Vick's VapoRub was the ivermectin of the 1918 flu pandemic.

[kpete]

People "believed" in it as a cure-all. Some swallowed spoons full thinking it would cure the deadly flu strain. It couldn't. The ointment was introduced in 1905 as a "pneumonia salve." In 1918, stores frequently ran out

Link to tweet

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[CrispyQ]

1. I love the smell of Vick's.

But I wouldn't eat it! Retch!

I think the current trend of stupidity is made worse by social media.

[NurseJackie]

3. I do too. It's very comforting when I have a cold.

(But I haven't had a cold or flu in many years... I wonder if it expires on the shelf if it's never been opened.)

[NurseJackie]

2. Quick! Buy stock in Proctor & Gamble (makers of Vick's Vaporub)

I'm sure this is going to be the next cure that they try. I'll try to start a rumor that they should cover their faces and genitals with it for the strongest reaction.

[SCantiGOP]

4. Maybe that's where my Dad got it from

He was born in 1919. We always used to joke that he thought Vick’s Vapor Rub and hydrogen peroxide would cure anything, and that he had gotten his medical degree from Reader’s Digest.
I, on the other hand, have my advanced medical degree from WebMD. 🙄

[Hugin]

8. When I was very young my Mom would pin a sock soaked in kerosene...

around my neck.

The coughing it induced may have had some therapeutic effect. I suppose.

The shot of whiskey she gave me made it tolerable.

[Dr. Shepper]

5. I do love my Vicks when I have a cold

My PhD is in influenza and I am well aware of the fact that it doesn’t clear the flu. But it sure can help with symptoms, especially congestion d/t secondary bacterial infections.

However (as both a virologist and veterinarian), I honestly cannot see how ivermectin can help with a coronavirus infection. Unless you need so much to kill off the virus that it kills regular cells too.

ETA I would NEVER ingest the stuff though.

[samnsara]

13. i bet you were able to help your kids with 8th grade math!

[Dr. Shepper]

16. Haha. My kiddo is only 10

And SHE wants to be a math teacher (after she becomes a world famous gymnast and artist).

She solves her math problems using multiple methodologies and leaves me in complete awe.

[Sneederbunk]

6. Were TFG's ancestors involved in this?

[Klaralven]

7. Vicks smeared on the chest, a woolen cloth over it, and a hot water bottle

I think the theory was that the cold would become so uncomfortable that it would go away!

[XanaDUer2]

9. My grandparents loved this stuff nt

[Hugin]

10. A great great relative who lived through that period ate a spoon full of...

carbolated petroleum jelly every day for the remainder of his life.

No word on if he was ever sick or had worms.

I'm guessing he was regular.

Dude lived into his 100's. But, the folks in that part of the family could derive sustenance from eating gravel.

[samnsara]

11. hubby said hes been selling a lot more of this recently.. good gawd are folks still eating it?

[tanyev]

12. Wow, I never knew that.

History does rhyme.

[Elessar Zappa]

14. My great grandma

thought Vicks could cure anything. She would rub Vicks on my Grandpa’s chest and feet when he had a cold! Not sure what the foot had to do with a chest cold but, nevertheless, she used it that way.

[eShirl]

15. I use Vicks VapoCream instead of a sore muscle rub

It smells and feels better than Absorbine Jr. or BenGay

Don't. Eat. Vicks.

[FoxNewsSucks]

17. I'd forgotten about eating Vaporub

My grandmother was born around the turn of the century, and as a little kid in the 60's, I remember her telling us to eat a spoonful of Vicks to cure things. I guess it's lucky my mother put a stop to that. Today, she'd probably be agreeing with it.

I always liked the smell of Vicks, either rubbed on or in a vaporizer. At school, we all had those little Vick's inhalers, and it took a lot of willpower to wait the two hours or whatever between uses. It did clear up a snotty nose pretty well.

Even liking Vicks for its intended use, I never wanted to eat it. It's a good smell, but not a good taste at all. Plus, the label clearly said 'external use only'.

[wendyb-NC]

18. I think Vick's helps

for a chest cold. As long as it's used externally, as directed. The scent is very soothing and quiets a cough.

[Mme. Defarge]

19. As they say in French,

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

[Delphinus]

20. Wow!

Interesting.