| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/13/2009 5:30:13 AM | This thread is for all those that slather big gobs of Camphor, Menthol, Turpentine, and Petroleum ...better known as Vicks Vapo Rub ....under their noses. I bet Proctor and Gamble....laughs all the way to the bank.
"It does what it is meant to do: It gives the brain the sensation of relief of stuffiness as menthol triggers specific cold receptors in the nose and bronchial tubes."
"If you can't sleep because you are so congested, and put it on your chest, it makes you feel better. It doesn't open things up." Said Daniel Craven, MD, a pediatric lung specialist at University Hospitals Case Medical Centers Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland.
Bruce Rubin wrote in the Journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, 2008 ..."several small studies have failed to show any medicinal benefit from the ointment.
He argues Vicks menthol binds to receptors in the throat, the gives the patient the impression of breathing easily.
In experimental studies using Ferrets as subjects, Vicks ointment actually increased mucus secretion in healthy animals by 14% and 8% in those with already inflamed airways. Vicks also slowed the action of cilia that carts mucus away.
Further inflaming, inflamed airways is especially serious for children as their ducts are much narrower compared to adults. "Any increase in mucus or inflammation can narrow them more severely," Rubin said.
In terms of over-the-counter cold and flu medicine....."The bottom line is, none of them have been proven by research to work" and there are risks involved, Craven said. "There are no miracle cures for a respiratory virus infection."
"The body has evolved ways to fight such infections, Rubin said, strategies that include coughs, sneezes and mucus that traps microbes and moves them away from the throat." | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/13/2009 5:34:43 AM | | I've read an article or two, that suggests it is effective against athletes foot. Probably no science behind that. | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/13/2009 4:17:26 PM | ^^ there is an ingredient (and it escapes me right now) that works against fungus in Vick's Vapo Rub. Some people slather it on their feet with socks at night and it has had a few reports of working as an antifungal.
Ugh...I just can't recall the ingredient right now!! | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/13/2009 4:37:26 PM | | Meh, they can do a thousand studies and I'll still use it. When I have a nasty stuffed up nose, a bit on my chest and under my nose makes a world of difference... to me, but it's different to everyone. I read about this study in the newspaper and they claim it's not healthy to use on toddlers, especially right under thier nose. But as a thirty-something year old, I'm not going to stop using it. | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/13/2009 4:47:55 PM | There are all sorts of things out there that will make one feel better when stuffed up with a cold - me, I'll keep my Vicks. No, I'm not going to shove a glob of it in my nose like some articles suggest we stop doing; I never did in the first place. It's not the petrolium that helps make one feel better its the metholatum (sp?). Vick's and Johnston's methol bath soak are going to stay in my medicine cabinet for those days when I feel rotten because of a cold. It sure beats those old fashion burning mustard poultices my grandmother used to use on me as a kid.
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/13/2009 4:54:28 PM | When I was a child, my Mom put it on my feet with warm socks.
I was about 23 and living away from home, and had a terrible cold. My Mom called and asked what I was doing for it. I told her I was taking something for the fever, drinking 7-up, and had Vicks and socks on my feet. She thought that was the funniest thing she had ever heard. Turns out, she put Vicks and socks on my feet because I didn't like the way it felt when I walked on it, and it kept me in bed.
I miss my Mom and her pithy, earthy wisdom. | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/13/2009 10:48:07 PM |
I've read an article or two, that suggests it is effective against athletes foot. Probably no science behind that.
Camphor and menthol have moderate anti-microbial properties. | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/14/2009 9:30:15 AM | They say it's not good for children, however Vicks makes a baby rub that I use on my son (on his chest/back and on his feet with socks) before he goes to bed. I also use eucalyptus oil in a pot of boiling water.....it seems to help clear his nose a bit. IMO the baby rub is no different than diluting the regular Vicks with Vaseline before applying it (which is what I used to do years ago for my eldest son before the "baby rub" came out.
If nothing else, it gives a placebo effect to Mom and Dad that makes them feel better about doing "something" rather than "nothing." ;) However I agree that no one (adult or otherwise) should be putting it under (or in) their nostrils......... | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/14/2009 10:30:21 AM | Tell you what it does for me....
When I have had a cold and have sneezed so much that my nose is literally raw, I have put Vics Rub on my nose, and woken up the next morning with the rawness gone...
Have been reading various pros & cons about this product, but it really does feel good when one has a chest cold, gets in bed, preferrably under an elecrtric blanket, and goes to sleep.......
Not the most romantic thing in the world, but it's helped me a few times with some issues with colds, etc........
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/17/2009 10:39:14 PM | | It goes in these nostrils to counteract certain nasty smelly experiences, such as post mortem examinations of dead creatures. Off label use I know, but it works. | |
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Xavery
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Joined: 4/22/2007
Msg: 12 | |
| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/18/2009 8:12:59 PM | Oh my goodness - it is a wonder I am still alive. My mother's remedy to everything was Vicks. I inhaled a good deal of that stuff as a child. I doubt is addictive because I never carried on the tradition as an adult, possibly because my immune system is terrified of Vicks and I do not get colds.
I hate the way Vicks can make my eyes water. | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/21/2009 9:12:44 AM | I have always known that Vicks doesnt actually make the symtoms of a cold go away...but it brings comfort when comfort is needed.
That scent to me is just synomymous with being cared for, and it makes me feel better. It's all in my head, I know this to be true...but when you are dragging your ass all day fighting a cold, you do whatever you need to do to feel well and get a good nights sleep. | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 1/21/2009 11:57:09 AM |
I was about 23 and living away from home, and had a terrible cold. My Mom called and asked what I was doing for it. I told her I was taking something for the fever, drinking 7-up, and had Vicks and socks on my feet. She thought that was the funniest thing she had ever heard. Turns out, she put Vicks and socks on my feet because I didn't like the way it felt when I walked on it, and it kept me in bed.
i love that story!
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 7/24/2009 11:20:56 AM | Try using Japanese Mint Oil or a product called thirty-five herb oil manufactured by Hagina. Both can be used in diffusers or topically and can be found at your local health food store. Both these products are amazing and have been used for much much longer than Vick's with incredible success.  | |
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| Vicks VapoRub: The Grand Illusion
Posted: 7/25/2009 2:38:02 AM | They say it's not good for children,}
well WE are all still alive!
Mom used to stuff it up our nose, on our temples & chests when we had bad colds | |
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