Apparently Non-IgE Symptoms of Tobacco Smoke Allergy

Introduction Post

I figured out I'm allergic to cigarette and tobacco smoke in 2004, the day after I sat with a table of smokers for an hour in a music club. The next day I was too sick to do anything. I had sinus pain and pressure, chest pressure and wheezing, fatigue, stomach pain and pain in my arms and legs.

I've probably been allergic to it all my life. I grew up before there were restrictions on smoking and this would explain why I had frequent headaches and fatigue - though my other allergies also played a part.

I love music and dancing and continued to go to music clubs in spite of the symptoms. I would usually spend about 2 hours at a club before the sore throat and sinus pressure made me tired. It would be a day or two, sometimes three, to fully recover.

The symptoms got worse as I got older and I'm very grateful for the smoke-free laws! If smoking was still allowed in music clubs I would have had to stop going and I don't know what, if anything, could have replaced it in my life!

Now a combination of allergy management and lifestyle changes has made it possible to differentiate my smoke symptoms from other allergy symptoms.

I believe it's a non-IgE allergy because it's dose-dependent. If I'm able to avoid all but a little smoke, the symptoms aren't too bad. If I get a lot of smoke - like cigars on New Year's Eve or a punk rock show back in the day - I will be sick for days. Needless to say, I avoid it as much as possible and carry a mask just in case. I don't want to be even a little bit sick if I don't have to!

So I went out the other night to a music event at a small club. People go outside to smoke and some smoke comes into the doorway and the front part of the club. I spent most of my time in the other room - however, I did spend a little time in the front and picked up a little smoke. At one point I stepped outside for a quick word with someone and it went longer than expected, and I got a little more smoke there. The people I was talking to weren't smoking, but the wind blew a little over by us. Then again when I was leaving, a bit more even though I stayed away from the smokers. So altogether, a small but significant amount of smoke. My mold and ragweed allergies may make the exposure threshold a little lower than other times of year.

I didn't notice symptoms at the time. There probably was some congestion and inflammation, but it's gradual and seems like normal allergies.

After I got home, I irrigated my sinuses to help flush out smoke and allergens.

The next day my main symptom was sinus pain that was enough to be bothersome, but not enough to take more than the usual meds. With smoke the pain feels like it's deep in my sinuses, right in the center. Like a knot.

Also my sinuses felt dry and I used saline a few times. There seemed to be a little congestion too. I also irrigated the following evening, 22 hours after exposure. The pain and dryness didn't completely go away until the morning of the next day, 36 hours after exposure.

I've wondered if it's a t-cell reaction, but it's not very similar to my t-cell allergy to dust. It has a delay of less than 12 hours, not 24 hours. The sinus pain from dust is very different in low doses. With a small amount of dust I get an ache around the edges of my sinuses, and more systemic symptoms like fatigue and arm and leg pain. I don't notice this with the tobacco smoke allergy.