Since 1912, families have relied on Vick's VapoRub to calm miserable nighttime coughs in both adults and children. More recently, Vick's added BabyRub to the product lineup, a Camphor free alternative for infants over 3 months old. You probably remember the little cobalt jar on your bedside table way back when, and most likely have one in your medicine cabinet today. It's affordable at just a couple dollars, easy to use, and widely claimed to be effective.
Who doesn't have fond memories of Vick's VapoRub?
Stories I've heard often include a concerned mom & dad (or sometimes Grandma) making sure their little cherub was comfortably propped with pillows, snuggled tight under soft flannel sheets, & given steady doses of tea with lemon. The picture wouldn't be complete without the addition of Vick's, a soothing ointment with the Vaseline texture and Menthol/Euchalyptus vapors. When rubbed on the chest, it opened up the breathing passages. Even if you didn't get instant relief, you surely felt instant love and tender care from the one administering it.
VapoRub users get creative
You've probably heard about the email that circulated the internet world proclaiming that Vick's VapoRub smeared on the soles of feet and covered with socks will stop a cough, giving the user a deeply peaceful night's sleep. Snopes investigated the claim and deemed it Undetermined. However, I've been using it that way on my own children and myself for years because it has never failed to work. For kids that don't tolerate cough medicine, Vick's on the feet is a godsend. Nobody can tell me exactly how it works, but I'll gladly take it; some things, like why a bar of soap in the bedsheets relieves restless leg syndrome, just don't have an answer. (yet!)
Vick's is sometimes used by adults in several ways not recommended by doctors or on the product itself. For joint pain relief or cracked dry skin, the area is slathered with Vick's (and gently wrapped to protect sheets and clothing) and allowed to work overnight. For sinus pressure relief, some folks add a dollop of Vick's VapoRub to a warm bath or into a pot of steaming water and inhale deeply. Some users swear it works to kill toenail fungus if applied twice a day- at morning and night- and covered with socks, while still others claim Vick's effectively kills plantar warts when covered with duct tape.
Vick's VapoRub is a product that has stood the test of time, proven to be an effective and economical choice for cold relief, and will most likely be comforting families well into the future. In time more uses for Vick's may be discovered, and perhaps inventive users themselves will reveal healing properties hidden within the little blue jar.
