What exactly does smearing Vicks Vaperrub do?

[Darth-Baiter]

I’m slightly congested in my nose.  I just bought some on a whim.  I don’t remember it working fir me as a kid.  
 

anyone?  A bunch of Hooey?  

[Chowderhead]

Always seemed to work for me and my sons when they were sick as children. Good luck!

[DitchPanda]

The cooling and effervescent affect always seemed to sooth my cough and somewhat help congested breathing. Some people claim it doesn't do anything. Whether or not it really does or its a placebo affect situation it helps me.

[Mike L]

I remember My Ma would smear that stuff on our chest’s when we were kids whenever we were congested. 
She would put some in one of those steam machines that created a mist and locked us in our room with it. 
If our nose was stuffed up she would take a little and put it above our upper lip. 
 

I don’t remember if it helped for congestion, but it does help you to breathe better if you can stand it. 
 

 

 

Mike

[BrianMDTX]

It’s worthless if applied solo. You need someone to lovingly and gently rub it on your chest while singing a lullaby. That’s what knocks you out! 

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, Mike L said:

I remember My Ma would smear that stuff on our chest’s when we were kids whenever we were congested. 
She would put some in one of those steam machines that created a mist and locked us in our room with it. 
If our nose was stuffed up she would take a little and put it above our upper lip. 
 

I don’t remember if it helped for congestion, but it does help you to breathe better if you can stand it.

 

Vicks Vaperrub.  Now there's a name from the past.  This was the standard medicine for chest congestion years ago.  Your Mom would rub it on your chest when you went to bed.  Better yet, she would put it in a steam machine next to your bed.  If you had asthma, you know all about it.  The vapors will clear your sinuses.  There are modern day medicines that work much better without the smell. 

[A-Jay]

Only ever used it in any environment where the gag reflex would otherwise be very strong.

Went with an application to the upper lip or even just about in the nostrils depending on the level of noxiousness.  A little goes a long way right there. 

Will say that if I did happen to be a little congested, it seems to help some.

A-Jay

 

[Mike L]

Just now, Captain Phil said:

 

Vicks Vaperrub.  Now there's a name from the past.  This was the standard medicine for chest congestion years ago.  Your Mom would rub it on your chest when you went to bed.  Better yet, she would put it in a steam machine next to your bed.  If you had asthma, you know all about it.  The vapors will clear you sinuses.  There are modern day medicines that work much better without the smell. 

Yep, That’s what I meant. 

When my Ma passed one of the many things I kept was that steam machine. 
 

I gave it to my daughter when her son was young and congested and remember her questioning it. 
I set it up, put him to bed with it and was better the next morning. 
She still has it!
 

 

 

 

Mike

[Tennessee Boy]

Vicks Vaperrub is powerful stuff and can be used for a lot of things.  Rub some on a fishing rod and it will increase sensitivity.  ?

[Captain Phil]

38 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Vicks Vaperrub is powerful stuff and can be used for a lot of things.  Rub some on a fishing rod and it will increase sensitivity.  ?

 

I thought it was WD-40?  ?

[Bankbeater]

My mom used to put Vicks on my chest when I was a kid.  Besides stinking I don't think it ever did anything for me.

[Chowderhead]

3 hours ago, Mike L said:

She would put some in one of those steam machines that created a mist and locked us in our room with it. 

This brings back memories - my family had one of these steamers when I was a kid. No idea if it actually did any good.

[islandbass]

Same here with the “mom used to put it on me as a kid.”

 

the smell can be really strong and as a kid I hated the smell but not so much that it was a bad odor, but because if it’s on me and I’m smelling it, it meant that I was sick and couldn’t play outside. 
 

Sometimes it cleared my congestion and sometime it didn’t. 

[Darth-Baiter]

colored me shocked.  first, a tiny tub is $10.  

 

I showered got ready for bed.  I smeared it on my neck and chest.  I was totally surprised it cleared my sinuses, and I quickly fell asleep.  the affects are fleeting.  say, 1 hour.  but it was enough to go lights out.

 

my wife did laugh and said I smell like a kid.  

30 minutes ago, islandbass said:

Same here with the “mom used to put it on me as a kid.”

 

the smell can be really strong and as a kid I hated the smell but not so much that it was a bad odor, but because if it’s on me and I’m smelling it, it meant that I was sick and couldn’t play outside. 
 

Sometimes it cleared my congestion and sometime it didn’t. 

yup.  I am not fishing today. I dont want to drag this to my friends.  

 

locking myself in.  

[Woody B]

Y'alls Moms rubbed Vick Vapor run on your chest?   My Mom thought that ANY sickness was caused by constipation.   My Mom gave me a dose of castor oil anytime, anything was wrong with me.  Did anyone else get castor oil when you were sick?

[Motoboss]

I have terrible sinus problems in the winter and have a bed side vaporizer I run at night. Additionally and most importantly I rub Vicks inside my nose to help keep it moist and the mentholatum vapor relives congestion.

That was the whole idea as a kid having it rubbed on your chest, being able to inhale the mentholatum vapors to improve breathing when stuffed up.

It’s just Vasoline petroleum jelly with menthol additives.
But it works!

[12poundbass]

3 minutes ago, Woody B said:

Did anyone else get castor oil when you were sick?

No, my mom loved me. ?

[Woody B]

6 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

No, my mom loved me. ?

 

My Mom loved me.  I suppose she just thought I was full of crap.   

[Southernbasser]

Man, that brings back memories, when I was a little kid my parents would rub that on my chest. I hated it, and would have rather been congested then have that greasy, strong smelling stuff on my chest. 
Now that I’m an adult, I don’t touch the stuff. 

 

[TOXIC]

The Mayo Clinic doesn’t really like it?. Good thing they didn’t know my grandfather who at the slightest sniff, would run me down and smear Vicks up both my nostrils and on my chest.  It wasn’t unusual for him to put a dab in his mouth as well?. To him it was the cure all for whatever ailed you.  
 

Vicks VapoRub — a topical ointment made of ingredients including camphor, eucalyptus oil and menthol that you rub on your throat and chest — doesn't relieve nasal congestion. But the strong menthol odor of VapoRub may trick your brain, so you feel like you're breathing through an unclogged nose. By contrast, decongestant tablets and nasal sprays sold over-the-counter may narrow blood vessels in your nose's lining, leading to reduced swelling in your nasal passages.

 

VapoRub has drawbacks in addition to its ineffectiveness as a nasal decongestant. It's unsafe for any use in children under 2 years old. In adults and children age 2 and older, use it only on the neck and chest.

Swallowing a few teaspoons of camphor — one of the main ingredients in VapoRub and other topical medications, such as Campho-Phenique and Bengay — can cause deadly poisoning in toddlers. Topical camphor absorbed through mucous membranes or broken skin also can be toxic. That's why you should never put VapoRub in or around the nostrils — especially a small child's nostrils. And if VapoRub gets in your eye, it can injure your cornea.

 

 

[Woody B]

3 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

By contrast, decongestant tablets and nasal sprays sold over-the-counter may narrow blood vessels in your nose's lining, leading to reduced swelling in your nasal passages. From the Mayo Clinic:

 

That's interesting.  My fishing/hunting/shooting/musician, Doctor friend says to stay away from decongestants as much as possible.  He says they can cause the mucus to harden and pretty much turn to gum.  According to him this causes infections.  

[A-Jay]

Vicks VapoRub —

It's a topical ointment and a desert topping. 

#snl

A-Jay

 

[TOXIC]

In kind of an odd twist of fate, I had a friend who got addicted to those nasal inhalers that look like a tube of chapstick.  He finally had to get some that were just saline filled because he was killing his nasal passages, took him a long time to shake that habit.  

[Deleted account]

1 minute ago, TOXIC said:

In kind of an odd twist of fate, I had a friend who got addicted to those nasal inhalers that look like a tube of chapstick.  He finally had to get some that were just saline filled because he was killing his nasal passages, took him a long time to shake that habit.  

Dristan, model airplane cement, non-dairy whipped topping, and then homework, those were the days...

[padlin]

As soon as I started to read this thread I could smell it and picture the blue glass humidifier mom would run.