Can a doctor tell if you vape by looking at your throat?

Vaping's become a crazy popular habit these days, especially with the young people. With all those yummy flavors like candy or fruit and high-tech vape gadgets, it isn’t hard to see why vaping's so darn appealing. But what in tarnation is vaping really doing to your throat and mouth health? Can a doctor tell if you vape by looking at your throat? Let's take a closer look-see.

What Happens When You Take a Pull on a Vape?

When you inhale on your vape, you're sucking in an aerosol that's made by heating up a special liquid. This liquid's usually got nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals mixed in. The heat turns the liquid into a vapor that you breathe straight into your lungs when you take a pull. This aerosol can irritate and inflame your throat and lungs something fierce.

Unlike cigs that burn tobacco and make smoke, vape devices heat a liquid into an aerosol vapor that you inhale. But don't be fooled - vaping isn't harmless. The vapor's still got nicotine and other chemicals that can impact your health.

Vaping Irritates Your Throat

One of the biggest effects of vaping is it causes irritation and inflammation in your throat and lungs. When you inhale that warm vapor, it directly hits the sensitive tissue in your throat. This can make your throat feel raw and sore, not to mention causing coughing fits. Those chemicals and flavorings also irritate your throat.

Some signs your throat's irritated from vaping include:

• Dry, scratchy, irritated feeling
• Needing to clear your throat a lot  
• Hoarse, raspy voice
• Hacking up a lung coughing
• Worsening asthma symptoms
• This irritation usually gets worse the more you vape. Your poor throat just can't handle all that exposure to the chemicals and heat.

Vaping Can Cause Dental Dilemmas

The chemicals in vape liquids and the heat can also cause problems for your pearly whites and gums. Some dental doozies linked to vaping include:

• More plaque and tartar buildup  
• Cavities and tooth decay
• Gum inflammation and disease
• Enamel erosion
• Mouth and tongue sores
• Yellow or stained teeth

Those sugary flavorings stick to your teeth, feeding the bacteria that cause plaque and cavities. The chemicals dry out your mouth, letting plaque build up even faster. The heat and chemicals also irritate your gums somethin' fierce.

What's Your Throat Look Like When You Vape?

So what visual clues might a doc notice in your throat if you've been vaping? Here are some of the biggest changes they could catch a peek at:

Red and Irritated Throat : One of the most telltale signs is redness or irritation in your throat. Usually the tissue in your throat should be nice and pink. If a doctor sees red, swollen, or annoyed tissue, it's a big red flag you may be vaping.

The vapor irritates and dries out your throat, especially with frequent use. This can range from some red patches to a full-on raging throat infection lookin' throat, depending on how much damage is done.  

Swollen Tonsils: Those tonsils at the back of your throat can get enlarged and inflamed if they're irritated. Vaping directly hits this sensitive spot when you inhale. Some vapers end up with chronically huge or pissed off tonsils.

Ulcers: The tissue damage from vaping can cause ulcers or canker sores to form on your throat, tongue, or inner cheeks. These painful sores look like round white patches in your mouth. They can bleed real easy if messed with.

Phlegm and Mucus: As vaping irritates your throat, your body makes more mucus and phlegm to try to protect your airways. A doc may see extra gunky phlegm or postnasal drip in your throat from vaping.  

Darkened Oral Tissue: The chemicals in vaping juice can stain and discolor your tongue and oral tissue. Your tongue might look coated or even blackened. This is sometimes called "vaper's tongue." Gross!

Other Signs Your Throat's Unhealthy

Besides the direct irritation from vaping itself, some indirect clues could make a doctor suspect you've been vaping:

Getting Sick a Lot: The damage vaping does to your throat and lungs means more nasty bacteria and viruses can take hold. You may get sick a whole lot more with sore throats or respiratory infections.

Dehydration: Vaping dehydrates and dries out your throat. A doc may be able to spot the signs you ain't hydrated enough.

Swollen Lymph Nodes: Your lymph nodes can get swollen as your immune system reacts to the vaping. A doctor could find swollen lymph nodes around your neck.

Loss of Smell and Taste: Vaping deadens your taste buds and smell receptors over time with those heated chemicals. Losing your sense of smell or taste could be a red flag you vape.

Chapped Lips: Dehydration from vaping also leads to dry, cracked lips for a lot of vapers. You've got your vape to blame for that chronically chapped kisser.

Can Vaping Damage Your Throat Permanently?  

Many of vaping's effects on your throat are temporary if you quit. However, long-term vaping can lead to some permanent changes including:

• Chronic inflammation and redness
• Scar tissue from ulcerations  
• Permanent gum loss or receding gums
• Weakened immune system and more infections
• Lung scarring or COPD

The longer you vape, the more likely damage can become permanent in your throat and mouth. This is especially worrying for young vapers whose bodies are still developing.

Popcorn Lung

One risk from those chemicals in vaping liquid is something called "popcorn lung." This is a scarring of the tiny air sacs in your lungs, making it progressively harder to breathe over time. It's irreversible damage, you all.  

Is Secondhand Vaping Harmful?

Like cigarette smoke, the vapor other vapers exhale contains chemicals that can irritate your throat and lungs. However, there are way fewer risks from secondhand vaping compared to secondhand smoke.

Some risks include:

• Mild throat irritation
• Breathing problems for folks with asthma or allergies  
• Eye irritation
• Headaches
• Coughing fits

While huffing secondhand vapor carries fewer health risks compared to secondhand smoke, it still exposes you to chemicals you should avoid. The vapor particles linger in the air like smoke, allowing you to breathe them in.

The best thing is to avoid secondhand vaping altogether by not allowing vaping indoors or in your car.

Can a Doctor Really Tell You Vape Just By Looking?

While vaping causes definite changes and damage to your throat, it's hard to say for sure vaping's the only cause. Lots of other factors can irritate your throat too including:

• Smoking cigs or weed  
• Allergies
• Acid reflux
• Sinus infections  
• Pollution and dry air
• Yelling or straining your voice
• Dehydration

A doctor would need to rule out these other potential causes first. They'd ask a bunch of detailed questions about your habits and symptoms. From there, if vaping seems the most likely culprit, your doctor can advise you to quit for your throat's health.

There's no foolproof way to tell if someone vapes just by peeking down their throat. But the signs give your doctor clues to dig further. Vaping leaves both short-term and long-lasting marks on your oral health that can raise red flags.

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5 FAQs about Vaping and Your Throat

1. Can vaping make it harder to sing or holler?

You betcha! That throat irritation from vaping makes it harder to sing or project your voice. Your vocal cords get all inflamed and swollen. You'll often feel hoarse or lose your voice altogether.  

2. Do vaping flavors cause more throat irritation?

They sure can! All those extra sweeteners and flavor chemicals further annoy your throat. Menthol may feel soothing at first but causes even more irritation long-term.

3. Can vaping bring on acid reflux?

For some vapers, the irritation and constant swallowing mucus from vaping triggers acid reflux. The symptoms can seem like wicked heartburn.

4. Does vaping impact COVID risks?

Unfortunately yes, vaping messes with your lungs' ability to fight off infections. The vapor particles may also spread COVID more easily compared to just breathing.

5. Can vaping cause sores on your throat?

You bet - vaping can lead to nasty canker sores or ulcers on your throat tissue. Those harsh chemicals burn your sensitive throat and mouth.

Vaping may seem like a safer alternative to smoking but it comes with plenty of risks to your oral health. As a vaper, you're essentially turning your throat and mouth into a chimney for those heated chemicals you inhale all day. Over time, vaping can visibly damage your throat something fierce.  

A doctor may be able to spot signs you vape like irritation, ulcers, swollen tonsils, or discolored tissue. However, many other factors can cause similar throat irritation too. There's no surefire way to tell if you vape just by peeking down your throat. But the oral effects can give clues you likely vape.

Check out the  discussion about vaping and throat on Quora.