Is it Possible to Have an Allergy to Latakia?

[proteus]

Thanks for all the replies and helpful insights everyone! I had a talk with my GP and after pondering the situation I think I'm going to play it safe and just not smoke any blends with Latakia in them anymore. The doctor's thought was that the most common wood allergy is cedar, and if Latakia is cured with cedar smoke then that would certainly explain why I'm having a reaction to it and not Dark Fired Kentucky; since DFK is generally cured with hickory wood instead.

I had considered the possibility of the allergy being to a casing on the Presbyterian Mixture, but if that was the case then it seems relatively unlikely that I'd be getting the same reaction from Kramer's Father Dempsey since they're manufactured by completely different companies half a world apart.

In any case, I really don't like having my lymph nodes swell up and hurt and my GP said that was a pretty alarmingly severe allergic reaction so no more Latakia for me. I'd still like to try more non-aromatic blends though and I've pretty well determined that I don't much care for the flavor of plain Burley (I had a couple ounces of Haunted Bookshop and Old Joe Krantz that I ended up throwing out because they both smelled and tasted like a barnyard to me), so I've got some Mac Baren HH Old Dark Fired and a handful of VaPers on the way from SmokingPipes to try out. I picked up tins of Escudo Navy De Luxe, Elizabethan Mixture, and Orlik Golden Sliced as well some bulk Peter Stokkebye Luxary Navy Flake. I also snagged a tin of GH Ennerdale, since I've never had a Lakeland blend before and I was feeling brave lol

Plenty of non-latakia options and the ones you've chosen are known by many including me to be excellent choices.

Keep posting! Plenty of knowledge to learn on this board.

 

[JOHN72]

You can get an allergy to anything including fresh air.

Same.

 

[JOHN72]

I sometimes have some allergy symptoms. The causes, I have no idea, nor do I want to know. Make a visit to the doctor and get out of doubt, if the doctor is efficient and honest.

 

[mso489]

It's an easy experiment to run. Just make sure not to smoke any blends with Latakia for a month or more. If the problem goes away, there you have it.

You do have to be aware that Latakia and Perique are almost default condiments. Plenty of blends don't have them, but an amazing number do, so be sure to check on the tins and on online tobacco pages that what you are smoking doesn't have any Latakia.

 

[pipingfool]

It's an easy experiment to run. Just make sure not to smoke any blends with Latakia for a month or more. If the problem goes away, there you have it.

You do have to be aware that Latakia and Perique are almost default condiments. Plenty of blends don't have them, but an amazing number do, so be sure to check on the tins and on online tobacco pages that what you are smoking doesn't have any Latakia.

This is very true.

One of my favorite blends, GL Pease Fillmore, is categorized and marketed as a Va/Per flake. But there is a very minute amount of Latakia in it. If you search really hard, you can detect it (at least that's the case for me), but it mostly just adds a little creamy body to the smoke.

But yes, there are some blends that are not marketed as "Latakia/English" blends, but contain the smoked leaf.

 

[mikebjrtx]

I would talk to a doctor and not worry about what people on the internet say.

If you want to smoke you can’t listen to what the doctor has to say.

 

[proteus]

If you want to smoke you can’t listen to what the doctor has to say.

So true. I don't know of any doctor and I don't believe I could find one that would help you determine which tobacco is ok for you to smoke. I find it very easy to believe they would tell you to stop smoking all pipe tobacco and then give you a stern talking to and summarily dismiss you while simultaneously reporting you to your insurance company to raise your rates to a tobacco user. And in my opinion that's just wrong. Never go full potato and mention anything about tobacco to a medical professional.

 

[OzPiper]

So true. I don't know of any doctor and I don't believe I could find one that would help you determine which tobacco is ok for you to smoke. I find it very easy to believe they would tell you to stop smoking all pipe tobacco and then give you a stern talking to and summarily dismiss you while simultaneously reporting you to your insurance company to raise your rates to a tobacco user. And in my opinion that's just wrong. Never go full potato and mention anything about tobacco to a medical professional.

Lots of sympathetic doctors around
I'm sure there are more than a couple on these Forums

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I almost wonder if it

Thanks for all the replies and helpful insights everyone! I had a talk with my GP and after pondering the situation I think I'm going to play it safe and just not smoke any blends with Latakia in them anymore. The doctor's thought was that the most common wood allergy is cedar, and if Latakia is cured with cedar smoke then that would certainly explain why I'm having a reaction to it and not Dark Fired Kentucky; since DFK is generally cured with hickory wood instead.

I had considered the possibility of the allergy being to a casing on the Presbyterian Mixture, but if that was the case then it seems relatively unlikely that I'd be getting the same reaction from Kramer's Father Dempsey since they're manufactured by completely different companies half a world apart.

In any case, I really don't like having my lymph nodes swell up and hurt and my GP said that was a pretty alarmingly severe allergic reaction so no more Latakia for me. I'd still like to try more non-aromatic blends though and I've pretty well determined that I don't much care for the flavor of plain Burley (I had a couple ounces of Haunted Bookshop and Old Joe Krantz that I ended up throwing out because they both smelled and tasted like a barnyard to me), so I've got some Mac Baren HH Old Dark Fired and a handful of VaPers on the way from SmokingPipes to try out. I picked up tins of Escudo Navy De Luxe, Elizabethan Mixture, and Orlik Golden Sliced as well some bulk Peter Stokkebye Luxary Navy Flake. I also snagged a tin of GH Ennerdale, since I've never had a Lakeland blend before and I was feeling brave lol

I almost wonder if it would make sense for you to buy several of the Cornell & Diehl blending component tins and smoke them one by one to see if it’s actually Latakia that is triggering this reaction. There could be some other type of tobacco setting this off that happens to get paired with the Latakia forward blends you’ve tried.

 

[proteus]

Lots of sympathetic doctors around
I'm sure there are more than a couple on these Forums

Well now that is some news. I sure would like to know one. It would be great to get real medical advice not propaganda. Thanks for sharing. I remain hopeful.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

All of this wimpy advise on here. I go off to the mountains for a few weeks, and you guys soften, become sentimental, empathetic, and…. :::blech::: Nice.

I, for one, think that you should power through it. We should all smoke more of the blends we don’t like. Allergic reactions are weaknesses leaving the body. Just grab a handful of Epipens, jab your leg, and power through it.

If you give up on this, what’s next? You gonna let a broken leg keep you from finishing a race? You gonna give up on Capitalism? Our very freedoms are at stake here!
If you wuss out on this just because it becomes hard to move forward, then what will stop you from quitting on the battlefield? Tighten that belt, give a “hurrah” and fire up that latakia.

And, for the rest of you… ha ha… I’m so disappointed.

 

[FLDRD]

All of this wimpy advise on here. I go off to the mountains for a few weeks, and you guys soften, become sentimental, empathetic, and…. :::blech::: Nice.

I, for one, think that you should power through it. We should all smoke more of the blends we don’t like. Allergic reactions are weaknesses leaving the body. Just grab a handful of Epipens, jab your leg, and power through it.

If you give up on this, what’s next? You gonna let a broken leg keep you from finishing a race? You gonna give up on Capitalism? Our very freedoms are at stake here!
If you wuss out on this just because it becomes hard to move forward, then what will stop you from quitting on the battlefield? Tighten that belt, give a “hurrah” and fire up that latakia.

And, for the rest of you… ha ha… I’m so disappointed.

Welcome "back"...

 

[Doctor Chopper]

I don't think this is an allergy, but what the hell do I know, I am only a stupid surgeon. I think the smoke is irritating your mucous membranes which may be due to the type of tobacco, or they technique that you are using while smoking that tobacco.

In the end, listen to your physician that actually knows you and has seen you personally.

Mediterranean diet, exercise, 1 glass of red wine a day, NO SMOKING, blah, blah.... Or listen to @cosmicfolklore and go down swinging.

-Doc

 

[cersono]

Tighten that belt, give a “hurrah” and fire up that latakia.

Actually, there are ways for an allergic person to persevere through the Latakia ordeal:

- repeatedly washing his mouth with some anaesthetic solution before, during and after the smoke
- self-administering a hypodermic injection (or better a continuous intravenous infusion) of some antihystamine medication to prevent allergy.

With those simple remedies, he's guaranteed to enjoy his Latakia trouble-free

 

[mso489]

Despite cosmic's stirring call to arms, the objective of smoking is enjoyment, not masochism. If a blend or condiment rubs you wrong, smoke something else. It's called hedonism. (See cosmic, it's okay.)

 

[Doctor Chopper]

Despite cosmic's stirring call to arms, the objective of smoking is enjoyment, not masochism. If a blend or condiment rubs you wrong, smoke something else. It's called hedonism. (See cosmic, it's okay.)

Enjoyment?!! Tongue bite, relights, TAD, PAD, Wallet bite, wife and neighbors attitudes, laws, burn marks on clothes....

Yeah, you are correct. I enjoy every second of it!

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

Sometimes this place is better than Comedy Central

 

[PipeIT]

Going to see a doctor was mentioned, good advice to be safe and rule anything out.

sensitivity" vs "allergy was also mentioned, and I was about to say along these lines you might just be sensitive too instead.

Most know around here, that Straight VA and Bright VA blends with their PH balance can also be quite irritating, maybe we could also call this a sensitivity to VAs, similar to what you are experiencing with Latakia.

Latakia at times has irritated my mouth, especially the roof of it.

 

[Skippy B. Coyote]

All of this wimpy advise on here. I go off to the mountains for a few weeks, and you guys soften, become sentimental, empathetic, and…. :::blech::: Nice.

I, for one, think that you should power through it. We should all smoke more of the blends we don’t like. Allergic reactions are weaknesses leaving the body. Just grab a handful of Epipens, jab your leg, and power through it.

If you give up on this, what’s next? You gonna let a broken leg keep you from finishing a race? You gonna give up on Capitalism? Our very freedoms are at stake here!
If you wuss out on this just because it becomes hard to move forward, then what will stop you from quitting on the battlefield? Tighten that belt, give a “hurrah” and fire up that latakia.

And, for the rest of you… ha ha… I’m so disappointed.

Ya know... you make a good point, but I think I'm gonna let my masculinity take the hit and wuss out on this one. I'm okay with being a sissy if it means being the sissy who doesn't have a goiter and isn't jabbing himself with an epipen everytime he wants to have a smoke. Besides, aromatic sissy tobacco is cheap but epipens are expensive!

 

[OzPiper]

Like eating chillies with a Scoville score of 500,000
To prove your manhood, you have not just eat but retrohale/snork as well