I'm living in blissful ignorance, but I wouldn't stress it.

That's good to know. I know the absorption rate would take time and if you wash your hands it's not a problem. I guess. I'm not sure if water can wash away "oil" so easily without some soap etc.. I'm thinking here not arguing.

I'm trying to cut down the nicotine dosage.. step down dosages to where I'm vaping the 0 nicotine juice. So I don't want to feel like I'm getting nicotine from touching the juice unnecessarily.

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you are thinking right. Good question. yes the nicotine can be absorbed through the skin, but in small amounts the absorption would be small (don't recommend trying large amounts on the skin). Water will wash off the liquid, if you don't have water nearby--wiping any excess with a tissue or cloth will get most of it.

happy vaping

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I wash my hands when I get it on me because it leaves a slightly sticky residue which I find to be annoying,

Annoying yes, but if you forget and rub your eyes it will burn like crap! Not that I would know though. :whistle:

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The PG in our nicotine will actually slow down the absorption rate, so just wash it off and you will be fine. I make sure to wash my hands off quickly so that I don't forget, because I have birds I don't want to transfer it to, and as Brian said if you forget and rub your eye it burns like heck!

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Annoying yes, but if you forget and rub your eyes it will burn like crap! Not that I would know though. :whistle:

Me too, Brian, Ive heard that. Hmmmm, wonder if its true ? i wouldnt know, of course, just wonder :whistle:

@ flux - I keep alcohol wipes with me all the time, cleans up the oily crap off your skin, AND 510. Theyre cheap too, box of 100 at Dollar General is, you guessed it, a dollar.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Actually, depending on where you spill it, (inside of your wrist for example filling a bottle) it can absorb quite quickly and to great affect, fingers are very calloused so absorption is slowed if on the finger tips or palm. webbing in between fingers will absorb quickly though. So to take some care, usually your next to a sink or a paper towel. If it makes you nervous just clean off the liquid, and assess your condition. If you feel faint, or dizzy, try to sit down and relax without VAPING. the last thing you need at that point is more nicotine :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

When I first got my E-dobit I put the juice in the wrong end. Juice came out and soaked my hand. Before I made it to the rest room I started feeling anxiety and my left arm started to hurt. It was a creep feeling and it is what I would imagine the first signs of a heart attack to feel like. I couldn't vape for about an hour. I wouldn't worry about a few drops but treat an accidental soaking as an emergency.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yes nicotine is easily absorbed through the skin. That's why nicotine patches work.

Recently one of my friends spilled some e-juice on his skin and didn't think to clean it up right away. He said he could tell he had some high blood pressure and high-strung symptoms, and said he hadn't even vaped all day.

According to my sources (and wikipedia), the lethal dose of nicotine is about 40-60mg. If I understand correctly, e-juice nicotine strength ratings are in "X-mg per ml". There are approximately 20 drops in 1ml. If you do the math, going with 40mg as the lethal dose, that ends up being around:

- 133 drops at 6mg strength

- 44 drops at 18mg strength

- 33 drops at 24mg strength

- 22 drops at 36mg strength

- 16 drops at 48mg strength

So yes, depending on what strength e-juice you are using this stuff can be very dangerous, and extreme care should be taken when dealing with the juice. Remember those figures are based on THE LETHAL DOSE. You could easily suffer from severe symptoms of nicotine overdosing at lower levels, including high blood pressure, stress, and all the other nasty possibilities.

I would go so far as to say that the possibility of e-juice absorption through the skin has to be one of, if not the most dangerous aspects to vaping. I had no idea the stuff was so potent when absorbed like that. You have to remember you're probably not even getting 1 drop per heavy drag when you're actually inhaling it. I'm surprised and a little frightened that I didn't know any of this before starting to vape. I did some research before starting, but this doesn't seem to be widely known, or at least is not widely available information. It won't make me quit, but I have a new respect for the substances I'm dealing with and I think everyone should re-evaluate their preconceptions on e-juice. In fact I think the vaping community in general should take steps to ensure that this information is made much more readily available, especially to newbies. A dedicated thread on the dangers and proper handling of e-juice would be a great addition to the newbie materials, and a video explaining the facts would be ideal. Thoughts Chris and others?

Moral of the story is, always keep something around to wipe up your juice with, be it a simple handkerchief, or even better some cleaning wipes of some sort. And always know what you are dealing with.

EDIT: The above figures are, of course, assuming full absorption. Obviously you will not always absorb all of the e-juice that gets on you, especially if you wipe it off, hence my last statement. And as was already mentioned, absorption rates will depend on what part of the skin the e-juice comes into contact with. Still this is very pertinent information to all vapers, and ESPECIALLY those with kids and pets.

Edited by mmseng
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When I got the juice from my E-dobit on me it was pretty much the whole thing. So, I had about 3ml of 24 mg juice all over my hands. At first it was just on one hand but I was wiping to on my pants and rubbing my hands together. I wasn't even thinking about it going though my skin. I was just concerned about it drying. What I did probably made it worse because I rubbed it in and spread it across my hands to make it dry which put it on more of the surface of my skin. As I was sitting there I started having this nervous anxious creepy feeling. It was so out of the ordinary that I knew it was the juice right away. I got up to go to the restroom which is right next to my room. From the time sitting right here at my computer to the restroom sink I went from creepy feeling to all my veins are tense to,"OMG! My left arm! I know what that means!!!!" I washed off my hands faster than I ever have before!

If something like that happens to any of you then go straight to the sink. Also, don't buy an E-dobit. I only used my E-dobit for one day. It isn't much different from a plastic pen. I could see it breaking in my pocket and spilling all over me. The danger isn't worth it.

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The friend mmseng was talking about it was me. I was handling this stuff without really thinking about it, and would definitely agree with mmseng's idea of a posted safety notice.

I had vaped lightly three times on this specific day over several hours. I was refilling and got maybe two drops on my fingers, a drop on my hand, and a couple or so on my arm. I didn't think anything of it and wiped it all off on my pants. It only took about three minutes for me to realize something was wrong. Symptoms included a feeling of coldness in the extremities, extreme muscle tension all over to the point of shaking a bit, underarm sweat and clammy hands, slight headache, and most of all I was extremely hyper and anxious. Seemed to last 4+ hours.

I was positive it was the liquid, but just to be sure I preformed a pseudo-scientific experiment consisting of dropping three drops of the 24mg/ml solution onto my inner wrist and rubbing. This effect was the same and much more intense. It took effect in about 30 seconds rather than three minutes and I was forced to wash it off.

I have smoked heavily for the last 4 years and am quite used to nicotine, but this was something else.

Point is, this stuff should be handled with care.

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The friend mmseng was talking about it was me. I was handling this stuff without really thinking about it, and would definitely agree with mmseng's idea of a posted safety notice.

I had vaped lightly three times on this specific day over several hours. I was refilling and got maybe two drops on my fingers, a drop on my hand, and a couple or so on my arm. I didn't think anything of it and wiped it all off on my pants. It only took about three minutes for me to realize something was wrong. Symptoms included a feeling of coldness in the extremities, extreme muscle tension all over to the point of shaking a bit, underarm sweat and clammy hands, slight headache, and most of all I was extremely hyper and anxious. Seemed to last 4+ hours.

I was positive it was the liquid, but just to be sure I preformed a pseudo-scientific experiment consisting of dropping three drops of the 24mg/ml solution onto my inner wrist and rubbing. This effect was the same and much more intense. It took effect in about 30 seconds rather than three minutes and I was forced to wash it off.

I have smoked heavily for the last 4 years and am quite used to nicotine, but this was something else.

Point is, this stuff should be handled with care.

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In fact I think the vaping community in general should take steps to ensure that this information is made much more readily available, especially to newbies. A dedicated thread on the dangers and proper handling of e-juice would be a great addition to the newbie materials, and a video explaining the facts would be ideal. Thoughts Chris and others?

I agree, and I also think you should start a new thread to post this in. It'll get more exposure.

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