What can happen to those who rub petroleum jelly in their nostrils before going to bed.
Is Petroleum Jelly Good For You?
Petroleum jelly. Not to eat. People rub it inside their nostrils when their nasal membranes get dry. I know it has the dreaded “p” word in it, but is it harmful, harmless, or helpful? Harmful.
A report last year of lipoid pneumonia. And this is not the first case. Not surprising, perhaps, since the jelly liquefies at body temperature. Physicians and patients need to be aware of the hazards, and should try to stop this habit. But it’s not the petroleum itself; it’s the fact that you’re putting any kind of oily substance in your nose, particularly at bedtime—so even the non-petroleum products should not be used this way.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
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- V. Hadda, G. C. Khilnani, A. S. Bhalla, and S. Mathur. Lipoid pneumonia presenting as nonresolving community acquired pneumonia: A case report. Cases journal, 2:9332, 2009.
- A. C. Brown, P. C. Slocum, S. L. Putthoff, W. E. Wallace, and B. H. Foresman. Exogenous lipoid pneumonia due to nasal application of petroleum jelly. Chest, 105(3):968, 1994
Petroleum jelly. Not to eat. People rub it inside their nostrils when their nasal membranes get dry. I know it has the dreaded “p” word in it, but is it harmful, harmless, or helpful? Harmful.
A report last year of lipoid pneumonia. And this is not the first case. Not surprising, perhaps, since the jelly liquefies at body temperature. Physicians and patients need to be aware of the hazards, and should try to stop this habit. But it’s not the petroleum itself; it’s the fact that you’re putting any kind of oily substance in your nose, particularly at bedtime—so even the non-petroleum products should not be used this way.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- V. Hadda, G. C. Khilnani, A. S. Bhalla, and S. Mathur. Lipoid pneumonia presenting as nonresolving community acquired pneumonia: A case report. Cases journal, 2:9332, 2009.
- A. C. Brown, P. C. Slocum, S. L. Putthoff, W. E. Wallace, and B. H. Foresman. Exogenous lipoid pneumonia due to nasal application of petroleum jelly. Chest, 105(3):968, 1994
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Is Petroleum Jelly Good For You?
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Also check out Hot Sauce in the Nose for Cluster Headaches?
And check out my other “HHH” videos (Harmful, Harmless, or Helpful?) – listed below the post.
For more context, see my associated blog posts: Soy milk: shake it up! and Vitamin B12: how much, how often?
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