Q: How often can I use Vicks
If a nasal decongestant spray is a fixture in your medication lineup, it's important to know that using these sprays for more than three consecutive days can actually worsen your congestion.
Vicks products cannot cure the cold or flu, but they can help relieve chest congestion symptoms so you can feel better while your body heals from the cold or flu virus. When you have chest congestion symptoms, the mucus build-up in your lungs can become very thick and dense.
What are the side effects of Vicks VapoRub? Vicks VapoRub may cause redness and irritation when applied to the skin. In rare cases, allergic reactions, including hives or rashes, may occur after use of Vicks VapoRub on the skin. Thermal and chemical burns can occur if heated Vicks VapoRub is applied to the skin.
When placed on the skin, camphor can be absorbed through mucous membranes or broken skin. This 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 the eyes, it can injure the clear outer layer, called the cornea.
Q: How often can I use Vicks VapoRub? A: For cough suppression, Vicks VapoRub may be used up to 3 times daily or as directed by your doctor. Simply rub a thick layer on your chest and throat. For muscle/joint minor aches and pains, Vicks VapoRub may be applied to the affected area not more than 3 to 4 times daily.
Vicks VapoRub works best when used on the chest. There's no evidence that it helps cold symptoms if you put it on your feet. But Vicks VapoRub on the bottom of your feet may help relieve mild muscle aches, neuropathic foot pain, and moisturize dry skin.
That's because the nose has temperature-sensitive sensors inside that can detect air movement: menthol tricks the nose into thinking there's a lot of airflow because it creates a cooling sensation, even when there's absolutely no difference in airflow.
Eucalyptus oil, one of Vicks' active ingredients, can be pretty beneficial. Paired with hot water, eucalyptus oil can double your phlegm fighting force. Not only is it antiviral (most chest coughs are viral infections), but it also relieves coughs and loosens up mucus.
Then, little hairs that line your lungs—called cilia—push the mucus out of the lungs. It'll come up your throat, and you'll swallow it back down, usually without noticing it. From there, it'll pass through your stomach and out of your digestive tract.
Use up to three times daily or as directed by a doctor for soothing and comforting relief. VapoRub can also be used as a topical analgesic to temporarily relieve minor aches and pains in your muscles and joints. To use for muscle and joint aches and pains: apply to affected area not more than three to four times daily.
Vicks VapoRub® when applied before retiring to bed can reduce subjective sleep disturbances during a common cold. The results of this exploratory study support the belief among patients that the use of VapoRub improves subjective sleep quality during common cold which was associated with more refreshing sleep.
Topical nasal decongestants such as Afrin (oxymetazoline), Neo-Synephrine (phenylephrine), Privine (naphazoline), and Vicks VapoRub Inhaler (l-desoxyephedrine/levmetamfetamine) can also cause an increase in blood pressure.
It contains camphor which is toxic if swallowed or absorbed into the body and the manufacturers do in fact warn that VapoRub should not be applied in or near the nostrils and not used on children under 2 years of age.
Vicks VapoRub side effects
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Less serious side effects may be more likely, and you may have none at all.
According to the theory, Vicks VapoRub stimulates nerves in the feet that are then transmitted to the medulla oblongata in the brain. The is the part of your brain that regulates coughs. To date, there's no evidence that stimulating the foot affects the cough reflex.
Toxicity and death following ingestion of camphorated oil, which was confused with castor oil and cod liver oil, prompted the FDA to ban the nonprescription sale of camphorated oil in the United States in 1980.
Ingestion of camphor can cause severe liver and central nervous system injury, and neurotoxicity has been observed after exposure to camphor through the skin. Hepatotoxicity after dermal application of camphor has never been reported.
Camphor is mentioned in the Koran (76:5) as a mixer (mezāj) in a cup from which the righteous (abrār) shall drink in Paradise, and in Islam camphor plays an important part in the funerary ritual.
The ingredients of Vicks VapoRub, menthol and camphor, have primarily superficial effects, but can provide a soothing sensation over an arthritic joint that is inflamed. What home remedies do you recommend for arthritis pain? Glucosamine and Chondroitin.
Recent studies have explored the potential anti-aging effects of the essential oil from Eucalyptus globulus leaves (eucalyptus oil), a key ingredient in Vicks VapoRub. (3,4) Eucalyptus oil was shown to reduce the number of senescent cells, which accumulate with age and contribute to skin aging.
For an effective overnight cosmetic treatment, apply a thick layer of Vaseline® Healing Jelly Original to the heel after a bath or shower, when the skin is soft. Then, throw on a pair of cotton socks to keep the jelly in place – the cotton will allow the skin on your feet to breathe.