People Are Just Realizing They’ve Been Using Vaporub All Wrong
A boy seems to have a bad cough. In a moment, his affectionate mom brings a cobalt blue jar of Vicks Vaporub, scoops out a dollop of the waxy white salve, and rubs it gently over the boy’s chest and nose. Soon enough, the boy wakes up feeling refreshed and healed. This is a familiar visual from our childhood. For over a century, the strong menthol smell of Vicks Vaporub has been associated with the smell of good health. Like billions of people, Lilli (@kirbysrightfoot) too had been using the vaporizing salve every day of her life, in the morning as well as at bedtime. But very recently, she realized that she had been applying it incorrectly and took to TikTok to share her experience.
“Me after finding out you aren’t supposed to put vapor rub in your nose or under your nose because it can [kill] you,” Lilli wrote in the video overlay while sharing a shocked, jaw-dropping, gasping facial expression in the background. Ever since viewed by over 130,000 people, Lilli’s video struck like a thunderbolt to so many who had been using Vicks for decades and decades.
“Wait a dang minute I have been using the Vicks nose spray since I was little,” said @whatisthis703. Tons of people however disagreed with this claim, saying that they have been using the ointment for years and nothing happened. “I’ve been doing this all of my life. You’ll be fine,” wrote @dreamcatcher46754 in a comment. @__girlgirl quipped, “Damn just did this the other day for the one-millionth time!” @priscillabeeks said, “Man I've been doing that since I was a kid. I'm still alive.”
In a comment, Lilli revealed that she read it on the back of the Vicks bottle that advised against rubbing it in the nostrils. “I just know we’re not supposed to put it in our nose because it reacts with our mucus membranes in a toxic way. It’s says on the bottle any other way besides nostrils and eating is fine,” she explained. Her explanation is correct, based on the properties of its ingredients.
Vicks Vaporub consists of a motley of ingredients including eucalyptus oil, turpentine oil, levomenthol, and camphor. And camphor can be harmful to the skin if not used properly, according to Mayo Clinic. When applied on the skin, camphor can be absorbed by the mucous membranes, leading to toxicity, and hence the ointment should not be applied around the nostrils. Also, the Vaporub should not be used with toddlers or children as accidental ingestion of it can lead to deadly camphor poisoning. Additionally, when placed near the eyes, it can damage the outer layer called the cornea.
Lilli is not the only person to have read this “do not use on nostrils” instruction on the Vicks bottle. Previously, another TikToker, Iveth Resendiz (@ivethresendiz_) shared a video advising people to not “take [Vicks Vaporub] by mouth or place in the nostrils.” In Lilli’s case, she continues to use the emollient, as she said in a follow-up video. Dipping her fingers in the cobalt blue bottle of Vicks, she extracted a gobbet from the white pasty goop and playfully rubbed the soothing balsam on her nose.
You can follow Lilli (@kirbysrightfoot) for more everyday life hacks!