Is home-made vapour rub effective against cold, cough, and congestion?

Vapour rub can be made at home, read an Instagram post by ‘supermom_sonal’.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kids friendly Recipes | Lifestyle | Nagpur 🇮🇳 (@supermom_sonal)

Ingredients

4-5 spoons desi ghee
2 – camphor rocks
1 – glass/air-tight container

Method

*Heat the pan.
*Sim the gas, add ghee to the pan. Add camphor and dissolve it.
*Remove pan from the gas. Then, switch off the gas (otherwise ghee catches fire, so beware)
*Cover it with the lid and let it cool.
*Transfer homemade vapour rub to the container.
*After some time, it gets thick like market-bought rub.

*The page shared that after camphor dissolves in ghee, one should first remove the pan from gas and then only switch off the gas.
*Don’t let the ghee be put on high flame as otherwise it may catch fire.

“Camphor is poisonous when it reaches mouth or blood (via damaged skin). It might not be suitable to those with sensitive skin. Discuss with your physician to be safe. Do not apply this more than 3 days. First-timers, do test a small area and observe for allergies,” Sonal shared.

Is it advisable to make vapour rub at home?

Preety Tyagi, health coach, founder, MY22BMIIt’s said that it is “excellent and even better for you than store bought ones”. “That is because ghee, when naturally procured, is not just very moisturising but also has many health benefits and is safe for topical application. This is great to be used for babies, children, and even adults. Use it across the chest, and under the feet to relieve congestion, cold, and cough,” Tyagi said.

However, Dr Vandana Punjabi, consultant dermatologist and trichologist, practising in Khar and Nanavati Max Superspeciality Hospital warned against use of camphor in children. “Research has shown that camphor is not safe to be used in young children, especially below two years of age as it can cause breathing difficulties and seizures as well. Camphor is also known to cause skin allergies in children as they have very sensitive skin,” Dr Punjabi told indianexpress.com.

So, what else can help?

According to Dr Punjabi, the best remedy for cold and stuffy nose is to use “saline drops in nostrils, give them plenty of fluids”. “Honey can be added to their drinking water too,” Dr Punjabi said.

📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!