Big Mistake

I still can't quite shake this virus.
I suspect I have had the Yule plague Australian Flu.
Last night I had the great idea of having a hot steaming bath in order to clear the old sinuses
And thinking it would help I dolloped a very large glob of vics vapour rub under the running hot tap!

Big mistake
Lying in a bath containing vics
Burns your knackers! 

118 comments:

  1. That used to be a university dorm "prank." Straight guys stripping someone, tying him to a chair, and rubbing Vicks on his balls. I had heard it was hell. I guess it made you forget about your sinuses for a while.

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    1. Next time you plan to take a bath (or do something questionable) check with me first.

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  2. Anonymous9:16 am

    Well, a Vicks bath was your kinky thrill for you day. It is rather odd that no one in Australia has the Australian flu, that I have heard of. But I have heard it is rampant in the UK.

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  3. great idea, poor execution!

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  4. Oh John, I had tears running down my face reading that (and no I haven't been using Vicks....I suspect you won't be either for a while).

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  5. Don't think it mentions this as a health risk on the jar. They obviously don't expect anyone to be quite so er........can't think of a good word ....maybe foolish is the kindest!

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  6. Did you set the smoke alarm off?

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    1. I could read a book as they glowed bright

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  7. Anonymous9:44 am

    Mustn't laugh... mustn't laugh... oh, what the hell... Hahahahaha! Classic John.

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  8. Oh poor you John, I used to use Vics in a previous life and I gather it does sting.

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  9. That made me chuckle on an otherwise miserable Monday morning.

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  10. OMG you are a one man comedy act! I've heard that ball pain can be greatly helped by smothering them in Deep Heat, them buffing gently with some wirewool. Hope this helps! x

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  11. Knackers should never be burnt, just lightly poached like duck eggs.

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  12. :D (mint flavoured condoms are no joke either)

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  13. Relatives living near you in Rhuddlan have been very ill with the Aussie flu since before Christmas so it is certainly rife in your area. Sounds very nasty, hope you feel better soon.

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    1. It's a sweet little town Rhuddlan with a fine castle

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  14. Sympathy!. Last year had a fluey thing decided a soak in the bath with menthol crystals would be just the thing. Oh no after a minute felt cold shivery n stingy, showered it all off took ages to settle down. Never again!.x

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  15. john suffers so we don't have to...

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  16. First bleach on the toilet seat, and now this, what next?

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  17. Anonymous12:16 pm

    Eeeekk...I’ve been hacking for over two weeks. I think i’ll skip the Vic’s.

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  18. Oh Lordy. My sympathies on that one.

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  19. SINUTABS is what you need. 99p from Wilkos, more expensive from any chemist - but they work immediately and help towards a good night's sleep. Fresh pineapple for sore throat if you get that as well. Night Nurse guarantees a sound sleep - knocks you out.
    Please don't apply any of these to your nether regions.

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  20. Self medicating can lead to disasterous results.

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  21. Thinking - you weren't. Did it help your sinus?

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  22. Oooh errrr ... ouch 😨😨

    The Vicks would be best rubbed into the soles of your feet tonight when you go to bed. 😊

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    1. I do that every night...I love the smell

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  23. I had bronchial asthma as a child and a vaporizer and Vicks were my nightly routine. This is what my mom did .. she rubbed Vicks on my chest, lightly it will burn your skin .. wrapped an old tee shirt around my chest then had the vaporizer going all night .. no need for more Vicks.
    It helped .. it worked !

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    1. Your mother must have been related to mine. She used to wrap an old tee shirt around my neck and chest too after applying the Vicks. Once, when I must have had a particularly bad cold, my parents constructed a kind of tent over my bed made of up of a card table draped with blankets. The vaporizer spout was directed inside, with Vicks in the water. Sometimes I wonder how I survived childhood, but those were scary times for parents. Our neighbor boy across the street contracted polio and my brother had been playing over at his house just before he came down with it. He missed the polio vaccine by just a few months, as I recall.

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    2. I had that treatment too

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    3. Oh I remember those "tents" at night time, I am so glad I outgrew most of it. And yes, as adults, we can appreciate what our parents went through when we were so ill.
      Happily I rarely get that kind of sick anymore ..

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  24. OH NO next time just rub it on your chest as you sir in the hot bath...good luck trying to get that tub ring off it has petroleum in it.

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  25. YOWCH! Lesson learned, eh?

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  26. Breathe into an envelope and send it to Andrew in Melbourne. Call it Welsh 'Flu.

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  27. You should have donned the old silver, lame underpants before getting in.....

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  28. Took you mind off Prof.

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  29. One thing I truely like when visiting your blog, is that I know I will be properly entertained. This morning is no exception. Good luck with well. . . whatever

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    1. I agree, I am sitting on the sofa with a sleeping cat on my lap, giggling while reading all of the comments

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  30. Well THERE's something I never knew.

    Hope you feel better! (And your knackers heal!)

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  31. The first page I check when I turn my laptop on every day is your blog. You never fail to give me a good laugh. And yes, some days a good provoking thought. Take care John. The damned bug is making the rounds here in parts of Ontario, Canada as well. Trying to isolate myself as I'm having knee replacement surgery at the end of the month and NO WAY I want it to be postponed any longer!!

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    1. I've had it since just before Christmas"!!!

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    2. About three years ago my husband and I got the flu just before Christmas. It went to both of my middle ears and I lost my hearing because of acute otitis media. My hearing didn't even start to come back until February, and both of us had a cough for at least that long, if not longer. People think the flu is just like a cold, but it's not. It means business.

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    3. Same damned bug hit Quebec before Christmas - knocked me for a loop for three weeks. And yes, Vicks was used, just more judiciously than others have!

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  32. hope your knackers feel better today

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  33. Good thing you went into nursing vs. pharmacy.......

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  34. Oh John - I don't think I wish to know that. Hope they feel a bit more like their old selves today.

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  35. But did it clear your sinuses?

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  36. You're a martyr to self-healing !

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  37. ..... and you a retired nurse ...... were you desperate ?! XXXX

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  38. You might find this interesting. Dr. Jen Gunter, an obstetrician/gynecologist, has a blog where she debunks "cures" and treatments for women's health. Here's one she wrote about Gwyneth Paltrow's recommendation to use Vicks on vaginal tissues:

    https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2017/10/25/vaginal-vicks-vaoprub-oh-my-god-people-just-dont/

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  39. DS#2 is a flight director, he had 2 flights to Australia with 24 hour layovers each time within a week. that's 4 - 17 hour flights-all that recycled air!! He now has the most dreadful cold and the worst cough I have ever heard! I don't know if it is the Australian flu but he is definitely the sickest he has ever been. I don't think I'll tell him about the Vick's treatment though!

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    1. I am glad I'm not working on Itu I best it's full

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  40. Bet they smell nice thou

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  41. I remember a young couple who came to the surgery having given the girl a whiskey douche to act as contraception. She had a very sore fanny. Makes my eyes water thinking about it. things people do.

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  42. "I could read a book as they glowed bright"? Who needs energy saving lightbulbs when there's Vicks around eh. A worthy candidate for Viz's Top Tips.

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    1. I always like the viz tip of using your dead gran' s dentures as pastry cutters

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    2. Oh god LOL
      This is so much more fun than...

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  43. So long ago I really don't remember. English was not their first language so the humour wouldve been lost on them. Had another woman who had lost a sponge up there. You do see some odd things as a nurse.

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  44. I'm sorry for your pain but can't help laughing at the situation, the comments, and your replies, John! If it makes you feel any better to know others have done similar things, here is a story from my teenage years. I had a bad head cold with lots of congestion and my nose was raw from the use of tissues. My mother thought it would help me to put Heet, a liniment for sore muscles, on my nose to try to break up the congestion. It felt like my head was on fire complete with seven foot flames. Eventually mom gave me steeped tea bags to put on my nose and that relieved it quite a bit. I suppose it's a bit late for that home remedy? If you do use it, wait until the tea bags get cool, for heaven's sake :)

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  45. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  46. Great balls of fire!!

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  47. Oh, you've given me such a laugh. I told my BF about a bath of hot Vick's water and he cringed. I laughed some more :D

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  48. So sorry you've had such a difficult time. One of my friends has had the month long 'flu which has left her with congested sinuses. I keep a larder full of home made remedies. We all swear by my fire cider vinegar (equal quantities of garlic, horseradish and ginger with chilis, tumeric and rosehips plus whatever else you feel like throwing in at the time. You cover it with cider vinegar and leave to steep for three weeks before straining. You take it however you wish, but we prefer 2tsps of infused vinegar with 2 tsps of honey in a mug of boiling water which you then sip. Three mugs during the day will open all sinuses and my husband swears it kills all known germs. They run at the smell! Hope you feel better soon. Thyme tea will also help with sinus congestion.

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  49. Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!
    I had no idea. Thank you for the PSA.

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  50. Sorry to hear that you hurt yourself while trying to kick this vicious virus! Take care!

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  51. a friend of mine bought a tea tree shower gel which had the same effect except she used it as directed!

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    1. Oh I love the scent of tea tree oil products

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  52. Say goodnight, Gracie. (just so you'd get 100 comments....)

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  53. OK I will tell you my husbands favorite cute for just this sort of thing.
    Put on something like a sweatshirt and pants.
    Wear socks and wrap the softest and warmest scarf around your neck.
    Get into bed.
    Drink straight down as if it is medicine a small glass of Brandy or Vodka or red wine.
    Lie down and cover up well.
    You will be asleep in a few minutes and you should sleep all night.
    I hope this helps
    C
    Dr Notes

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  54. Anonymous8:04 am

    Oh Dear! You won't do that again.
    I once mistook Goanna Heat Balm (for sore muscles) for Paw Paw ointment one morning as I was hurriedly putting on my makeup... Needless to say I no longer keep the Goanna balm in my makeup box.
    Nay (longtime lurker and religious reader of your blog, first time commenter).

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  55. You think that was bad my mother used Vicks Vapour Rub on us kids when we had worms.....burnt like hell but did kill the worms.
    Aussie flu was pretty bad here last winter - quiet a few deaths associated with - my boss at work got it and he was off work for 5 weeks.

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  56. Sheesh, next you Brits will blame the Aussies fer Brexit .. can't help it if we won the Ashes 4-0 ...

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  57. Ouch! Feel better soon. x

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  58. I laughed and winced. Sorry you didn't think about Vicks hitting sensitive areas.

    I make a cold/flu tonic similar to the one Sarah mentioned. Mine is onion, garlic, horseradish, ginger, and hot pepper (I use cayenne seeds) all mixed in apple cider vinegar, the kind that's not pasteurized.

    At the first sign of feeling unwell, and I mean as early as not quite right, I take 2 tbsp. swish it around in my mouth, and then swallow. If the bug keeps launching counter attacks, I take doses throughout the day.

    It clears the sinuses and usually stops the cold or flu before it gets good and started.

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  59. I bet the Bathroom smelled lovely afterwards though John and cleared your sinuses.

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  60. Next time have a chinese dinner and plenty of hot mustard. That always works for me. And it wont light up yourjunk.

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