Is Vicks Vaporub Good For Hemorrhoids?

Are you one of the brave souls considering using Vicks on hemorrhoids? Well you are in good company since there are many people dealing with external hemorrhoids that swear by Vicks Vaporub. Is Vicks Vaporub good for hemorrhoids? Your physician will probably advise you against it but many people do use it and claim that it helped.

Vicks Vaporub the cure-all?

Many people swear by using Vicks for all sorts of health issues besides what it is intended for which is cough suppression. Many of these issues include but are not limited to;

• Leg cramps
• Dandruff
• Headaches
• Nail and skin fungus
• Chest congestion
• Ant repellant
• Chigger bites
• Poison ivy
• Sore heels
• Tennis elbow
• Squirrel repellant
• Paper cuts
• Scaly skin
• Seborrheic dermatitis
• “Poor man’sViagra”
• etc

For pretty much everything under the sun, there is probably someone that has used Vicks Vaporub for it. But just because some people laud the benefits of using Vicks for these and many other issues, there are equally as many people who say that it doesn’t work. It is almost impossible to determine why one “remedy” works for one person but not another.

Can Vicks heal hemorrhoids?

Healing hemorrhoids is probably a stretch when considering using Vicks on hemorrhoids. The reason that many swear by Vicks for hemorrhoids is because of the active ingredients which are menthol, camphor and napalm which impart a cooling sensation to painful and itching hemorrhoids but these active ingredients can also be too much of a sting for other people so use with care if you do decide to go ahead with this “home remedy”.

Vicks is also used to temporarily relieve the swelling that arises from hemorrhoids. For temporary relief from hemorrhoids symptoms such as pain, swelling, itchiness, etc, using Vicks VapoRub, do make sure that you only use it on external hemorrhoids. Vicks is only for external use.

People who use Vicks usually apply a generous amount of Vicks directly to the problem area (s). There is an initial sting followed by some cooling which can last for several hours.

Is Vicks VapoRub good for hemorrhoids? This is definitely one of those “home remedies” that you try at your own risk because there is no research to back up its use for anything besides its use as a cough suppressant. Its use for hemorrhoids is merely anecdotal.

It may temporarily relieve the pain and itching or it may cause a burning sensation in this delicate area that you may not be prepared for. While you may want to try it, there are many other home remedies many of which are discussed on this site which may work better for you and some which may bring about permanent and not simply temporary relief so try those first.