Take a deep breath... (Vicks VapoRub)

Member Name: Gendu

Product:	Vicks VapoRub
Date:	26/01/04 (398 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Enduring Relief, Powerful and effective, Reasonable

Disadvantages: Loses strength over time

IMPORTANT

This review is about Vicks inhaler. It is NOT about the vapour rub. I apologise for having to post it in this category but I could not find one for the VIcks inhaler. I hope you find this review useful nonetheless.

INTRO

When I wrote this review, I actually had a cold and a blocked up nose myself. I also used a Vicks inhaler to relieve it while writing the review to ensure complete accuracy and to help aid me in writing. This review is a pretty long haul so if you just want the essential information, skip down to the part entitled ?VICKS INHALER: APPEARANCE?. For those of you reading the entire article, here we go. Take a deep breath?

INVASION!

OK, the enemy has attacked! With almost completely undetectable stealth and speed, a new variant on the common cold has invaded your body. The mother cell has landed and now her workers are being spawned at a rate faster then Juko Aloha can run after a couple of cans of red bull. Not to worry though, your antibodies are on the case and within a few days or so, with the last phlegm coughed up and the brief battle concluded you can get back to normal life.
However, while the fight is on, your body is the battleground and with so much fighting, it?s bound to get somewhat damaged. There are several nasty effects that occur. A sore throat, a chesty cough but perhaps the most annoying of all is a blocked up nose.

THE BLOCKAGE

Yes we all know the score. Continuous sniffling and snorting, the occasional forceful blow onto a tissue, a lack of taste for anything the tongue touches and worst of all, an annoying difficulty to breathe properly without opening your mouth. Ugh! These are all the symptoms of a blocked up nose and while this nasty little effect of a cold isn?t life threatening, it can certainly prove to be even more irritating then a 4 year-old throwing a tantrum in front of your TV while you?re trying to watch a crucial episode of Eastenders. <
br>The frustration with not being able to breathe can be unbearable and it?s amazing how quickly a box of tissues can disappear. And even after a nice long blow, it seems only seconds before the forces have re-gathered and your nose is once again densely populated with yellow sticky mucus.

THE COMPETITION

When I first discovered that my cold had caused me to get a nose more blocked then a school toilet, I decided to take action. My first port of call was Halls. I remember seeing the advert where the centre ?dip? in the sweet turned into a large fan, illustrating the lozenge?s ability to unblock. Having worked through half a packet within 5 hours, I was disappointed to discover that they had been about as effective as a toothless comb.
So Halls had failed but then I remembered how lockets had helped relieve my sore throat a few days back and also claimed to work wonders with blocked noses. It wasn?t long before my local newsagent had rung up a sale for 47p and its stock was depleted by one packet of the extra strong variety of the honey-filled lozenges.
Nice as they were to consume compared to the halls, my blocked nose was still more stuffed then a Christmas turkey and I was getting more frustrated. It?s not until you get a blocked nose that you realise how much you take the taste of food for granted.

TAKE A DEEP BREATH

OK, so cough sweets were out of the question. This blockage was particularly stubborn and called for a different solution. When it comes to being ill, you can?t beat mums for helping you to recover and mine had come up trumps. On her return trip from the town centre, she had managed to pick me up a Vicks inhaler. My hopes of conquering the blockage had risen and I quickly put her purchase to good use.

VICKS INHALER: APPEARANCE

OK, so I?ve finally arrived at the product itself. Firstly, Vicks are a trustworthy company. Their vapour rub has proved essential in the past with clearing up
congestion in the nose and chest. Either by rubbing the substance on your chest, or by inhaling it with warm water. Their inhaler is probably their most useful and fuss-free creation.
The inhaler itself is a rounded white plastic rod with a small vent at the tip. Inside is where the magic is stored. This rod slots into a holder that just fits around it, which has the label stuck around it. This is a light turquoise colour with a white strip cutting across in a tick shape behind the word ?inhaler? in red. Above this, is the small triangular Vicks logo.
VICKS INHALER: THE EXPERIENCE

OK so I was finally ready to put this pocket sized saviour to the test. I shoved the rod firmly up one nostril and compressed the other while inhaling deeply. I then repeated this for the other nostril. The result was breath giving. The strong vapours wormed through my nostrils, destroying the mucus barricades and actually allowed me to breathe! I expected the effect to wear off in seconds but unlike the cough sweets, the relief was slightly more persistent and my nose remained clear for some time before another insertion was required.
It got even better. My chest was finally starting to loosen up all the accumulated catarrh and it was all breaking up (resulting in some rather nasty phlegm eruptions via the mouth).
This product will NOT cure a blocked nose, nor will it PREVENT a blocked nose from occurring. It is merely designed to provide temporary relief from the suffocating blockage and to enable breathing. Also, unlike a packet of cough sweets, this inhaler won?t run out. Over time, the strength of its vapours will undoubtedly deplete but one inhaler is easily powerful and enduring enough to see off a blocked nose for the duration of a cold. Wonderful! It?s also easy to use ? just stick it up your nose and inhale deeply.
Also, my mum claimed she paid just £1:99 for the inhaler. In my opinion, that?s definitely worth paying for the miracles it can perf
orm on a blocked nose. If it allows me to breathe easy without smothering tissue after tissue in yellow sticky mess then I?m happy to fork out for one.
So where does this product not meet the standard? Well I find it incredibly hard to pick fault. If I had to find anything to complain about, it would have to be that the relief from an inhale is only temporary and it doesn?t actually clear the nose, just makes breathing clear.
Vicks inhalers are easy to pick up. Chemists, supermarkets and some convenience stores will stock them and at this time of year, they should be readily available.

CONCLUSION

So to conclude, I would have to say that Vicks inhalers are very impressive. They do exactly what it says ? makes breathing feel clear and cool. In my opinion, a Vicks inhaler is an essential companion for anyone with a cold and stuffy nose.

Summary: