Victory with Vicks (Vicks VapoRub)

Member Name: AprilMay

Product:	Vicks VapoRub
Date:	17/02/09 (285 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comforting, many uses.

Disadvantages: Not a magic cure.

Simply put, I love this stuff. It has so many uses, lots of comforting associations, and I think it does help you recover from a cold more quickly.

Vicks is a menthol rub consisting of menthol, eucalyptus oil, campher, and turpentine oil. These natural ingredients are what gives Vicks its unique, strong scent. The consistency is something between a gel and a cream. It is almost colourless but is slightly opaque or cloudy looking.

Probably my favourite use for this handy product is to dissolve a teaspoon or half teaspoon into boiling water to use as a steam. This works wonders even when you're feeling very blocked up. The combination of the steam and the menthol will soon have your nose running like crazy (this is good as it's shifting the blockage from further up the sinuses) and I find that with a few blows in between I can often get at least partially cleared up using this method. Be careful though, when you first put your head over the pot to start steaming keep your eyes closed as the strength of the vicks vapours can be a bit intense for some. I find this method works far better with a towel over your head and t he pot in order to keep more of the steam in. You can basically keep going until the water stops steaming. Once you're done though make sure to scrub out the pot really thoroughly and use plenty of hot or boiling water to rinse it, otherwise your next meals will be tasting like Vicks.

Similar to the steaming method, but less intense, is to put some in a hot bath. This will obviously be less concentrated in terms of clearing your sinuses, but baths make you feel better anyway when you're sick so you might as well throw a bit of this in there. You can be more liberal since you're using a lot more water. Be careful with rubbing wet hands in your eyes though, it might sting.

I also like to use Vicks directly on my skin when I have a cold. It is ever so slightly warming on the chest and will waft up to your nose during the night to help open up those sinuses. I find when doing this it's best to wear something with a looser neck so that the vapours do actually reach you rather than getting trapped under your clothes. Not to worry about getting thise on clothes though, I've never had any problems with staining. Especially for those who have grown up with Vicks, using a bit at night is definitely very soothing and will help to ensure you have a sound night's sleep even with your cold.

Lastly, I have to report how my father uses Vicks. Please do not think that I am recommending this though! He insists, whenever he has a cold or sore throat, on rubbing some vicks on the back of his throat (yes, inside!) and says it knocks the cold right out. Personally I cannot imagine that this stuff tastes good, and the directions for use certainly don't indicate that internal use is recommended, but it does go to show that it isn't poisonous, so no need to worry about using this on little ones.

I would say though that you might want to be careful using this on broken skin. Some people, for example, place a tiny bit of vicks directly on the skin under the nose to get more exposure to the vapours. I wouldn't recommend this if your nose is sore from blowing though as the skin is already tender.

All in all a must-have product for the household with a lot of handy uses. Of course it isn't a cure-all and your cold isn't likely to disappear overnight, but it does help to open you up and make you feel better, especially if you don't like taking stronger medication.

Summary: A household must.