I had to hold my mother-in-law off with both hands when my kids were sick. She was ready to give them spoonfuls. I have no idea why people do this, but they do.
The worst thing my mother ever wanted to do with that stuff was rub it on my upper chest. That’s bad enough. (The stuff smells terrible and it’s going to stain the sheets.) But eating it is completely weird.
I found an ancient bottle of Vick’s in my great-aunt’s house once. On the label it suggested eating a pea-sized amount as a cure for I don’t remember exactly what. But it was right there, printed on the jar.
My paternal grandfather swallowed a fingerfull of the stuff every night at bedtime. I’m not sure what it was supposed to do for him, but he did live a long life so it couldn’t have been too bad.
Not a scientist, but I was researching peppermint oil capsules last night and also read that menthol and camphor can be toxic, esp, to kids. I would never have thought to eat it and it sounds disgusting.
It’s called vapo-rub, not vapo-jam, for a reason.
Oh my god that show is so fucking twisted. Either the entire thing is fake, or there are some seriously fucked up people in the world. I tend to believe the latter.
And it’s certainly kind of fucked up that they’re taping these people and essentially putting on a freak show, but that’s a whole other conversation.
I realize that, since the revelations about his predatory actions, he’s not quoted much, but I still love Bill Cosby’s routine about having a cold as a kid.
His Mom: Eat your sandwich?
Bill: What is it?
Mom: Peanut butter and Vicks
This was just the height of his mother’s reported Vicks obsession – he said he was slathered in vicks, then slipped into as vicks-infused bed.
The thing is, he was joking. I saw it as simply exaggeration of the same sort of behavior that my own mom had – I got the heavy Vicks treatment, complete with being slathered with it, inhaling it over a steaming pot of water infused with Vicks, and sticking an inhaler up my nose.
But I never imagined that anyone actually ate the Vicks.
Yeah-- my mother was obsessed with rubbing it on my chest-- and it did open up congested noses, albeit, a little like doing it with a sledge hammer-- but I seriously doubt my mother ever would have thought of eating it. Even for, say, constipation.
My mom always taught us to rub in under our nose and to eat just a little bit. She got it from her mom as well. So as a result, I’ve ingested my share of Vicks VapoRub in my life. It’s not deadly, nor does it taste bad…but not sure it works either. I haven’t done it for many years now, though. I still put it under my nose sometimes, however, because I like the smell of it and I find it can help me sleep at times.