Deep within my night side drawer, underneath the Chap Stick, birth control, and playing cards, is a magical potion of sorts trapped in a bottle with a fading title and an almost oceanic color scheme. Ever since I was a little girl, long before I knew how essential my night side drawer was, this small, 1.76 oz. bottle was a first aid necessity. An emergency necessity. A life necessity, if you will. There was one in my drawer, ready to rescue in my sleep, one in my medicine cabinet, which was in our kitchen, one in my linen closet, and another in my backpack, maybe just for giggles. All I knew is that wherever I went, Vicks VapoRub followed.
Prepared for battle, Vicks was always comfortably holstered, in between the Neosporin and the Holy Water. And while this sounds like a mash-up of an ABC sitcom and a Clint Eastwood Western, it would difficult to say that this over the counter pharmacy item was insignificant in my household. Vicks has embedded itself into my family conversations, traditions, and culture. It has even gone far enough to embed itself nationally, in cultures and bathrooms all across the globe, even surpassing its 2004 expiration date. But alas, there are two distinct traits I will always remember about Vicks VapoRub.
They say that smell is the most memorable sense of the body. This is proven when people pass their favorite restaurant and smell their favorite meal, or are taken through a vortex when smelling a resurrected Bath and Body Works scent. I experience this with a pleasing Menthol and Eucalyptus Oil combination. The smell of Vicks reminds me of the times my grandmother and mother used it as a universal remedy seeker, from when I was young to when there are times as a graduating senior, you just need your mom. And when I think of these memories, I think of how much I was cared for. Funny how a smell can take you on a journey.
And going back to universal remedies, that is the one trait that will never surpass the empress that is Vicks VapoRub. I have been told that Vicks will cure my cold, my cough, my headache, my stomachache, my fungus, my broken bone, my hemorrhaging, my period, my anxiety, etc.… And most times, for the small stuff, Vicks does the job. A rub on the forehead is a waking sigh to my migraines. Any sinus infection is less harrowing with spoonfuls on the chest and back. And if I feel even a sneeze coming on, I put Vicks on the bottom of my feet, and slide into my favorite tube socks. I almost wish this was a lie.
So thank you, Vicks. For being my own personal CentraCare. For standing out as a universal medicine. And for helping me when I could not help myself.
You, if you don’t have Vicks.