Vicks Sinus Inhaler - Non-Medicated Steam Relief for Allergies, Congestion, Cough & Colds, Facial Steamer, Soothes Nasal & Throat Passages, Use with VapoPads (1 Included), FSA & HSA Eligible

I’ll try to keep this short. I recently had my second brain surgery in December 2024. The majority of the tumor was removed through my nose. This kind of surgery causes scabbing and “crusting”, and if not removed, can cause a lot of pain and discomfort.I bought a Navage system soon after surgery to help with cleaning out my nose/sinuses. Dr suggested I flush it out twice a day. While it works very well, it didn’t really remove scabs and crusting, just more of loose mucus. Sorry to be graphic, those who have experienced any kind of nose surgery I'm sure can relate.After some intense research, buying this steamer was a game changer. I didn’t think it was doing much when first used. Barely any steam came out. But the truth is it’s just enough. I steam for about 10-15 mins a couple of times a week and then flush with my navage system (using warm water) immediately after. HUGE difference! This steamer loosens up a lot and the Navage system pushes it out. Together both worth every penny.

Perfect to have on hand for colds or anything else that causes stuffiness. I used this when I had bad cold, it worked wonders to open up my head so I could breathe easier. Just be careful when holding so water does not dribble out.

I didn't see all the negative recent reviews until after I received and used this so I'll add my two cents.I rarely get sick but came down with a sinus infection and ordered this after having it in a wishlist and debating it for months. I like vick's vaporub but hate actually putting it on my skin, so thought this would be a good alternative. Here are my thoughts.Pros:- produces a nice, adequate amount of warm steam that is soothing on a dry throat or stuffy sinuses (people complaining that there isn't enough steam perhaps haven't considered that if there were plumes of visible steam coming out of this thing it'd scald your face off).- heats up relatively quickly and is easy to use- can double as a facial steamerCons:- it's corded, so not very portable. relatively minor, but still an inconvenience. I hadn't considered this when I purchased.- the unit gets pretty hot while running (nitpicky, but you'd want to be careful when a child is using it so they hold it in the right spot)- the vapo pads are advertised to last up to 8 hours in a vick's humidifier but there is no way to keep them from drying out between uses of the vaporizer to get the same longevity out of them. It'd be nice if they came in a small, resealable pouch, especially considering how pricey they areOther observations:- a few reviews I saw mentioned not being able to get the mouth piece back on in subsequent uses. I suspect this may be because they removed it while it was still warm, and because it's a soft plastic, it shrunk a bit as it cooled. Because of this, I have refrained from removing the mask portion until the unit has cooled, just in case.- I waited until this went on sale at $30 to scoop it up. It seems to get discounted fairly regularly, with $36 being the most common discounted price I saw while I had this on my wishlist. I still think that's a bit pricey for what it is, but as far as I can tell, it's the cheapest option for products in this class. If you want to save money and are ok not having warmth and moisture, the VapoInhaler will get you similar results at a fraction of the price.

I really love this steamer. I was using another brand of steamer until it broke. What I like about this steamer is it is well made. The plastic nose area is so big I get lots of steam. So easy to open water cup to fill water and stays very secure no leaks. I also have a small menthol tab that was included that gets inserted into a back top draw behind face mask. The tab adds a scent of menthol to my steam. I also like that steamer cools down and dries quickly when I shut steamer off. I am a user of steamers for many years and I like this one the best from Vicks. I didn't have to pay over $100 dollars to get good results. The price was reasonable.

I often have sinus issues and have been trying to find the best home remedies to get some relief and came across this steam inhaler with good reviews. Not sure if I got a bad unit, but based on some other reviews it is not uncommon for this item to essentially be useless.Mine had two major issues. First, it barely creates any steam to inhale. Of course I was not expecting a huge plume of steam since this is meant to just create some steam to breathe in and not actually boil the water, but this thing barely creates even a few wisps of steam. There is a vent that you can adjust to let out more or less steam, and even on the widest opening there is barely anything to breathe in, defeating the entire purpose of this item.Second, my unit did not disperse steam evenly, at all. I don't know if the heating element in mine was not heating the water evenly or what, but the right side of the inhaler basically had no steam coming up, and any steam that was produced only went to the left side... The inhaler is a mostly enclosed item, so it's not like any sort of wind/air would be moving the steam to one side. Plus, I was using the unit in an indoor room by myself so there was absolute not sort of air movement that would affect where the steam went. The only explanation is that the steamer does not heat up the water evenly or the venting system was not made properly to disperse the steam evenly...Might be low tech, but honestly you're better off boiling some water and pouring it into a thermos or a thick cup to retain as much heat as possible, and try to breathe in the steam coming from your thermos/cup. It works 100x better than this inhaler and costs nothing. If I am looking for a more consistent source of steam for a longer period of time, I have considered buying a small induction burner to heat up water in a small pot and doing the towel-over-head method, plus an induction burner doubles as a cooking appliance.Needless to say, I would not buy this, and I returned my unit for a refund.