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Allergic To Cannabis?! How did this happen...

coldcanna

Active member
Veteran
My girlfriend has been smoking years no issues, when she started helping me in the garden she would get itchy and have hives break out. Not sure why that would be. Maybe if your problem persists you can still medicate with edibles?
 

Muleskinner

Active member
Veteran
I'm sorry to hear of you guys having these problems! Cannabis allergy is definitely real.

I've found that when I'm exposed to other allergens, my overall sensitivity goes up. i.e., I just finished living in a moldy house for years. When I hit the vape, I'd often get asthma, nasal congestion, etc.

Now that I"ve moved to a mold-free house, about 6 months in, no more asthma when I hit the vape. My usage has doubled as a result.

I would say take it easy and don't panic. Allergic irritability rises and falls. You've got to calm things down, give the mucous membranes a break. Obviously a break from cannabis exposure is needed. Try 6 or 12 months & see what happens.

On the medication front, I've found Zyrtec works well, but I don't like taking pills often. Another option is taking a tincture of Stinging Nettles, supposed to be good for allergies. There are some other herbs recommended for it.
 
While I dont trim enough to be too concerned about the amount of dust I'm inhaling during trim (I might still grab a mask next time, why not..) but has anyone considered the implications of dry herb vapes in this context? How could inhaling hot air through the bud in a dry path (ie, no filtration) not exacerbate this condition? It's basically like taking what you were trimming and intentionally huffing air drawn directly through it... how can THAT not irritate such a condition?

I ask because I have ALWAYS found dry herb vapes WAY more irritating (chronically, over time with repeated use) than any other method.
 

Phaeton

Speed of Dark
Veteran
I started growing when my youngest daughter was 9 (2000). Her two older siblings have developed no allergies.

Last year during harvests she got a mild rash on her arms, no big deal but some curiosity.
This year it began again but only with some strains, usually Indica dominant. Long gloves helped and now she uses allergy medication as well as covering her arms and hands.

I admit to disbelief it could be the plants, but the evidence indicates otherwise. My daughter was exposed to the plants for 16 years and developed the allergy after working in the garden for more than 4 years.
She is the only person I know with this rash problem in relation to marijuana plants, and only if she has actual contact with the leaves. She does not smoke.
 

Muleskinner

Active member
Veteran
I ask because I have ALWAYS found dry herb vapes WAY more irritating (chronically, over time with repeated use) than any other method.

I think you're right, vaping can really set it off. I suspect it's because you're getting 100% of the terpenes - none of them are getting burned up in the combustion. And oil vapes (pens) don't have as much of the terpenes.
 

Chevy cHaze

Out Of Dankness Cometh Light
ICMag Donor
Veteran
My advice would be to stop drinking milk and eating dairy products. I had the same issues, and all went away when I stopped consuming everything with milk in it.
It clogs up your system and 80% of the adult population of earth can not properly digest the lactose that's found in dairy and are to be considered lactose intolerant. In fact, most mammals stop drinking milk when they grow up. Sounds crazy, but when your digestive tract can't break down the lactose, it clogs up your whole system and has to be removed mechanically by your body, which is extremely demanding, which gives rise to these reactions. Think about it- cannabis produces all this resin to protect itself in the first place. Well of course you could really be allergic, but these just my 5cts because what you describe sounds very familiar to me.
 

getpulse.co

New member
This topic doesn't get brought up much but the founder of Pulse (cultivator of over 15+ years) has severe allergies to raw cannabis. Fortunately, it is limited to touch and sinus only -- he smokes often with no symptoms. Here is his comments on this:

"It is a sick joke that the plant I love so much doesn't love me back. I've been aware of my allergic reactions for years but I have managed to work around it -- and don't love my ladies any less because of it. My symptoms appear when either touching a live plant (walking through a garden with the leaves brushing against my arms) which causes some serious hives pretty much immediately. The big one though.... TRIMMING. I literally cannot trim, it's just not possible for me. The dried plant particles will have me melting down within minutes -- running nose, watery eyes, constant sneezing.

The obvious solution would be a body coverall like this one. But guess what?! Grow rooms are hot as fuck, particularly when you are working your ass off.

This is my garden uniform:

Full face mask - prevents the leaves from touching my face/neck when pruning, etc

Lightweight longsleeve shirt - breathes really well and has a thumb slot so it doesn't ride up and expose my wrist between the pulled up sleeve and my gloves

Extra long powder free gloves - longer at the wrist for additional coverage

HPS glasses - these are expensive, but they protect my eyes without reducing my visibility and it is easier to inspect plants as they reduce the yellow/orange from the lighting

Feel free to include the pic for the nonbelievers!"

And here is the pic:

SJOHet1.png
 

Badfishy1

Active member
Same way ‘peanut allergies’ occur. Living life in a constant ‘sterile’ state with a can of lisol and hand sanitizers near by constantly
 

aquavitae

Active member
damn getpulse that looks uncomfortable :(
honestly i thought when reading the first post i thought
its BS, my bad.
but i also have similar symptoms (strong heatflashes, excessive sweating, face twitches) and
cannot rule it out completely but all of the symptoms mentioned above also occur even during times when im not around cannabis for months or years. what do you think, psychological or an actual allergy? dont have any allergies to my knowledge but who knows really... definitely not as bad as the pic pulse posted. but still annoying.
 

MrBungle

Active member
Cool man... being a fair skinned human my entire life.... I know what sunburn blisters look like... you can take his word... but next time he tries to pull a fast one hand him some sunscreen....
 

aquavitae

Active member
absolutely pulse i don’t doubt that your colleague suffers from an lergy, I tried to simultaneously figure out what’s weong with me :p apologies, didn’t want to cause a misunderstanding or offend anyone. definitely can feel you though I love touching and smelling canna so much, i wouls truely consider it a punishment to have allergic reactions to this plant .
 

madalasatori

Well-known member
Veteran
I get this, in the U.K. we have a thing called hayfever which means I get streaming eyes, sneezing, runny nose. Being around weed brings out the same symptoms. If I touch the plants I get red welts too

An antihistamine such as loratadine makes it bearable but some strains I just cannot grow
 

madalasatori

Well-known member
Veteran
damn getpulse that looks uncomfortable :(
honestly i thought when reading the first post i thought
its BS, my bad.
but i also have similar symptoms (strong heatflashes, excessive sweating, face twitches) and
cannot rule it out completely but all of the symptoms mentioned above also occur even during times when im not around cannabis for months or years. what do you think, psychological or an actual allergy? dont have any allergies to my knowledge but who knows really... definitely not as bad as the pic pulse posted. but still annoying.

Other things can cause the same reaction
 

ChemDgMillionre

Active member
Veteran
I’m definitely not allergic to cannabis, but I can tell you forsure that live resins are a skin irritant for me. I have to wear long sleeves around the ladies, or I start itching like crazy wherever I brush up against them. I typically take my allergy medicine before a long day of gardening, which seems to help.

Trimming is difficult, I typically hand that task off to others, but if I took a nasal decongestant it’s usually not as bad. Clipping dried buds off their stems is murderous work for me, all of those tiny kief bits floating in the air cause me to start sneezing non-stop & then my asthma kicks in.. so not sure if that’s asthma related or what not.

Not big issues in my world, nothing some over the counter meds & a long sleeve & gloves don’t fix. :tiphat:
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
Same way ‘peanut allergies’ occur. Living life in a constant ‘sterile’ state with a can of lisol and hand sanitizers near by constantly
Peanut allergies have been linked to excessive antibiotic use on infants. Studies have shown when the proper bacteria is cultured in the person with the allergy, it goes away and they can eat peanuts.

I'm wondering how many with cannabis allergies had high antibiotic use when they were infants? Could possibly be a different bacteria? Definitely be great to see a cure for cannabis allergies. :D
 

FlowerFarmer

Active member
Veteran
I'm allergic to Cannabis in the same way that others are in this thread. Skin contact against live plants gives me rash breakout and is itchy.

Trimming unmasked absolutely destroys me. Runny nose, sneezing fit, etc. If I'm exposed to too much dry material I'll wake up wheezing in the chest. This is how I put two and two together initially. Processing some dry larf for bubble hash fucked me up good, but I'll still have sinus attacks trimming wet or dry.

I use a carbon dust mask with a vertical fold, which isn't perfect but is comfortable enough to work in for long periods so long as I don't cross contaminate it, which isn't easy. Taking Claritin (the good kind from the pharmacist) helps keep my sinus dry if I remember to take it. I don't like taking pills though.


It really sucks and I've also wondered what it's doing to me longer term. In recent years I've developed a mucus or phlegm in my throat that's hard to clear. It mainly shows up after eating so could be related to that, but I'm wondering if it and the cannabis allergy goes hand in hand due to sinus drainage and stuff. I've got a pretty shitty diet because I run around a lot so work is definitely in order there, but it's almost as if my sinuses overreact to nearly everything I eat.


I'm going to try to cut dairy out of my life, as well as the sweets (I love candy) and breads and such. I also battle athlete foot/jock itch so it definitely seems like I have an overload in my body. I'm hoping this helps with the Cannabis allergy too. I've tried all sorts of stuff for years to no avail (things like drinking oil of oregano and other natural shit), but perhaps I've never been consistent enough.


Just sharing my experience to keep this thread active. I used to not find anyone who shared my situation, but now have discovered more and more do have some level of irritation with cannabis.

I'm curious if juicing raw cannabis leaves could help me "overcome" this allergy, but also unsure if it'd cause allergic reaction. I know I now have to be more careful experimenting with stuff moving forward. I went as far as drinking some quality terpentine (distilled spirits of pine resin) and broke out in itch rash on my stomach and arms. I thought this might help rid my body of the phlegm issue and jock itch, but had to discontinue the protocol because I wasn't sure if the allergic reaction would persist and I know allergies and worsen after initial exposure. It definately seems related to terpenes or something and different strains can yield different levels of sinus reaction.



So for now I mask up and limit exposure. Such a drag because cannabis cultivation has been my passion for nearly 15 years now.
 

blackone

Active member
Veteran
I'm also in this club and I'm sure it's related to the terpenes. Since I developed it I've also experienced the same symptoms when grating orange peels.
 

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