What's the final word on cannabis allergies?

[jd4083]

I searched but couldn't find anything real definitive on here about this. I've posted in the past and some have mentioned similar issues, but it doesn't seem to be an overwhelming number of folks who talk about it. For many strains, mostly the more pure Afghan lines and Kush lines, I have an allergic reaction that necessitates my wearing long sleeves and thick gloves (and even a dust mask) in order to comfortably work with even vegging plants. Thankfully, I'm a sativa dude for the most part so that isn't normally an issue, but every once in a while I come across something I'm growing out for a friend or family member that does this to me. My last run with what ended up being NLxWW did this to me, and I've had this issue most noticabely with some Afghani #1 and related crosses in the more distant past.

Has anyone else noticed these problems, and if so, can you pinpoint what seems to cause the reaction? I would love more info to help battle this in the future, as it can be extraordinarily uncomfortable and makes me think twice about growing several crosses that I would otherwise really enjoy.

A couple of notes: a Benadryl (or anything containing dipenhydramine) helps if you can combat the drowsiness, and I have noticed this issue persists even after drying and a thorough curing (i.e. several months, up to a year+).

 

[stoned-trout]

I know people that are but I aint..no issues

 

[FlowerFarmer]

Harvest time totally wrecks me. Nose will turn into a fire hydrant and I can blow clear snot out of my head for days while trimming. Phlegmy throat..Dealing with dry/brittle material for hash making will make my chest tight and have me wheezing if I'm exposed to it long enough.

I wear a neoprene dust mask when harvesting and am still miserable, but way better so long as I don't contaminate my face and mask. I've tried a 3m respirator but it was difficult to work in and the neoprene dusk mask seems to be doing the trick without all the discomfort.


Working around the plants I'll break out in bumps all over my arms, but I still wear short sleeves anyways. It subsides in a few hours / definitely by morning. I've not pinpointed this down to any particular strains. It all seems to effect me, but perhaps I've never dealt with true Sativas.

It really sucks! And definitely is something I feel that I developed over time. I don't believe it was this bad in the past, but then again I wasn't taking down sizable crops either so perhaps it always existed. I can smoke/vape no problems, but will get occasional tingling nose if I smell the bud right out of the grinder. I imagine I'd exhibit symptoms the same with finished cannabis if I was exposed to larger amounts/longer periods of time.


Anyone know anything that can eliminate these symptoms. Seems like an immune response that overreacts when dealing with fresh cannabis terpenes or whatever.

Will ingesting raw cannabis buds/leaves ultimately build up an immunity? Just dealing in the garden doesn't seem to be doing anything. Benadryl knocks me out, and I've had little luck with anti histamines. For now it's gloves, mask, and suffering through it.

Can I go to a doctor in a med state and get injections to combat the allergies?

 

[watts]

It is cannabis' plant defense, its job is to irritate whatever rubs up against it. I think it's in the trichomes or maybe the plants hairs. I also think chlorophyll is another problem as well, similar to wet grass when you mow the grass. I take Claritin or Allegra, wear masks, gloves, long sleeves. That is about all you can do. Well I have never tried going to an allergist for it though, so just maybe there is hope.

 

[Team Microbe]

I can relate to this reaction, it happens when I rub against plants and especially when I dry-trim flowers come harvest. If you notice, tiny particles from the buds will become airborne if you flick a bud with your finger. It almost looks like pollen... if I inhale this while trimming my throat swells up and it'll resemble asthma-like symptoms. I know eating cannabis raw irritates the stomach lining due to it's acidity, so maybe the same goes for the airborne dust that we see fly off our buds during trim sessions.

As far as the bumps goes - I get these all the time and not just when I rub up against plants. It's a skin sensitivity, and will show up if I rub up against anything in a rough manner. Scrapes turn into raised welts compared to the average scrape. I forget the medical name, but it could be as simple as something like Dermatitis - a skin condition

 

[lolryn]

I can relate to this reaction, it happens when I rub against plants and especially when I dry-trim flowers come harvest. If you notice, tiny particles from the buds will become airborne if you flick a bud with your finger. It almost looks like pollen... if I inhale this while trimming my throat swells up and it'll resemble asthma-like symptoms. I know eating cannabis raw irritates the stomach lining due to it's acidity, so maybe the same goes for the airborne dust that we see fly off our buds during trim sessions.

As far as the bumps goes - I get these all the time and not just when I rub up against plants. It's a skin sensitivity, and will show up if I rub up against anything in a rough manner. Scrapes turn into raised welts compared to the average scrape. I forget the medical name, but it could be as simple as something like Dermatitis - a skin condition

I get the same reaction with the bumps. I have no idea if it's due to an allergy or sensitive skin. it does get raised and very itchy.

while trimming, I sneeze pretty frequently that's about it. I wear gloves and such so I'm not really touching the flowers with bare skin. In the end, it's just a mild irritant, nothing debilitating.

 

[Zumie]

Dude!! I too suffer from the exact same fucking curse . . . the main issue is that I absolutely love my hobby and if for instance I were to walk into my grow room shirtless with significant vegetative overgrowth crowding the isles, I will literally break out in hives all over my back and chest, arms etc etc...anything that comes in direct contact with the plant.

At the same time, Im not sure if you have experienced the same problem, but whenever I smoke any flower, I wind up looking like the stereo typical stoner with bloodshot red eyes, I can hardly breathe uz my sinuses are so damn stuffed up and plugged shut, and basically any other generic allergic reaction overcomes me with vengeance!

Its so bad for me that I pretty much have to roll with a bottle of Afrin in my pocket at all times if I actually want to enjoy myself in any manner after smoking and when it comes to a nightcap toke to sleep better . . . sorry, no can do. Additionally, I cant even begin to consider participating in the trimming of anything I grow which adds considerable expense to my process because I simply cant handle that dgree of exposure.

this truly is a serious bummer which I am forced to live with, however you will be stoked to hear that over time I have come up with a fairly effective solution to the issue of being unabke to smoke, specially before bed without waking up in the middle of the night with the feeling that some dirty housecat snuck into my bedroom and decided to take a nasty shit in my mouth!! yea I know . . . sounds fucking nasty but its the truth.

the solution??? CONCENTRATES!!! now all I need is a couple tokes off a vape pen with my own home made shatter or whatever flavor im feeling, and its like Im in highschool again, clear sinusesno itchy eyes, irritation, nothing. I believe that its all related to the burning of the actual vegative matter which does it . ..so dab on up cowboy!

 

[paper thorn]

I'm good trimming as long as i don't touch my eyes, but sirsmokalot breaks out, has to cover arms etc, and had a bad reaction to hempseed. so yeah, a person can be allergic to cannabis.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

Zumie.. that sucks man.

Worries me that my allergies will continue to get worse over time. I can smoke and vape just fine.. maybe a little stuffy, but nothing I'm not already dealing with otherwise. Cannabis allergy aside it seems like I came down with a cold a few years back and never fully recovered.. I'm always a bit stuffed up.

Trimming though.. I'd pay to outsource it if I was in a friendly state or could find someone I could trust to do the entire job. Would be well worth the money to save me the agony and allow me to focus on the reset and flip.

A word of caution.. stay as far away as that AFRIN (or similar) shit as you can. This stuff is horrible and very very addictive. The first time I got my hands on the stuff I was amazed at how well I could breath. I've never been able to breath so clearly in my entire life. The bottle cautioned not to use more then 3 days straight, but even after 2 days I could tell I was becoming severely addictive to the stuff. I now needed it to breath. The more I used it.. the shorter period of time I had before rebound congestion set in. My sinuses sealed tight.. both nasal passages completely shut. It was miserable..so I'd give in to a little shot here and there...eventually it got worse and I needed it every 30 min. I've never been addicted to hard drugs or anything, but stopping it was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to quit. I'm not kidding.

I realized I must quit the Afrin cold turkey after reading a shit ton of info about people being addicted to the stuff for years.. decades even..some without even realizing the Afrin was the source of their problem, and actually believed it was the only thing that brought them relief. So, I tossed all my bottles and vowed never to buy another. My sinus cavities sealed completely shut for nearly a week. Sealed tight.. it was hard to swallow, eat.. everything. I'd get some sort of a vacuum suction thing happening where it felt like I was going to die. Obviously I could breath though my mouth if I wasn't eating, but the sensation was very real. Eventually it all passed and my sinuses returned to their normal semi-stuffed state.

Sorry for the rant. I tell everyone I ever hear mention Afrin and similar nasal sprays my experience. I was amazed at how many people deal with this same addiction when I started googling about it. Lots of people don't put 2 and 2 together and think the Afrin is helping.. It's not. The shit should be illegal in my opinion. I don't have an addictive personality, but I become extremely dependent on this stuff to breathe through my nose very very quickly. Perhaps not all people deal with the rebound congestion as bad as I did, but it was horrible. Some people were able to wean themselves off of it one nostril at a time, but I made the choice to go cold turkey over a holiday break and it was a rough week to say the least.

 

[Gil Tokerson]

I think the little hairs are the source of the skin contact irritation. Many plants will have the same effect. I forget what they're called. It's not the trichs, or the actual "hairs", but the tiny little fury hairs that cover the whole plant. They are also the source of the stomach irritation of eaten raw.
As far as the sinus, etc reactions, I don't know. I bet it's not a actual "allergy" to anything, and more of a pseudo reaction due to sine kind of irritation/inflammation.
I have seasonal "allergys", so I went and got tested. Came back negative for every single thing? The Dr called it some bullshit, but basically im just easily irritated by the same things that cause allergys...but It's not allergys?
I'm talking out of my ass, these are just my theories. Luckily cannabis doesn't seem to bother me...but I'm not allowed to come to bed if I've been touching my ladies! They be stanky!

 

[b8man]

Sympathies to you guys - sounds horrible for a cann-fan.

Quick check for commonalities - do you have eczema, asthma, hay fever? Are you allergic to anything else?

 

[genedigger]

pot plants have very fine hairs that are on the plant especially on the stems.these hairs are thicker and more prevalent on indica strains.a lot of plants have these hairs there hard to see you gotta really stare at the pant.it deters animals from wanting to eat it since those hairs will irritate the stomach lining of most living things and im willling to bet that when the plant dries those fine hairs break off coupled with all the terpenes an you have an allergy.i use to get stomach aches from eating the raw leaves but now i can eat 20 or 30 big fan leaves in a wack.this will fuck with yall,when i go in my grow to trim off some of the leaves before harvest ill sit there an just eat em all like some kinda crouching rabbit.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

Do you think that eating raw cannabis leaves would ultimately allow one to build up an immunity over time so that the body doesn't overreact come harvest time?

 

[nan]

Regarding the nasal spray addiction/dependence....we had a serious problem with that too. Our Cannabis MD told us to use a neti pot and a mixture of 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda to 1 qt of warm water. It worked wonderfully. We use a neti pot carefully every time after trimming or garden work. No more problems.

 

[MrAwder]

I get a fairly mild skin reaction when working in the garden. Especially at chop time where I really need to reach into the middle of the plants. Just bumps/welts/itchiness that goes away after a few hours. I found my homemade tiger balm works either as preventative or relief. There is a thread here on making it but essentially cooking down trim into coconut oil and beeswax with some added essential oils. Gloves and long sleeves are great but sometimes I'm too lazy to go get another shirt and just deal with it on my wrists/arms.

As for nasal allergies, I am suffering with this as I type. This was the first time I did a moderate size dry trim and after working for just a few hours last night I am completely stuffed up today. This is new to me and I will probably continue wet-trimming from now on since that has never caused this issue. Luckily smoking or smelling jars has never caused this problem for me.

Have not noticed any strain-specific causes.

 

[genedigger]

i dont have allergies to it but i live in the woods an im wicked earthy.if i go for a walk on a summer day when plants are doin great im constantly eating random vegetation.the futher you are from nature and plants the more likely these things will give you allergies.do folks who live in indiginous cultures or farmers even in the states who are in the field all day on allegra?i doubt it.most folks i meet with allegies to any plants are city folk.its funny if i go to the city i get an allergic reaction from all the pollution and smog but i can sit out in the country somewhere and breath in pollen an be fine.heres a loop on my story.i grew up in a very populated area with tons of smog an pollution.i had severe allergies when i wuold go hiking in the state forest or go fishing somewhere away from the city wgen i was a kid.once i got older i moved and stayed close to the country and nature an now i have zero allergies.

 

[jd4083]

i dont have allergies to it but i live in the woods an im wicked earthy.if i go for a walk on a summer day when plants are doin great im constantly eating random vegetation.the futher you are from nature and plants the more likely these things will give you allergies.do folks who live in indiginous cultures or farmers even in the states who are in the field all day on allegra?i doubt it.most folks i meet with allegies to any plants are city folk.its funny if i go to the city i get an allergic reaction from all the pollution and smog but i can sit out in the country somewhere and breath in pollen an be fine.heres a loop on my story.i grew up in a very populated area with tons of smog an pollution.i had severe allergies when i wuold go hiking in the state forest or go fishing somewhere away from the city wgen i was a kid.once i got older i moved and stayed close to the country and nature an now i have zero allergies.

I live in a cabin deep in the woods in an area butting up to a black bear sanctuary that has less than 1000 residents over something like 30 square miles. Certainly no city slicker, lol

 

[Payaso]

Sorry to hear about your allergies, I understand and see it in action out west. With so many cannabis plantations around the area you can smell them, dang it nearly knocks you over sometimes. Folks get all plugged up and sneeze and cough... harvest and trim time is hard on a lot with this allergy.

Have to wonder how it is around hemp fields when the pollen is flying!