r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/JennyFromTheBlockJok • 4d ago

The inventor of Vaseline, Robert Chesebrough, was such a firm believer in its medicinal properties that he claimed to have eaten a spoonful of it a day. During a bout of pleurisy in his 50s, he ordered his nurse to cover him from head to toe in the substance, and soon recovered. He lived to be 96. Image

Post image
68.2k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

2.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

364

u/MushinZero 4d ago

Isn't neosporin basically just Vaseline with antibacterial agents in it?

262

u/bobpaul 4d ago

You betcha. Vaseline infused with bacitracin and a couple of other antibiotics. But there's drug resistant bacteria now. And people tend to leave these little bottles in the medicine cabinet for years and years. By the expiration date it's not "expired" in a dangerous sense, but it's not quite as effective. Leave it there another few years and it's a lot less effective.

This was one of the things people found out when they switched from pseudophedrine (which can be used to make meth) to phenylephrine (which can't). People would leave the boxes on the shelf for too long and then found out that phenylephrine never worked as a decongestant in the first place, even before the "expiration" date.

123

u/Stepane7399 4d ago

True story. I hadn't used Advil Cold & Sinus in some time when I got what I'm certain was the flu in 2012. I bought some Advil Cold & Sinus figuring that'd help get me as right as I could be and it did fuck all compared to how I remembered it. It was awful waiting hours for this shit to work. I then turned to Google to learn that it's because it was no longer pseudoephedrine and was instead phenylephrine, which I found to be useless for my purposes. It should be outlawed.

118

u/TayAustin 4d ago

Phenylephrine might actually get pulled by the FDA for use as a decongestant since it doesn't really work. It does have other uses but mostly in hospital settings as a vasopressor (increases blood pressure) so it may just be pulled for OTC use altogether.

55

u/megustaALLthethings 4d ago

The fact these megacorps can just change the active ingredient to something that literally does nothing for you is mind boggling. All while charging more for ‘improvements’, smfh.

Well after years of heavy bribery they can just do wtf they want ig. Esp with the state the country is in it’s not going to get better. The scotus just blatantly allowed it and nothing lower than them will not be more blatantly on someone’s payroll.

33

u/TayAustin 4d ago

They didn't really "change" the ingredient, they introduced "Sudafed PE" because Psudoephedrine had to move behind the counter, but it's definitely ridiculous they allowed it to be used for something it wasn't proven to work for.

17

u/__Voice_Of_Reason 4d ago

Kind of reminds me of Robitussin - they used to use Codeine as a cough suppressant, but when that got moved to prescription only, they went to Dextromethorphan instead...

I drank the entire bottle while sick and ended up tripping balls... while coughing the entire time.

Terrible cough suppressant, but good time.

9

u/StatementOwn4896 4d ago

Fun fact: some countries like France and Japan still sell cough syrup with codeine in it OTC.

1

u/EatsJediForBreakfast 3d ago

Psssh you didnt do it while sick, come now, you were looking to robo trip my friend. Its ok..

1

u/megustaALLthethings 2d ago

They swapped the items in ads. No one really notices that the new thing is NOT the same. They subtlety advertise it using the momentum of the old.

It’s so complicated, bc they MAKE it that way, for most that they grab it hoping it might help. At this point just grabbing a random ‘cold/flu’ med and using it has as much of a benefit. They all lie and don’t actually do what they claim.

9

u/Babhadfad12 4d ago

The megacorps didn’t just change the active ingredient, the FDA gave them permission to.  And continues to do so, many years after the knowledge that it is not medicine.

So the blame lies with the government.

-2

u/sembias 4d ago

Exactly. If we just abolish the government and remove all regulations, then these blameless companies would be able to keep selling products that make it easy to make a deadly street drug with. It's probably the governments fault that meth is the number one recreational drug with rural Americans, too. That darn government!

11

u/rimales 4d ago

It is largely the governments fault meth is so prominent. They have created a system of laws that results in people getting hooked on various medications and then turning to street drugs, and have created an environment where the drugs that are available are dangerous and contain other harmful substances.

Making it harder to buy good medicine because some of it will go towards manufacturing illicit drugs has proven ineffective as demonstrated by the continued problem.

They need to decriminalize all drugs, create ways for people to get them safely and at a price dealers cant easily compete with, and provide support to get people clean if they want to.

You are right that we need government, but everything you say after that is stupid.

0

u/megustaALLthethings 2d ago edited 2d ago

They didn’t say we needed govt.

So completely stupid, instead of mostly.

1

u/megustaALLthethings 2d ago

If this is not sarcastic.

‘Stopping’ drugs is like preventing corruption. Never going to happen. We are talking about humans here.

Esp the rural flyover deplorable-villes. If the sherif, judge and business ‘leader’ are not related I sould be VERY shocked.

Anyone that wants to control and abuse others will ALWAYS find their way into power. Upon the mountain of crimes and corruption they feed and maintain to enforce that authority.

Also the fda has like near zero real power after decades of manipulation and straight threats from congress. Like the irs. Anytime they try something someone inevitably makes up some sob story to trick the deplorables into voting for something that limits or deregulates the oversight group.

Bc THEY might lose bribes if the rich and connected lose a cent.

53

u/Andyman0110 4d ago

I got some Buckley's pills in a bottle, not even over the counter, just on a shelf. It was like 50 pills for 8 bucks. I was sick as fuck, I took two and I went into almost a lucid state. I was awake and moving but everything felt like a dream. I went up my stairs and it was as if I was on an escalator. It felt like I was floating up them. I asked my friend to try them because I couldn't tell if it was the pills or I was just really sick and hallucinating. He called me back the next day and told me he was absolutely blasted off two of them. I have no clue how those are legal to sell but that's the highest I've been off any cold medication. I feel like if I took a couple more I'd have a full on acid trip equivalent. They worked well though, I forgot I was sick for the rest of the day.

23

u/weenusdifficulthouse 4d ago

Apparently that's a kinda generic robitussin, you were likely lightly robotrippin'

Always read the package and don't go over the maximum dose. Even for things like asprin/paracetamol I write the last time I took any on the back of my hand so I won't forget and redose too soon. It's a habit I got into with stronger stuff, and realized it was a good idea in general.

A side effect is that sometimes when you wake up sweaty, you have 16:07 or something printed backwards on your neck or face.

10

u/Shizzysharp 4d ago

My friends and I robo tripped in church, and I remember my arms being longer than the span of pews on each side of me. By the time the pastor acknowledged me and I realized I was standing there with outstretched arms in the aisle way it was too late, and I had to run. That didn't go well

13

u/HockeyCannon Interested 4d ago

Lucid means expressed clearly, easy to understand or clearly reasoned.

3

u/sidepart 4d ago

hahaha! Yeah so the pills made him just, "almost lucid". Totally what he meant, right?

1

u/bigbysemotivefinger 3d ago

Would "liminal" be the right word? 

4

u/Party-Blueberry8569 4d ago

Never even heard of Buckleys . Which ones did you use? There are a bunch

3

u/Andyman0110 4d ago

I'm not sure, it was just a random bottle I saw on the shelf. It wasn't the typical blister pack ones. Just loose chalky yellow pills in a bottle.

6

u/Krillkus 4d ago

I've always known of Buckley's from their commercials about the liquid medicine they sell, their slogan is "It tastes awful, and it works".

I did take NyQuil and DayQuil at the same time when on a long bus ride once, that was a lot like the dreamlike state you describe.

3

u/tteraevaei 4d ago

dextromethorphan by any other name…

2

u/exoriare Interested 4d ago

Anything with meth orphan right in the name has got to be good.

1

u/tteraevaei 4d ago

WELL I DIDN’T USE THE WHOLE THING

2

u/trotfox_ 4d ago

DM in that or what?

2

u/Automatic_Rock_2685 4d ago

Almost certainly from the description lol.

Robotrippin!

4

u/rolyoh 4d ago

You can still get the pseudoephedrine version behind the counter without a prescription. Just ask the pharmacist or tech. In my state, you need to show ID and the pharmacy reports it to a centralized database so that the government knows how many boxes you buy and how often.

1

u/Stepane7399 4d ago

Yes. I learned that really quick. I always buy whatever Costco will allow me to buy when I get down to two or three dosages.

1

u/brybell 3d ago

You can still buy Sudafed with pseudoephedrine. You just need an ID and can only buy one at a time from behind the pharmacy counter.

0

u/TheGreatReveal-O 4d ago

Uhh? Advil cold and sinus 100% still has pseudoephedrine in it. Did you get the kind behind the pharmacy counter where you have to scan your ID? Because the other OTC shit has the phenylephrine

1

u/Stepane7399 4d ago

No. I might have gotten Tylenol Cold and Sinus rather. It was 12 years ago. I did buy off the shelf. I never had to go to the pharmacy to buy in the olden days.

2

u/TheGreatReveal-O 4d ago

Yeah, thank meth heads for that. But just word to the wise, if you need it, it is still available and it saves me regularly

39

u/Hawaii5G 4d ago

then found out that phenylephrine never worked as a decongestant in the first place

Everyone who actually needed decongestant has known this forever.

2

u/indignant_halitosis 4d ago

Double the dose. That usually works for me. Not great, but it works.

-9

u/worthlessredditor273 4d ago

Wow, you're so smart

7

u/Pinkcoconuts1843 4d ago

Use for expired old Vaseline: 

Take some cotton balls, or 100% cotton towel dryer lint will work.  Smush a glob of the vaseline into the cotton balls.  To start a fire, even in difficult conditions, spread the mushy cotton ball out with your fingers until it is several inches across. One swipe with a flint or fire steel or even a single tiny match will start a fire with these. A small bag of these along with a matchbook or flint goes in your camping or emergency bag.  

Geek info:  Vaseline doesn’t actually burn. It puts off a gas that  is a mild ignitor, The petroleum jelly cotton ball burns quite a few minutes while you add other pieces to your fire.

0

u/LoornenTings 1d ago

The cotton alone ignites more easily than the petroleum jelly. So leave half the cotton ball uncoated or have some that are and some that aren't.

2

u/errorsniper 4d ago

Yeah I feel like its almost a scam not buying decongestant that requires your ID. I doesnt do anything.

2

u/bobpaul 4d ago

Yeah I feel like its almost a scam

It's known to not work. But it's still available. It's not entirely knew information that it doesn't work orally, but the FDA finally looked closer into it in 2023 and while they're concluded it doesn't work, manufacturers are still allowed to sell it.

2

u/old_man_snowflake 4d ago

to be fair, you can still get pseudoephedrine in most places, but in WA state at least, you need to get it from the pharmacist and they scan your drivers license. there's some state-wide registry to make sure nobody is buying too much.

2

u/filthy_harold 4d ago

That's the case everywhere. The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act says any ephedrine and pseudoephedrine products need to be behind the pharmacy counter and require ID to purchase.

1

u/HsvDE86 4d ago

Even so, that shit doesn't work.

1

u/LunarSanctum 4d ago

”Which can be used to make Meth”

Wow that’s so fascinating! How would you go about this with step by step instructions?

1

u/MushinZero 4d ago

Idk ask ChatGPT

1

u/nayaku5 4d ago

This was one of the things people found out when they switched from pseudophedrine (which can be used to make meth) to phenylephrine (which can't). People would leave the boxes on the shelf for too long and then found out that phenylephrine never worked as a decongestant in the first place, even before the "expiration" date.

Man that explains so much. I knew it used to work.

1

u/IBetThisIsTakenToo 4d ago

People would leave the boxes on the shelf for too long and then found out that phenylephrine never worked as a decongestant in the first place, even before the "expiration" date.

I’m not following how leaving it out would cause this revelation?

1

u/bobpaul 4d ago

It was an attempted garden path style joke.

1

u/callipygiancultist 4d ago

Phenylephrine isn’t orally active but nasal sprays of it work well for decongestion.

1

u/pallladin 4d ago

But there's drug resistant bacteria now.

There's always been drug-resistant bacteria. That's why we keep making new antibiotics.

2

u/Scaevus 4d ago

antibacterial agents

I mean that kind of helps too.

3

u/sanfranchristo 4d ago

Yes and has been shown to heal wounds slower than just Vaseline as a result

1

u/money_loo 4d ago

As a result of…?

2

u/sanfranchristo 4d ago

The antibacterial agents

1

u/money_loo 4d ago

Adding antibacterial stuff makes it heal slower? That’s interesting.

There was another dude here who said he put just Vaseline on his wound and it ended up trapping bacteria in and taking months to heal.

Wonder how that works, then.

3

u/Lunaranalog 4d ago

I can confirm I dress wounds professionally. Neosporin or triple antibiotic is never used only bacitracin single ingredient because neosporin many have poor reactions to. And we really don’t use any anti microbial. Saline wash and cover it up. The body is really quite good at managing the small amount of bacteria present on wound bed. Leaving open is worse. 

Lots of misinformation in this thread honestly. r/woundcare if you want to learn more. 

1

u/DefinitelyNotAliens 4d ago

Many people are mildly allergic to neomycin.

0

u/sanfranchristo 4d ago edited 3d ago

Yes. Obviously, if a wound isn’t clean, depending on what’s in there, all sorts of things could happen but studies have shown that the general benefits of adding antibiotics don’t outweigh their negative effect on the good bacteria that help heal wounds and keep skin healthy.

1

u/money_loo 4d ago

Found a study from Johns Hopkins about it, it didn’t really sate my curiosity about why it happens because they don’t know either!

Something about maybe dulling an inflammatory response that may aid in healing is our best guess, fascinating.

1

u/SkinHot2404 4d ago

you mean nitroglycerin