# Petroleum Jelly Taken Internally? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 23, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530 "2010-03-23T21:04:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/21 "2010-03-24T15:29:30Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [Robert Chesebrough](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Chesebrough) took a spoonful every day–and he lived to be in his 90s. Eating a spoonful of petroleum jelly before a scene was the secret technique behind 80s porn star [Little Oral Annie](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001913/)’s deep throat. ---
**Author:** ![lalenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@lalenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lalenin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/22 "2010-03-24T15:35:04Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Eating a spoonful of petroleum jelly before a scene was the secret technique behind 80s porn star [Little Oral Annie](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001913/)’s deep throat. Finally! Factual and useful information. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/23 "2010-03-24T15:54:06Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > Really? I thought the information upthread was pretty clear. The answer is “Yes, petroleum jelly was used internally. Primarily with the belief that it acted as a stool softener/mild laxative and promoted ‘regularity’.” > > Grandmothers were fond of it or a spoonful mineral oil (which is basically a much more liquidy version of petroleum jelly). It’s no longer really used in its pure form this way by humans anymore, but it’s used in veterinary medicine still, along iwth minerl oil, as a laxative for cats, ferrets, elephants, etc. Say that I ask about taking doses of uranium and people come in giving anecdotes about how their grandpa used to throw chunks of it in the local pond and get his feet x-rayed every time he tried on a new shoe. Yes, it is factual information about your grandpa, but anecdotes about gramps and his beliefs on science and medicine don’t strike me as quite the pinnacle of what the SD can provide, quite specifically because grandpa might have been quite wrong. He might have been lucky and survived even still, but hence why anecdote is not datum. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/24 "2010-03-24T16:02:55Z")
The folks that said they knew people that consumed it did answer the question. The question was did people consume petroleum jelly. The answer was yes. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/25 "2010-03-24T16:14:47Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Say that I ask about taking doses of uranium and people come in giving anecdotes about how their grandpa used to throw chunks of it in the local pond and get his feet x-rayed every time he tried on a new shoe. Yes, it is factual information about your grandpa, but anecdotes about gramps and his beliefs on science and medicine don’t strike me as quite the pinnacle of what the SD can provide, quite specifically because grandpa might have been quite wrong. He might have been lucky and survived even still, but hence why anecdote is not datum. No, the question was > [@](#): > > Did people really eat this stuff? The answers have been “Yes.” and it was a fairly common home remedy. ETA: And from a historical site on petroleum products: "An 1886 issue of Manufacture and Builder even reported, “French bakers are making large use of vaseline in cake and other pastry. Its advantage over lard or butter lies in the fact that, however stale the pastry may be, it will not become rancid.” " Um. Ew. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/26 "2010-03-24T16:40:23Z")
> [@lalenin](#): > > Finally! Factual and useful information. Hey, just doing my bit. Next to add the interview where I read that factoid to her Wikipedia entry. It did give her scenes a very unique look. Extra shiny. Note: I have no idea if Richard Cheesebourough had the same reason to eat it. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/27 "2010-03-24T16:43:10Z")
Missed the edit because the board went screwy. Chesebrough registered “Vaseline” as a trademark in 1870 as an “emollient and medicinal preparation for **external and internal use** ”. It was marketed as a healing salve for skin burns and to soothe throat irritation. It’s no longer approved for internal use because, like mineral oil, it was leading to _lipoid pneumonia_ a common cause of which was the accidental aspiration of mineral oil/Vaseline/related stuff as a laxative. Injesting Vaseline was more common at the turn of the century. So gramps and gran took it as kids and tried to foist it on some of the rest of us. In any case, if you look up lipoid pneumonia, you’ll probably see references to Vaseline and mineral oil being used as a laxative. Now that it’s no longer in vogue as it was in Gramp’s generation, LP is more likely to be caused by siphoning diesel, or folk remedies like oily nasal drops. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/28 "2010-03-24T17:13:34Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I have seen consumable remedies that used turpentine, paraffin, kerosene, or coal tar. [Food-grade paraffin wax](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraffin#Paraffin_wax) is still consumed today, albeit in small quantities. It’s used in some candy coatings and gum. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/29 "2010-03-24T17:14:04Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > \ anecdotes about gramps and his beliefs on science and medicine don’t strike me as quite the pinnacle of what the SD can provide\ No, that would be bitching about The Powers That Be. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/30 "2010-03-24T19:26:07Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > I think it’s still a main ingredient in hairball remedies for cats, although a lot use mineral oil. I bought some hairball medicine the other day and, yes, it was the primary ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/31 "2010-03-24T20:01:52Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I bought some hairball medicine the other day and, yes, it was the primary ingredient. While looking up its veterinary use, I also saw a really weird recipe for elephants. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/32 "2010-03-24T23:04:42Z")
If you fry the elephants in it, they’re diet elephants- ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/33 "2010-03-25T03:54:32Z")
I think that someone should bite the bullet and ingest some – for science and all that. (BTW, isn’t it actually reccomended nowadays that you NOT use it on burns?) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/34 "2010-03-25T10:54:44Z")
Petroleum jelly shouldn’t be taken internally - only use water-based lube, man! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/35 "2010-03-25T11:44:21Z")
I knew a guy who spread it on his gums every day. He died from AIDS not long after I met him, so he might not be a great advertisement for its internal use. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530/36 "2010-03-25T20:01:43Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Petroleum jelly shouldn’t be taken internally - only use water-based lube, man! i came here expecting SOMEBODY to cite the other internal use of vaseline. i just didn’t want to be the first. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petroleum-jelly-taken-internally/533530.md?page=1)