Vicks Vapo Products for Cough, Cold, and Flu

Written by Beth Johnston, BCPS, PharmD
Medically Reviewed by Michelle Vermeulen, PharmD on November 24, 2025

Many Vicks Vapo products can be used to help with cough, cold, and flu symptoms. Vicks VapoRub products are topical products that you apply to your chest and neck area. There are also a variety of Vicks Vapo products that come as lozenges or a throat spray. Vicks Vapo products use a combination of one or more of the following active ingredients to help relieve your cough, cold, and flu symptoms.

  • Benzocaine (oral anesthetic), which works by blocking nerve signals for pain to ease sore throat or mouth symptoms
  • Camphor (cough suppressant), which helps reduce your cough
  • Menthol (cough suppressant, oral anesthetic), which stimulates nerves that help you sense pain or irritation and causes a cooling feeling that can help relieve pain or irritation that may cause you to cough
  • Eucalyptus oil (cough suppressant), which helps reduce your cough

There are Vicks Vapo products for adults and children as young as 2 years old.

Vicks Vapo products are usually well tolerated. You may have mild skin irritation, including stinging, burning, or tingling where topical Vicks Vapo products are applied. You may notice a cool feeling, especially when you breathe in after using a Vicks Vapo product in your mouth.

Vicks Vapo products contain these active ingredients (listed below). Review these ingredients to understand more about possible side effects you might experience.

Methemoglobinemia. Rarely, Vicks Vapo products that have menthol and benzocaine in them can cause a serious blood disorder called methemoglobinemia. Hemoglobin is a protein that normally carries oxygen in your blood. Methemoglobinemia is when you have too much of a form of hemoglobin called methemoglobin. If you have methemoglobinemia, it is harder for your body to get oxygen to your tissues. Get help right away if you have any of the following symptoms of methemoglobinemia.

  • Changes in the color of your skin, including pale, gray, or blue skin
  • Headache
  • Fast heartbeat
  • Shortness of breath
  • Feeling lightheaded
  • Tiredness or weakness

Stop using the medicine if you develop a rash or hives. Get medical help right away if you have signs of a serious allergic reaction, such as trouble breathing or swelling of the face, lips, or throat.

There are two types of Vicks Vapo products: products with medicine and products without medicine. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you should check with your health care provider before using a Vicks Vapo product that has medicine in it.

Sore Throat Risk. You should contact your health care provider if you have a really bad sore throat, if you also have fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting with your sore throat, or if your sore throat lasts longer than two days. You should not use a Vicks Vapo product for your sore throat for longer than two days, unless your health care provider says that it’s OK to do so. Your health care provider may want to see you to figure out what is causing your sore throat.

Benzocaine Risk. You should not use a Vicks Vapo product with benzocaine in it if you had a previous allergic reaction to a local anesthetic, such as benzocaine, butacain, procaine, or any other anesthetic that ends in “caine.” If you are not sure if a product has benzocaine in it, you can ask your pharmacist.

Soy Risk. If you are allergic to soy, Vicks Vapo lozenges may not be a good choice, as they have soy in them. If you are not sure if a product has soy in it, you can ask your pharmacist.

Vicks VapoRub products are for external use only. To help with your cough, they are applied to your chest and throat up to three times a day. You should not swallow Vicks Vapo products or apply or get them in your eyes, inside your nose, on wounds, or on damaged skin. You should also not tightly bandage the area where it is applied. Do not heat Vicks VapoRub products or add them to hot water. These products will melt and could splatter and burn you.

Before using a Vicks Vapo product, check with your health care provider if any of the following apply to you.

  • You have lots of phlegm or mucus with your cough
  • You have a long-term cough, such as from smoking, asthma, or emphysema
  • Severe sore throat with breathing trouble

If you are using a Vicks Vapo product for cough, cold, or flu symptoms, you should stop using it and contact your health care provider if your cough lasts longer than a week or keeps coming back or you have a fever, rash, or headache that will not go away with your cough. You should also stop using these products if your sore mouth or sore throat does not improve within seven days or if pain, irritation, or redness gets worse instead of better.

There may be side effects, additional warnings, and interactions with other medicines that are not listed here. These may vary depending on the combination of ingredients in the specific Vicks Vapo product you are using. Always check the label before taking any over-the-counter medicine. Do not take more than the recommended dose. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your health conditions and other medicines to help determine which products are safe for you.

There are also non-medicated Vicks Vapo products available. These products are not intended to help with cough, cold, and flu symptoms but can be used with those products and come in the following forms.

  • Shower tablets (Vicks VapoShower, Vicks VapoShower Plus, Vicks VapoShower Max)
  • Balm (Vicks VapoStick Kids, Vicks VapoStick)
  • Cream (Vicks Children’s VapoCream, Vicks VapoCream)
  • Ointment (Vicks BabyRub)
  • Patches (Vicks VapoPatch — to be applied to clothing, not skin)
  • Bath crystals (Vicks VapoBath)
  • Scented inhaler sticks (Vicks VapoInhaler)

Use the information below to help you find the best product to treat your cough, cold, and flu symptoms. 

Vicks VapoRub products are all topical ointments. Adults and children 2 years or older can use these to relieve cough symptoms. There are five products to choose from. They all contain camphor 4.7%-4.8%, eucalyptus oil 1.2%, and menthol 2.6%.

  • Vicks VapoRub 
  • Vicks VapoRub Lemon scent 
  • Vicks VapoRub Lavender scent 
  • Vicks VapoRub Children’s 
  • Vicks VapoRub Advanced Plus 

Vicks Vapo products that you use in your mouth can all be used by adults and children as young as 12 years old to relieve minor irritation and pain in the mouth or throat. All products have menthol in them. Some of them also have benzocaine in them. There are several flavors available to suit your tastes. 

If you prefer a lozenge, you can choose from the following options:

  • Vicks VapoCool Severe Lozenges (menthol), available in honey lemon chill, cherry freeze, and winterfrost flavors
  • Vicks VapoCool Severe Sugar Free Lozenges (menthol), available in winterfrost flavor
  • Vicks Vapo Breathers (menthol),available in cool mint flavor
  • Vicks VapoDrops (menthol), available in cherry flavor
  • Vicks VapoCool Sore Throat Lozenges (menthol plus benzocaine), available in winterfrost flavor
  • Vicks VapoCool + Intense Pain Relief Lozenges (menthol plus benzocaine), available in icy mint flavor

If you prefer a mouth/throat spray, consider trying Vicks VapoCool Sore Throat Spray (menthol plus benzocaine), which is available in winterfrost flavor.