This price hasn't been this low in a while. A perfect time to stock up for winter.
Amazon is just price-matching Big W, they hardly lower prices first.
CamelCamelCamel.
WARNING: I am not against humidifiers or anything like them, BUT avoid using around animals like cats or dogs, as the essential oils can be toxic to them.
Also harmful for children and babies
omg didnt know this used to turn on vaporizer vicks whole night but now we have dog sleep in the same bedroom with us
Yeah, not a good idea.
The same way plants can be toxic, so can inhalation oils.
I guess little dogs and cats are more susceptible than big dogs and cats.
But it does not mean not to use the vaporiser, just keep the pets out of the room when you are using it?
which dispenser/Vaporizer people are using? the one from vicks is expensive and i feel its not good
That's a diffuser not a vaporiser.
Both will get the scent in the air but a vaporiser will use steam to unblock deep congestion (sore throats and coughs etc)
example of decent cheap vaporiser if you aware? thank you
You can get a device like that for about $10 on AliExpress.
If you are using it for a quick 5-10 mins then no worries but I won’t put my trust in AliExpress one if you intend to use it overnight.
For overnight use, best to use Euky Bear or Vicks Vaporiser. Vicks Vaporiser comes with 3 years warranty and full tank last all night. It specifically designed not to have very hot steam in order for it to last all night without a risk of short circuiting.
@IMadeYouReadThis: Both Vaporiser will scale overtime and I tried to descale them, none worked. Threw them away after that
@yht: I have been using one for over 4 years, used most of winters in kids room. No scaling issue at all. I clean it every week though ensuring no residue which helps.
@IMadeYouReadThis: They have timers but will also turn themselves off when they run dry. I've used one overnight many times before without any issues. No problem with scaling either. The eucalyptus oil that I add is antimicrobial but I also dry it thoroughly after each use to avoid mold.
It's expensive but it gives off a good amount of steam which is needed depending on the severity of what you're going through.
Still available in Big W as Amazon has sold out.
Price beat by chemist warehouse if you can.
Does this work in a cold vapouriser?
contains:
Eucalyptus Oil - 54 mg/g
Peppermint Oil - 72 mg/g
Oil of Wintergreen - 20 mg/g
Lavender Oil - 4 mg/g
So it's essentially essential oils? Does it help?
Yes. Natural medicines like this have been used safely and effectively for thousands of years across continents and civilisations.
Cheers OP. If this winter is as bad as last I should probably double my order.
Using this nonsense is bad for you and particularly bad for your brain. It's the opposite of an air purifier - it's intentionally diffusing volatile organic compounds.
You want clean air for health.
"Results show that exposure to essential oil emissions caused shortened reaction time at the cost of significantly worse response inhabitation control and memory sensitivity, indicating potentially more impulsive decision-making. The cognitive responses caused by scented lemon oil and non-scented grapeseed oil were similar, as was the perception of odor pleasantness and intensity."
wow now im worry
There is no lemon oil in Vicks VapoSteam Double Strength. Those results are meaningless in this context.
Also your study used an "ultrasonic diffuser" which are widely known to be unsafe (especially if you have hard water) and they work in a completely different manner to vapourisers. Vapourisers evaporate liquids into gas, ultransonic diffusers create a very fine mist of liquid micro droplets.
do we have hard water in australia? so all those cheap humidifier from aliexpress are not good?
Some areas do, WA and SA in particular.
I would only use an ultrasonic diffuser with distilled water only.
https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2020/11/using-tap-water-in-…
If you're not going to use distilled water exclusively or want to use essential oils I would use a proper steam vapouriser.
@tenpercent: I used to get sinus infections, with chronic seasonal rhinitis all the time, and did use a proper steam vaporiser (and other medically prescribed treatments), to deal with this.
The steam was dense enough to condensate water onto my bedroom walls.
The hard water would calcify around the heating element and I would use eucalyptus and similar oils.
It was easy enough to scrape off the calcium deposits.
But my solution to the nasal problems was to have sinus surgery, which was necessary in my situation.
I was not aware at the time of the potential harms to animals from essential oils.
But I am now.
I was aware of the poisonous nature of incense sticks and car fresheners and avoided them.
I think people do need to be aware of the safety of aromatic oils being diffused into the air they breath.
But of course it is not the same as Vapes and other much more harmful activities.
@marcozmitch: You should use a humidity controller like this to ensure the air doesn't go from one extreme to the other. I haven't so much as had a runny nose in Winter since I started using a steam vapouriser (no aromatic oils) to keep the indoor humidity in a healthy range. I used to use a simple timer plug to cycle it on and off throughout the night, but the hygrometer plug works much better.
the poisonous nature of incense sticks and car fresheners
Incense sticks are bad because you're breathing in combustion byproducts. And car fresheners are bad because they're primarily synthetic esters along with pthalates to help the fragrance last longer. Unfortunately pthalates are also endocrine-disrupting.
aromatic oils being diffused into the air
There's two kinds of diffusion though. The first and more traditional method is vapourisation or evaporation such as can be achieved with a steam vapouriser (as this Vicks product is intended for) or also reed diffusers (which work by creating a large surface area of oil exposed to the air for it to then naturally evaporate) or even just something like VicksVaporub or other brands where you rub some on your chest or neck (your body heat is enough to evaporate the aromatic oils which you then breathe in to help clear your URT). When you breathe this in you are breathing in air plus added water vapour and oil vapour (i.e. in gaseous form). I am yet to see any research suggesting any specific aromatic oil is particularly harmful to humans when used in this way.
The second kind as mentioned in the article linked to by Wolfenstein98k and the subsequent one from me involves ultrasonic diffusion. Basically ultrasonic waves are pulsed through the water and oil (or water and other impurities mixture if you're using tap water) and the vibrations are sufficiently energetic to fling tiny droplets of the liquid/s into the air. When you breathe this in you are breathing in air plus liquid droplets of water plus droplets of oil plus droplets of various impurities which can wreak havoc inside your lungs and elsewhere. So I would stay away from this kind of diffusion.
Brother it's not about lemon oil. It's about all oil. It's the diffusion and inhaling of oil.
Their study did not establish results for "all oil".
It's the diffusion
Yes exactly. Their study established exactly zero results for vapourising (which is how this Vicks VapoSteam product is supposed to be used). Diffusion, or turning a mass of liquid into a dispersed mist of millions of tiny droplets of liquid is not the same thing as evaporating a liquid which involves a phase change of matter from liquid to gas.
@tenpercent: In CPAP machines, with built-in humidifiers, distilled water is what is required.
Mineral build-up and stopping bugs that are in tap water from breeding are reduced by using distilled water.
Thanks for what you have said above.
Their study did not establish results for "all oil".
No study is going to test every oil known to man in order to make the point that inhaling essential oil emissions is bad for your brain.
Their study established exactly zero results for vapourising (which is how this Vicks VapoSteam product is supposed to be used).
Humidifying the air by vaporising essential oils will still carry fine water droplets because the steam (or water vapour) that is produced from a Vicks VapoSteam is not invisible like a true gas. It will still carry essential oil emissions
Rosmery had the opposite effect. Increased brain function
Diffuses rosemary oil?
I skim through the study, I haave a few question. Where si the VOC come from the essential oil, or the plastic part from the diffuser?
They can't determine whether the decline in cognitive performance is temporary or permanent. No stipulation whether the decline in cognitive performance is due to the relaxation effects or not.
Why grapeseed oil ???
Grapeseed oil is just a carrier oil.
The VOC comes from the oils being heated.
You initially have to do a run or two, (like a new toaster) to clean out the residual chemicals from the manufacturing process.
Can this be used with the Euky Bear steam vaporiser?
Absolutely, as long as it’s a steamer (not a diffuser) it works great.
Thanks OP, I was running out of stock and the price is just brilliant.
So i bought this ages ago and have the vapo steamer. I never found the proper instructions on how to use it. Some places say leave the solution on the top part of the blue area (don't mix it with the water)
Others say mix it with water, but I'm not sure what the ratio's are! Can someone please let me know what works for them?
From memory, I used to just add water to about
Full and add about quarter if the bottle 🤷♂️
Oh that's a lot to add? So the bottle here will essentially last you 4 uses!
Maybe my memory is bad lol
Dude wth the instructions say you only need one cap full.
Mine says 2.5 caps
I’m interested to know too. Instructions say leave in blue part as you say. But I wonder if you mix.
I just tried it after. I did one cap full with water at max water. Seems to be quite nice. So it makes it's appox 10ml per "tank" so one bottle lasts for 20 uses
Some devices have a specific area/reservoir to heat the oil.
As plastic can be affected, only put the oil there, if that is the instruction.
You can also then remove built up oil residue more easily…
When I have the slightest of congestion, I usually go the old school way of - dropping a small dallop of Vicks vaporub gel to a pot of boiling water hold my face above for steam and cover my head with a towel. Can I use a drop of this instead to the same old school method?
Yes you can
At school we had a kid who got third degree burns doing this. Just adding this to you comment in case anyone doesn’t think through the care needed when doing this.
GPs and Paediatricians will recommend you bin the vaporisers as they can make cold/flu symptoms worse
Whatttt… omg im so confused
Yes 100%.
From Royal Children's Hospital
Should I use steam to treat croup?
No. In the past, some doctors recommended exposure to mist or steam therapy, including the use of vaporisers. Research evidence now shows this to be of no benefit and it is no longer recommended.
Better Health VIC also say
Vaporisers, humidifiers or other methods of putting steam into the air have not been shown to be helpful for babies with bronchiolitis. Treatments that work for older children with asthma usually do not help with bronchiolitis.
Reading comprehension fail.
as they can make cold/flu symptoms worse
is not the same as
to treat croup…exposure to mist or steam therapy…shows this to be of no benefit
No one said they are the same
To clarify, steam therapy is also not recommended for treating croup
No one said they are the same
Yes 100%.
From Royal Children's Hospital
Should I use steam to treat croup?
@tenpercent: Not sure what you have been vaporising but @0 0 0 is pointing out another reason to not use vaporisers
@freeb1e4me: Note their response to your comment about cold/flu starts off with "Yes 100%".
I refer back to my original response where I note the:
Reading comprehension fail
@tenpercent: Yes croup and bronchitis is not flu but cold symptoms are general in nature and could be used to describe croup and bronchitis or at least early stages of them. Given the advice not to use them based on modern research, probably safer not to use them for children. Parents will grasp at any solution right or wrong to help treat their sick child so I hope this helps provide some more information for parents to consider. If in doubt definitely raise concerns with your GP or paediatrician. GPs can be old school so they may be less informed on the latest research so do read RCH.
@0 0 0: The advice is NOT to not use them, some sources simply do not advise to use them. There is a distinction between the two.
I hope parents and non-parents can use their own lived experiences both of having used steam vapourisers with success themselves, and their lived experiences of the absolute nonsense from sections of the medical community in recent years, to inform themselves.
I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of steam vapourisers (and other humidifiers) in maintaining healthy indoor humidity levels during the cold months of the year which helps prevent cold and flu symptoms in the first instance.
@tenpercent: I wouldn't say nonsense is coming from authoritative sources such as the Royal Children's Hospital for paediatric health. Combined hundreds of years of medical expertise from very smart people should be taken over general internet advice or from old school doctors advice from the last decades.
Personally vouching means nothing when we don't have context in who it was used for nor their ages and symptoms. Perhaps it worked in very personal circumstances.
I'd take modern medical science any day over old wives tales
coming from authoritative sources such as the Royal Children's Hospital for paediatric health
This is a logical fallacy, namely appealing to authority.
Also, where have they advised AGAINST the use steam vapourisers?
I'd take modern medical science over old wives tales
I'll just ignore your misogynistic denialism of the lived experiences of millions of people (old and young, male and female).
The problem is the modern medical $cience has yet to undertake the required double-blind within-subjects RCTs in order to make any scientifically definitive conclusion in order to advise either for or against. Hence the current position of not advising. And the problem is that there is little money to be made (and potential revenue to lose) in finding a positive outcome so the incentive is not there to fund such research.
So given "the current evidence does not show any…harms" and some studies did show benefits in treating the common cold, and given the other health benefits of maintaining optimally humidity (such as preventing cold and flu), I would suggest people do consider using steam vapourisers and other humidifiers when there is low humidity such as in Winter.
Perhaps it worked in very personal circumstances
Winter and the corresponding low temperatures with low humidity (which contributes to cold and flu susceptibility) is not a "very personal circumstance".
Please don't spread misinformation.
There is a kernel of truth in your statement, i.e. some GPs and Paediatricians will recommend against vaporisers. But that is because they are super smart ROTE learning doctors who treat all their patients as low IQ idiots who are stupid enough to place the device in a spot where they will trip and scald themselves or their baby with the heated water in the vapouriser. Any advice against the use of vapourisers is solely around the risk of scalding.
In fact research shows cold temperatures and low humidity are favorable conditions for the spread of influenza viruses. A decrease in temperature and humidity increases the risk of influenza. Logically one can infer that preventing a reduction in temperature and humidity (such as by running a heater and a vapouriser) could help prevent cold/flu.
And plenty of research has shown that steam inhalation has beneficial effects on cold/flu symptoms (reducing duration of symptoms, providing relief, etc). Personal experience of myself and others will validate this.
Any advice against the use of vapourisers is solely around the risk of scalding
You couldn’t be more wrong. Read above comments including your own
And plenty(researchgate.net) of research(pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) has shown that steam inhalation has beneficial effects on cold/flu symptoms (reducing duration of symptoms, providing relief, etc).
These are old research articles
Rather than spoon feed you. I will let you and others do their own research
Point me to anywhere where there is advice AGAINST the use of vapourisers for reasons other than scalding risks.
These are old research articles
Oh whoops. Has the common cold mutated into something whose symptoms can no longer be eased by steam inhalation thus making those studies 'outdated'?
Or has the pharmaceutical industry fully captured academia since those studies were published so now anything that can't be patented and sold over and over again by those same corporate interests suddenly is now written off as ineffective?
Is mine and millions of others' lived experiences using steam inhalation to ease nasal congestion invalid just because quality RCT haven't been done? Did the Earth not orbit the Sun before Copernicus proved it?
Acheiving optimal humidity levels (such as by using a vapouriser in colder low humidity months) helps ease breathing symptoms. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/i…
@tenpercent: I can see that you are so triggered right now and bias from your own personal experience with vaporisers. Good luck
Point me to anywhere where there is advice AGAINST the use of vapourisers for reasons other than scalding risks.
I'll take your ad hom response as conceding that you cannot.
plenty(researchgate.net) of research(pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) has shown that steam inhalation has beneficial effects on cold/flu symptoms (reducing duration of symptoms, providing relief, etc)
You have gone from interpreting “beneficial effects” of steam humidifiers for cold/flu symptoms when the results were mixed:
Authors' conclusions: Three trials demonstrated beneficial effects on the symptoms of the common cold. One study from Israel showed a decrease in nasal resistance measured by peak nasal expiratory and inspiratory flow rate. Studies done in North America failed to show any objective improvement in outcome measures with the study intervention. A multi-centre double blind randomised controlled trial testing this therapy with uniform outcome measures is recommended.
To another study that shows no benefit for the common cold:
Authors' conclusions: The current evidence does not show any benefits or harms from the use of heated, humidified air delivered via the RhinoTherm device for the treatment of the common cold. There is a need for more double-blind, randomised trials that include standardised treatment modalities.
Again good luck!
we need ozb GP to clear this thing up (good or bad) !
Thank you! Great time to restock for winter