I have a cold at the moment, and have been using a few drops of Olbas Oil on a tissue or dabbed under my nose to clear the congestion.
My question is, how does this work? I assume that menthol is the active ingredient, but what is it about menthol vapours that can clear out your nasal passages?
What, nobody nose?
Ooo!!
On the same kinda topic, a Latvian chum of mine gave me the BEST cure/home remedy for a blocked nose EVER!!
Raw.
Grated.
Horseradish.
:eek:
And it WORKS!!!
Within a nano-second of swallowing a teaspoon of the stuff (while my eyes watered and I slowly got my vision back (one synaesthete a-comin’ up!) from the nasal equivalent of a kick in the head from a moose) my nose was INSTANTLY cleared and remained so for AGES!!
So how do strong smells - like Olbas Oil - clear blocked noses?
Some strong odorants most likely tend to shrink the tissues lining the airways and allow an increase airflow, just as anti-histamines do.
Do you have to swallow it, or just hold it in your mouth? I can’t imagine washing it down with water would do the trick.