People’s Pharmacy: Lung issues for longtime Vicks user

I went to the hospital for an unrelated problem that prompted an X-ray and CT scan. The doctors found five nodules in my lungs.

I met with a pulmonologist to discuss this. After I mentioned that I put Vicks in my nostrils every night, as I have for 10 years, and he looked at my CT scan, he diagnosed me with lipoid pneumonia. I am 41 and in very good health, so this was quite a surprise.

Several years ago, we started warning readers not to put Vicks VapoRub in their nostrils. A pulmonologist alerted us to the possibility that one of the ingredients in Vicks, petrolatum, could get into the lungs and cause chronic inflammation.

We got quite a few indignant responses from people who said they had been doing this for years.

Your experience demonstrates that the pulmonologist’s warning was on target. Thank you for letting us know.

I am in good health but have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. Nothing seems to work completely. I am now taking Ambien, and I wonder if it would be safe to add melatonin to it.

We found only one study that addressed your question. Researchers in France found that elderly volunteers were more sedated soon after taking slow-release melatonin plus Ambien than after taking either pill alone (Human Psychopharmacology, December 2008). The next day, though, memory and motor skills were no worse than when people took Ambien alone. There were no safety problems, but be sure to go straight to bed after taking your sleeping pills.

Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist, and Teresa Graedon is an expert in medical anthropology and nutrition. https://www.peoplespharmacy.com.