Vicks VapoRub is a popular ointment that is commonly applied to treat aches, coughs and even nose blockages.

However, a recent Facebook post by one Hawa J Edriss from the United States suggests that users should not inhale or apply Vicks VapoRub to their nostrils.

Here's why.

Man applied Vicks VapoRub on nostrils for more than 10 years

On Dec. 28, 2019, Edriss, a Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician who works at Saint Joseph Hospital in the USA, took to Facebook to share about a middle-aged man whom she had treated.

According to her, the man had been chronically applying Vick's VapoRub gel on his nostrils for more than 10 years to provide relief for nasal congestion.

In recent years, he had sought help from the health care system for respiratory distress and had been diagnosed with pneumonia on each occasion.

Two CT chest images that were taken six months apart showed how he was wrongly diagnosed with infectious pneumonia and wrongly treated with antibiotics.

Applying Vicks VapoRub on nostrils can cause lung opacities within 24 hours

According to Edriss, the accurate diagnosis should have been exogenous lipoid pneumonia, an uncommon and under-diagnosed condition.

Caused by inhalation or aspiration of animal fat or vegetal or mineral oil, exogenous lipoid pneumonia can manifest radiologically within 30 minutes of aspiration or inhalation, and lung opacities can appear in most patients within 24 hours.

Because Vicks VapoRub contains a variety of oil-based materials such as petrolatum, eucalyptus oil, cedarleaf oil, nutmeg oil, thymol and turpentine oil, it should not be inhaled or applied on nostrils.

A separate article from The Seattle Times also confirms that applying Vicks VapoRub on one's nostrils may cause lung inflammation.

Here is an example they cited.

"This warning is more important than ever, since researchers at Wake Forest University recently reported a case in which an 18-month-old child developed severe breathing problems when her grandparents put Vicks under her nostrils for a cold (Chest, January 2009)."

You can view Edriss' full post here:

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