Torpedo your nose! (Vicks Vapor Inhaler)

Member Name: eatingpinkzebras

Product:	Vicks Vapor Inhaler
Date:	02/02/09 (202 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Works well when you can inhale it

Disadvantages: Doesn't work when you can't inhale it!

At the moment I have a really horrible cold, so in the coming days I am likely to be writing lots of reviews about all the medicinal products that I am using!

One of these is Vicks Inhaler. The information on the side of the product says that it provides 'fast relief from stuffy noses' and relieves 'nasal congestion associated with upper respiratory tract disorders and allergies'. This promise sounded great to me as my nose is so snuffed up at the minute that I can hardly breathe, especially at night-time.

The product consists of a small tube with a rounded top. It is tricky to describe but looks like a cross between a tiny torpedo and a tampon! (Sorry gentlemen). It is white and has a sticker around the side with instructions on.

You are supposed to remove the lid from the tube, which comes off easily in a screw motion, and then insert the inner tube, which has a hole in the top, into one nostril. Hold the other nostril closed and then breathe in. Some sort of menthol nose-clearing aroma then gets inhaled from the tube and rushes up your nose.

I find that this is really simple to use and if you just have a slight cold and a bit of a snuffy nose then it works very well and clears up the nose for a while, allowing you to breathe. However results are short lived and this is not a cure. Plus, if your cold is so bad that you can't actually inhale, then you can't get any of the aroma up your nose so it's not very helpful! So this is probably most effective towards the end of a cold.

Another disadvantage is that you have to buy a new one every time you get a new cold so as not to transfer germs, and also only one person should use each one. I still think these are worth buying though because when you have a really nasty cold you will do almost anything for a bit of relief, and these do provide that.

You can buy one of these from a pharmacy or a supermarket. I paid £1.94 for mine from Tesco, though I have since noticed that Asda have a similar product by Olbas for just £1.

Summary: A reasonable item to help when you have a cold