Have you ever noticed that vaping tends to make you thirsty? Dehydration is one of the most common side effects of vaping – and as you’re about to learn, there’s a very good reason for that. In fact, vaping can actually be more dehydrating than smoking. That’s counterintuitive since cigarette smoke tends to leave you with a dry, scratchy throat, whereas vapor tends to feel moist and soothing. Maybe that’s the reason why dehydration tends to sneak up on so many new vapers.

So, does vaping dehydrate you? It absolutely can – but thankfully, this is one vaping side effect that’s extremely easy to understand and resolve. Here’s what you need to know about vaping dehydration.

Why Does Vaping Make You Thirsty?

The reason why vaping makes you thirsty is because the two ingredients that make up the vast majority of any vape juice – propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin – are both hygroscopic. That means they both absorb and trap moisture from the surrounding environment. That’s why they’re commonly added to moisturizing products like lotions and eyedrops. It’s also why they’re sometimes used to prevent shelf-stable foods from drying out.

Every time you inhale and exhale the vapor from your vaping device, the PG and VG are removing moisture from your mouth, throat and lungs. That’s going to leave you feeling thirsty, and it’s also the reason why some people experience sore throats when vaping.

What Are Some Possible Signs of Vaping Dehydration?

The biggest sign of vaping dehydration is fairly obvious – you’ll find that vaping makes you thirsty. If you’re the type of person who stays on top of your body’s hydration needs, this is probably the only symptom you’ll ever experience because you already consume plenty of water. When you vape, you’ll just need to up your liquid intake a bit.

If you’re the type of person who constantly has to remind yourself to drink more water, though, it’s possible that your dehydration will advance past the stage of ordinary thirst. According to Mayo Clinic, this is particularly likely to happen among older individuals who don’t begin to feel thirsty until they’re already very dehydrated. In this case, these are some of the symptoms that you might experience.

• You might realize that you’ve gone a long time without needing to urinate.
• When you do use the restroom, your urine might be unusually dark.
• You might feel dizzy, confused or overly tired.

Does Vaping Dehydrate Your Skin?

Vaping doesn’t just have the potential to cause dehydration; it can contribute to dryness in your skin and eyes. That’s partially because of the hygroscopic effect of VG and PG, which will come into contact with your skin when you vape – especially if you use a sub-ohm device that’s capable of producing huge clouds. It’s also partially because of the nicotine itself, which reduces blood flow and can hamper your skin’s ability to repair everyday damage. You can minimize any negative effect that vaping might have on your skin by increasing your water intake and using a good moisturizer.

What Can You Do About Vaping Dehydration?

Now that you understand why vaping makes you thirsty, what can you do about it? Here are the five things that you need to know about dehydration and vaping.

Drink Plenty of Extra Water When You Vape

The most obvious solution to vaping dehydration is that you need to drink plenty of extra water when you vape. Simply having a glass of water nearby might provide a gentle reminder to keep yourself hydrated. If you increase your water intake, you shouldn’t have to worry about feeling thirsty when vaping because you’ll prevent the dehydration before it occurs.

Drink Even More Water if You Work Out

If you’re serious about your exercise regimen, you’re going to need a serious hydration strategy if you vape because you’re already losing a good amount of water when you work out. If you’re already dehydrated from vaping when you start a workout, it may hinder your performance and recovery. Plan for this and make sure that you’re doing everything you can to stay hydrated.

Stop Vaping if You’re Already Dehydrated

If you’re already feeling extremely thirsty or experience any of the other symptoms of vaping dehydration that we mentioned earlier in this article, simply drinking a little extra water may not be enough. If you feel very dehydrated, you should drink some extra water and stop vaping for an hour or two. Give your body plenty of time to normalize itself, and you should feel better when you resume vaping later.

Don’t Vape When You’re Ill

Are you feeling sick? If so, you should stop vaping – or at least minimize it as much as possible – until the illness ends. Many illnesses cause dehydration – especially those that cause you to vomit or experience issues in the bathroom. If your illness is depleting your body of moisture, vaping could exacerbate the problem and impede your body’s ability to heal. While you recover from the illness, you can always keep your nicotine cravings under control with oral products such as nicotine lozenges or gum.

Change Your Vaping Setup if It’s Causing Chronic Dehydration

If you find that vaping constantly makes you feel dehydrated even though you’re drinking plenty of water, you should consider switching to a vaping setup that doesn’t consume such a large volume of e-liquid. It’s fun to use a sub-ohm vape mod and blow enormous clouds across the room. However, consuming a lot of e-liquid means that you’re consuming a lot of PG and VG.

Instead of using a sub-ohm mod, try switching to a smaller device such as a pod system. If you switch to a smaller vaping device, you may also need to start using a higher-strength e-liquid in order to ensure that you’re getting as much nicotine as you need. Between the higher nicotine strength and the more modest vapor production of your hardware, you’ll naturally use less e-liquid and will be less likely to experience dehydration from vaping.

Vaping Dehydration Is a Problem, but It’s Easy to Fix

As you’ve learned from this article, dehydration is a problem that almost every vaper experiences at some point because that’s just the nature of vape juice. Since the main ingredients of e-liquid are extremely effective at absorbing moisture, vaping is going to make you feel thirsty. Thankfully, this is one vaping side effect that’s extremely easy to fix. All that you need to do is remember to drink plenty of extra water when you vape. If dehydration continues to be a problem for you, you should strongly consider switching to a vaping device that doesn’t use as much e-liquid.