Since VapoRub ointment is an oil-based medication, it should not be used under or inside the nose or inside the mouth, and it should not be swallowed. This sound medical advice, which should be listened to, might perhaps contradiact oral histories of German-Americans from the Midwest in general but Northwestern Indiana specifically since they might also recall hearing stories of how their great-grandparents ate exactly one tablespoon of Vicks to cure various upper-resperatory illnesses with remarkable, yet here-to-fore- unreplicable rates of success. Any oil-based product can get into the lungs if used improperly.[4]