A: For cough suppression, rub a thick layer of Vicks VapoRub on your chest and throat. Cover with a warm, dry cloth, if desired. Keep clothing loose about your throat and chest to help the vapors to reach the nose and mouth.
It interacts with cold receptors in the nose and throat, helping to stop coughing. Vicks VapoRub contains 2.6% menthol to help stop constant coughing fast. Vicks VapoDrops are also an effective remedy for coughs.
Using Vicks VapoRub on your feet or other areas of your body has a cooling effect. This is mainly because of the camphor and menthol. The cooling sensation of the vapor rub may be pleasing and temporarily help you feel better. But it doesn't actually reduce body temperature or fevers.
In adults and children age 2 and older, use it only on the neck and chest.
The cooling effect from VapoRub explains how its active ingredients ease the feeling of congestion, Bhattacharyya says. They “can help by creating the sensation that more air is flowing into your body when you breathe,” he says, adding that this is also how some cough drops, such as Halls, work.
For adults and adolescents aged 12 years and over, Vicks vaporub should be rubbed liberally on the chest, throat and back underneath loose clothing to allow the vapour to be inhaled. Alternatively, two teaspoonfuls can be melted in hot (not boiling) water to use as a steam inhalation.
Where do I put Vicks to unblock my nose? If a stuffy nose is driving you mad then Vicks VapoRub can help to make you feel as though you can breathe more easily. It's best to layer the formula onto your throat or chest to help with a blocked nose.
Although effective when the cream is used as recommended, camphor can increase mucus secretion, causing a buildup in the windpipe. While there's not much research out there on the effects of sniffing Vicks, some possible effects include headache, irritated nose, irritated throat, and eventual lung problems.
Does putting Vicks on your feet work? Vicks VapoRub is a popular product for helping with the symptoms of a cold. Applying Vicks to the throat and chest can help with symptoms such as a blocked nose. Applying Vicks to the feet, however, is unlikely to have any effect.
There's no evidence that putting Vicks VapoRub on your feet will help relieve cold symptoms. The manufacturer only recommends rubbing the ointment on the chest or neck.
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.
Don't steam longer than 10 to 15 minutes for each session. However, you can repeat steam inhalation two or three times per day if you're still having symptoms.
All you'll need is to add. 1-2 teaspoons of Vicks VapoRub to a bowl of hot. water. Slowly inhale the vapours and feel the relief.
Inhaling Vicks VapoRub
Inhaling the warm vapours can help to relieve the symptoms of a cold. Hold your head over the bowl and slowly inhale the vapours for 10 to 15 minutes. Remember to wash your hands after applying Vicks VapoRub.
Coughing often worsens at night because a person is lying flat in bed. Mucus can pool in the back of the throat and cause coughing. Sleeping with the head elevated can reduce the symptoms of postnasal drip and GERD. Both can cause coughing at night.
What causes coughing at night. Many of the same things that cause a cough during the day cause a cough at night. But the position one assumes while sleeping, the stagnancy and quality of bedroom air, and exposure to lint, dust, pollen, and mites from bedding can all make a PM coughing fit common.
Besides a cold, the most common causes of chronic nighttime coughing are GERD, postnasal drip, and asthma, said Dr. Dass.
After all, coughing is your body's way of clearing your throat and airways of mucus, fluids, irritants, or microbes. A dry cough, a cough that doesn't help to expel any of these, is less common. A dry, hacking cough can be irritating. But it could also be a sign of something more serious, such as chronic lung disease.
Easing cough
Rub a layer of Vicks VapoRub on your chest and neck only. Don't use it near your mouth or in your nostrils. Drape a warm, dry cloth over your head while you're sitting upright or standing. Loosen any clothing around your chest and throat so vapors can rise to your nose area.
Topical application of Vicks Vaporub on chest, neck, forehead and back can be done gently rubbing, two to three times a day. It can also be inhaled as steam.
Vicks VapoRub: The Chest Report
In fact, putting Vicks VapoRub directly under the nose, as opposed to rubbing it on the chest, may actually make it harder to breathe, according to results from a study published in the journal Chest. In children under age 2, this could result in an increase in mucus and congestion.
What Can Vicks Vaporub Do For Eyebrows? Menthol is a compound known to clear pores of irritants so that hair can grow easily while eucalyptus and camphor are both essential oil that stimulate the hair follicles and improve circulation when applied topically.