science

Vicks VapoRub

Vicks VapoRub is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Vicks VapoRub rather than just read about it. In short: Vicks VapoRub (or VapoRub) is a mentholated topical ointment, part of the Vicks brand of over-the-counter medications owned by the American consumer goods company Procter & Gamble. VapoRub is intended for use on the chest, back and throat for cough suppression or on muscles and joints for minor aches and pains.

Key takeaways

Vicks VapoRub belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Vicks VapoRub to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Vicks VapoRub from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Vicks VapoRub (or VapoRub) is a mentholated topical ointment, part of the Vicks brand of over-the-counter medications owned by the American consumer goods company Procter & Gamble. VapoRub is intended for use on the chest, back and throat for cough suppression or on muscles and joints for minor aches and pains. Users of VapoRub often apply it immediately before sleep. First sold in 1905, VapoRub was originally manufactured by family-owned company Richardson-Vicks, Inc., based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Richardson-Vicks was sold to Procter & Gamble in 1985 and is now known as Vicks. VapoRub is also manufactured and packaged in India and Mexico. In German-speaking countries (apart from Switzerland), it is sold under the name Wick VapoRub to avoid brand blundering, as the German-language pronunciation of the written name "Vick(s)" would be homophonous with a German word usually considered profane. VapoRub continues to be Vicks's flagship product internationally, and the Vicks brand name is often used synonymously with the VapoRub product.

History The product can be traced to Jules Bengué, a French pharmacist, who created Ben-Gay, a menthol-based treatment for arthritis, gout and neuralgia. Lunsford Richardson, a pharmacist in Selma, North Carolina, sold Ben-Gay and heard from his customers that it cleared their sinuses. Richardson formulated Vicks to cure his son’s croup. He blended menthol into petroleum jelly, at first calling it Richardson's Croup and Pneumonia Cure Salve, later changing the name to Vicks VapoRub. It was named after Richardson's brother-in-law, Joshua Vick, a physician who had arranged for Richardson to have access to a laboratory to create the product. Richardson began selling it in 1905, renaming it VapoRub in 1912. In 2019, Vicks re-introduced VapoCream, a cream version of VapoRub - which was previously discontinued in the early 2000s.

Usage

While VapoRub has in the past been marketed for hot steam inhalation, this can potentially present a risk of burns due to splattering or fire, and should never be heated or added to hot water. VapoRub is labeled only for external use, with care to avoid eyes, nostrils and mouth. Application directly under the nose is not generally recommended as both camphor and petroleum can cause health problems if absorbed. In pre-clinical animal studies, the application of Vicks VapoRub directly onto the tracheae of ferrets caused an increase in mucus production compared to a water-based lubricant. One of these studies suggested that because the ingredients of Vicks VapoRub can be irritants, it may also stimulate mucus production and airway inflammation in humans, leading to respiratory distress in infants and young children due to the small size of their airways. A Penn State study showed Vicks VapoRub to be more effective than placebo petroleum rub for helping cough and congestion with regard to helping children and adults sleep. However, the study also showed that, unlike with the petroleum rub placebo, Vicks VapoRub was associated with burning sensations to the skin (28%), nose (14%) and eyes (16%), with 5% of study participants reporting redness and rash when using the product. The study's first author is a paid consultant for Procter & Gamble, maker of VapoRub. A study conducted in 1994 suggests menthol and camphor are effective cough suppressants for guinea pigs. It has been suggested that thymol oil can reduce or cure onychomycosis (nail fungus), although the same source mentions that "no human studies have been conducted to test whether thymol is a lasting and effective treatment". Football players apply it on their chest to improve respiratory function.

Ingredients The ingredients, as listed on older product labels, are: camphor, menthol, spirits of turpentine, oil of eucalyptus, cedarwood , nutmeg, and thymol, all "in a specially balanced Vick formula".

United States Active ingredients: Label reads: Active Ingredients (Purpose) Regular:

Lemon:

Inactive ingredients Regular & Lemon:

cedarleaf oil nutmeg oil petrolatum thymol turpentine oil Lemon:

lemon fragrance

India In India, Vicks VapoRub is made by Procter & Gamble (P&G). The formulation is almost the same as the one stated above. P&G claims Vicks Vaporub to be an Ayurvedic medicine, as indicated on the package. The ingredients (per 100 g of product) are stated as follows:

See also Aromatherapy Chest rub Essential oil Levomethamphetamine (Vicks Inhaler) Mentholatum Tiger Balm

References

External links

Official site Archived 2014-12-09 at the Wayback Machine Antique & vintage Cobalt Blue glass Vicks VapoRub jars - webpage illustrating base mark variations over the years

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Vicks VapoRub

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Vicks VapoRub claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Vicks VapoRub before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Vicks VapoRub ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Vicks VapoRub

In research: Vicks VapoRub appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Vicks VapoRub in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Vicks VapoRub is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ointments, Products introduced in 1905, Vicks brands, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Vicks VapoRub outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Vicks VapoRub in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Vicks VapoRub means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Vicks VapoRub out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vicks VapoRub in simple terms?

Why does Vicks VapoRub matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Vicks VapoRub?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Vicks VapoRub.