This homemade vapor rub recipe will help you clear congestion naturally, with no artificial chemicals. With the winter in full swing, cold and flu viruses run rampant through many households. My daughter has had a cough and head congestion off and on for what seems like months. I remember when I was a kid my mom would slather that mentholated petroleum jelly under my nose and on my chest to help clear up congestion. Eucalyptus is great for clearing a stuffy head but I could do without the petroleum based products all over my skin. This simple homemade vapor rub recipe will help you clear your head without exposing you to a whole bunch of nasty petroleum products!
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I received samples to facilitate this post about homemade vapor rub and aromatherapy usage. All opinions expressed here are my own. Please note: I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. Do not consider anything in this post medical advice! If you are sick, see your doctor!
Table of Contents
Homemade Vapor Rub Recipe to Clear Congestion Naturally
All you need (besides the ingredients, of course!) is a small pot to simmer water in, a glass jar with lid for melting the oils/butters, and a small container to put your homemade vapor rub in. You can repurpose a mint tin, a baby food jar, or whatever else you happen to have handy. In less than 30 minutes you will have homemade vapor rub that will last the entire cold and flu season!
Essential oils are powerhouses when it comes helping us feel better. The primary essential oils in this homemade vapor rub are Eucalyptus and Peppermint. I also added lavender for it’s relaxation properties and tea tree oil because it is a great antimicrobial oil. You can include other oils if you prefer. I have seen some recipes that use cinnamon oil to help improve circulation or Rosemary oil for it’s healing properties and benefits to the respiratory system. Just make sure that the primary oil (the greatest quantity) is eucalyptus, then peppermint and include your other oils in smaller proportions. This will allow for maximum head clearing capabilities!
NOTE: This recipe is for adult usage….if you want a child appropriate recipe, cut back on the essential oils. Their skin is more delicate and the oils may be too strong!
Homemade Vapor Rub Recipe
Yield: makes 1/2 cup
Homemade Vapor Rub Recipe
Wonderful way to naturally clear your head!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Ingredients
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup shea butter
3 TBSP beeswax granules
45 drops eucalyptus oil
35 drops peppermint oil
15 drop lavender oil
10 drop tea tree oil
Instructions
Combine the coconut oil, shea butter and beeswax in a medium jar. Cover loosely.
Place jar in a small pot filled about half way with water.
Heat water on stove to a simmer.
Swirl your jar frequently to help mix and melt. You want the water only about half way up your jar.
When the ingredients are melted remove from heat and add oils.
Swirl gently to mix and pour in clean container with lid for storage. Keeps well at room temperature for up to one year.
Eucalyptus is great for clearing a stuffy head but I could do without the petroleum based products all over my skin. This simple homemade vapor rub recipe will help you clear your head without exposing you to a whole bunch of nasty petroleum products! ” width=”574″ height=”985″ />
Diane Hoffmaster
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician atGood Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at theUniversity of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
Applying Vicks VapoRub to the throat and chest can help with symptoms such as a blocked nose. Applying Vicks on the feet, however, is unlikely to have any effect on cold symptoms.
Applying Vicks VapoRub to the throat and chest can help with symptoms such as a blocked nose. Applying Vicks on the feet, however, is unlikely to have any effect on cold symptoms.
Vicks VapoRub is made of ingredients such as camphor, eucalyptus oil and menthol. Camphor also is one of the main ingredients in other medicines used on the skin, such as Campho-Phenique and Bengay. Swallowing a few teaspoons of camphor can cause deadly poisoning in toddlers.
Vapor rubs: These don't cure the problem. But, they can help soothe the symptoms of congestion. Vicks VapoRub, perhaps the best-known one, combines cough suppressants and pain relievers. The active ingredients are camphor, eucalyptus oil, and menthol.
Vicks VapoRub, commonly used for coughs and colds, contains eucalyptus oil. It may be useful to find a recipe to make your own rub with eucalyptus oil at home or purchase a product that contains the oil at your local pharmacy.
Vicks VapoRub Xtra Strong contains different levels of active ingredients (menthol and Eucalyptus oil), excipient ingredients, warning statements and usage instructions than Vicks VapoRub Ointment.
In addition to being packaged in plastic, your trusty tub of vapor rub includes petroleum (petrolatum aka petroleum jelly) as one of the primary ingredients!
Some studies suggest that Vicks VapoRub can help ease nerve-related foot pain, treat cracked heels, and help clear toenail fungus. Even so, the camphor in Vicks VapoRub is very toxic. Vicks VapoRub should never be used on children under 2 and should never be applied to broken skin, under the nose, or in the nostrils.
Vicks VapoRub doesn't clear up congestion in the nose. But its strong menthol odor may trick your brain. So you might feel like you're breathing through an unclogged nose. Vicks VapoRub is an ointment that's rubbed on the throat and chest to relieve a cough.
Place warm, damp towels around your nose, cheeks and eyes to ease facial pain.Rinse your nasal passages.Use a specially designed squeeze bottle (Sinus Rinse, others) or neti pot. This home remedy, called nasal lavage, can help clear your sinuses.
If you have a stuffy nose, using VVR may make you feel as though you can breathe better. However, it does not relieve nasal congestion. You can apply VVR to the chest and throat area in a thick layer. But to relieve a stuffy nose, you may find more success with other remedies.
Vicks VapoRub is made from natural ingredients. However, even natural chemicals can be toxic if you get too much of them or use them incorrectly. Also, children and adults of any age should not place Vicks VapoRub under their nose or in their nostrils.
Homemade vapor rub will keep at room temperature for 12 months. As always, please do your own research when it comes to using essential oils, particularly on young children.
According to Manway, Vicks VapoRub “isn't appropriate to be used on the face due to the thick, greasy vehicle that can easily clog pores and promote the cascade of further acne.” So, while using Vicks on a pimple likely isn't dangerous to your health, it could actually backfire and cause more acne.
Introduction: My name is Nathanael Baumbach, I am a fantastic, nice, victorious, brave, healthy, cute, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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