Vicks Vaporub 100g

Vicks VapoRub is the century-old aromatic chest rub: camphor, menthol and eucalyptus in a petrolatum base, released as vapour by body heat through the night. The menthol acts on cold receptors in the airway, creating a powerful sensation of clearer breathing and damping the cough reflex's hair-trigger sensitivity; a randomised trial found children slept measurably better with vapour rub than with placebo or nothing. It does not shrink swollen tissue, and it does not need to: easier-feeling breathing and quieter coughing at 2am is precisely the job. The 100g jar is the full-size classic, a winter's worth of the night-time ritual.

Night is when blocked noses and coughs do their worst, and a drug-free ritual that demonstrably improves a sick household's sleep earns its place on the shelf every winter. It also spares medicine: a child comforted by a rub and steam often needs nothing swallowed at all, which is the safest outcome of a cold night.