There's the rub, Vicks may actually make kids sicker

[Stuart G]

Source: MSNBC

Vicks VapoRub, the menthol salve used to soothe generations of congested kids, may actually make some little ones worse, a new study suggests.

The strong-smelling ointment often dabbed under noses or rubbed on the soles of feet can be an irritant, increasing the production of mucus and decreasing how fast it’s cleared, potentially causing dangerous breathing problems in infants and very young children.

“In a small child who may be hypersensitive, this can make the airways even smaller,” said Dr. Bruce K. Rubin, vice chairman of the department of pediatrics at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. “It can narrow them severely.”

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28628924/

[babylonsister]

1. As a kid who had Vicks smeared all over,

it seemed to work. But I don't know about as a baby.

Funny? story: I was really sick with a cold, folks were having another cocktail party, and one of their friends shoved a bunch of it down my throat.
Well, it worked. All better the next day, though I'm NOT suggesting anyone else do this.

And no, no one considered it child abuse, though had I died, they might have.

[ananda]

7. Vicks was part of my kid life for a long time.

Not only was it smeared on my chest,
it was also used in a vaporizer whenever
I got a cold.

I liked it and it seemed to provide relief.
Of course, any attention was always welcome.

I didn't have asthma, though, or anything
like that.

Now I'm more careful about mainstream products.
You really have to look at and research the
ingredients. Be careful out there.

[morillon]

16. My granny used to swallow Vicks.

I guess she thought they didn't really mean that "For External Use Only" bit. She was in very robust health for most of her life and lived to 93, so I guess swallowing Vicks isn't fatal, at least not immediately! :-)

[otohara]

32. For A Smooth Menthol

poop, nothing beats Vicks.

[awoke_in_2003]

35. well, if you at Vicks

after eating jalapenos, I could see where the vicks could provide some relief :)

[Dorian Gray]

37. LOL

it feels refreshing!

[CoffeeCat]

17. My husband's mother used to have her..

children ingest Vick's Vapo Rub, thinking that it would cure (or at least lessen the
symptoms of) their colds.

I just assumed that this was due to the fact that she's a nutjob--but maybe others were doing
this as well.

:shrug:

[JeanGrey]

24. It sure worked for us. Nothing was more comforting that the smell

of Vicks that helped you to breathe when you were sick. My Mom always put a warm washrag on top of our chest when she used it.

[doodadem]

34. Same here

I used to dread waking up coughing at night, because I knew the Vicks would progress from being smeared ON me, to being glopped down my throat.

Major yack! Didn't hear till I was an adult that this could have caused chemical pneumonia.

[Delphinus]

48. What was shoved down your throat?

Vicks or cocktails? I cannot imagine Vicks INSIDE the body.

[glowing]

2. I would never use the stuff on my child if he was asthmatic or something.

But as for mine, it does help his cough and it makes his back feel better after hacking up a lung all day. Thank god he doesn't have a cold at this time..

[Le Taz Hot]

9. Actually, I'm a lifelong asthmatic

and, as long as you don't use a humidifier (something that should NEVER be done with an asthmatic) and just rub in into the chest, it actually affords significant relief from congestion. It can also break up the mucus enough to where the body will take over with coughing. At least that's been my experience.

[Stuart G]

10. People with lung problems should never use humidifiers.(I think)

Why? the lungs do not need more moisture.
.I believe they need to stay as dry and free from outside moisture as possible..Outside moisture, put into the air by a humidifier, can contain huge amounts of bacteria and germs. I recall once running a humidifier during a very dry cold period outside, and forgetting to clean the damn thing out, (they must be cleaned often and complete) and a day or two later had a case of pneumonia. Now, what is pneumonia? Liquid in the lungs. I suspect that for the lungs, (not the skin) the drier the better.

This is something that humidifier manufacturers will not tell you

[glowing]

14. Which is why Florida grows molds, fungi, and bacteria so damn well.

[silverojo]

46. I think you mean vaporizer?

Vicks isn't used with humidifiers, because those produce cool moisture. Vaporizers produce warm moisture. :)

[Le Taz Hot]

50. I'm sure you're right.

It's whatever adds moisture in the air. It's why I can't exercise in the fog or rain.

[madamesilverspurs]

28. From another lifelong asthmatic---

as a kid I couldn't get near Vick's. I'm still pretty sensitive to it. When a coworker walked by my desk a couple years back, I got a whiff of Vick's; stepped outside for a few minutes and thus avoided the need for the inhaler. There have been times when proximity has caused some difficulty. Weird, huh?

[Le Taz Hot]

33. Actually, not so wierd.

Like allergies, different things set off different people. For me it's cigarette smoke, most perfumes/colognes and humidity but pollen doesn't bother me at all. An asthmatic friend of mine is OK with the perfumes/colognes but pollens will set her off.

[TankLV]

43. not weird at all - while I love the stuff and swear by it - my partner can't stand the stuff...

it worsens his breathing...

[CraftyGal]

38. All my children used Vicks as kids and 2 of them are asthmatic.

I would love to see the research on this. If it was an irritant on the chest, I just applied Vaseline to the chest. I love it myself. It helps to breath as I am an unable to use most cold remedies out there, due to chronic kidney disease and one kidney.

CraftyGal

[SacredCow]

3. My mom was a firm believer in the Vick's...

I couldn't have hated it more- that smell, coupled with the vaseline-like consistency was just awful.

[supernova]

4. My mom dutifully rubbed it under my nose and on my chest

at night before I went to sleep.

I just as dutifully rubbed it off right after she turned out the light.

:P


Just too strong.

[dipsydoodle]

5. The emphasis

needs to be on "some". peanuts affect "some" people too. I believe there is a warning anyway to the effect "VapoRub should not be applied in or near the nostrils" I can't quite figure why anyone would apply it to the soles of their feet.

Never did me any harm since childhood but then it was only ever used on my chest at night.

[Mojorabbit]

19. Feet absorb great thru the skin

Rub some raw garlic on your feet and you will taste it. I guess that is why it is used in some cases. I had always heard Vicks could cause bronchospasm in some people. My hubby loves having it rubbed on his chest to this day when he is sick. I think it is more a comfort thing from childhood than anything else.

[dipsydoodle]

21. I must remember to

walk on some women then. :rofl:

Only joking !

I'd always figured that the benefit of rubbing it on your chest was that body warmth then made it evaporate and to let you breath it in whilst asleep ?

[carlyhippy]

6. still works o.k. as an adult.....I am sporting some under my nose right now

I can see a small baby having problems with this stuff, narrowing airways, and they always have their hands on their noses, and that stuff ends up in their eyes, up their nose, mouth ect, not good.

[Stuart G]

8. So much of what is marketed is marketed for adults...who knows ...

what the kids think...The smell might be great for a parent, and might work. But what about a one year old? I doubt he/she can make it exactly clear about if the stuff works or not. The parent may think it works, and actually, that is enough to get the parent to buy it...

..Think about this one for a moment..Why do they market dog food, like steaks? Do the dogs care? They are hungry, so they eat. But when you look at some of the TV ads, you would think that your pet is getting a prime steak with all the trimings.

[MichellesBFF]

11. Heh

Family story, my sister rubbed it on the face of my other sister when she was an infant, thinking that it would help her. Poor thing, she was beet red and crying up a storm!

We still talk about it to this day. She's a nurse now.

[onehandle]

12. At the first sign of a cold, start avoiding dairy products right away.

When I switched to soymilk years ago, I started getting fewer and shorter colds.

Milk makes mucus and extends your sickness.

[freeplessinseattle]

15. yep-no colds since I stopped milk products 5 years ago

had a couple that almost started but fended them off within a day or two with that Airborne stuff.

still eat eggs and butter, but any other tiny bit of milk will make me crazy congested for days.

Since I am so prone to congestion I use Tiger Balm nearly nightly on my chest to help, hope that's not doing anything funky to my airways!

[TankLV]

44. so does vitamin C and orange juices...

got to way the advantages/disadvantages...

[rocktivity]

13. Candidate tor this year's "You Call This NEWS?" award

The "To Figure This Out, You Had To Do a Freaking STUDY?" division.

I'm sure Vicks would be the first to tell you that it's not meant for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

:eyes:
rocknation

[glowing]

18. Actually, most people put it on their babies feet and then stick socks on.

As they age, the balm comes northbound to chests and backs. I never do under the nose, its just too strong for them under the nose, I can barely stand it under the nose.. I cheat and just smell my fingers every so often. So, moms are slapping this shit on every child. The feet and sock thing, I'm not sure what its supposed to help with then.. you can't smell it. I'm assuming it has something to do with the menthal properties.

[grannie4peace]

20. my stepfather used to eat it. then go to bed & sweat out whatever!!!

[Bill McBlueState]

22. Hey, I thought everything parents did in the 50's was automatically a good idea

Aren't we due for a thread like that? It's been a while.

[JeanGrey]

25. It usually was.

[CreekDog]

23. As a kid, I learned

that dogs don't like the smell of Vicks. :rofl:

[pipi_k]

26. Vicks...one of the hallmarks of my childhood

My two sisters and I were always sick, it seemed.

We'd get the full Vicks treatment...a chest and back massage with Vicks, a warm towel wrapped around our chest and necks, and the vaporizer stuffed with Vicks, running for days at a time.

Oh, and St. Joseph baby aspirin


It's a wonder we survived childhood.

[pipi_k]

27. Couple of other things...

As an adult, I do still use Vicks for two things...

One, for nasal congestion, I put a bit in a bowl and pour steaming hot water over it, sit over the bowl with a towel over my head like a tent and breathe in the fumes. I don't know how harmful that might be, but it does help for a while, although I've found that saline nasal rinses do just as good a job of clearing the sinuses.


Two, in the summer when I get a mosquito bite, I dab some Vicks on the bite and rub in it. Takes the itch away almost immediately.

[awoke_in_2003]

36. I moved away from Vicks...

the moment I first tried that mustard you get at chinese restaurants. One deep whiff of that stuff will open you right up, and it tastes good, too.

[pipi_k]

39. I can't imagine what it does to your insides!

Years ago I lived with someone who decided to give himself a mustard plaster for a chest cold.

He got some of that hot mustard and rubbed it on his chest and then went to bed. The next day his chest was red and raw, like someone had poured battery acid on it.

I've been scared of it ever since...

:scared:

[gvstn]

29. Never liked Vicks...

It was Ben Gay on the chest for me. I still find the smell soothing and never buy the odorless type even for daytime use. :)

[pipi_k]

31. Mixed feelings...

I sort of like the smell of Ben Gay, but OTOH, it also makes me think of old people.


I guess it's one of those odor contradictions, like skunk or cow manure...I don't mind the smell of either one as long as it's just a hint...


:)

[BonnieJW]

30. My inlaws

gave it to my husband to swallow when he was little. But they also voted for bush twice.

[Systematic Chaos]

40. I used to love Vicks, and still swear by their pocket inhalers.

I used to get the vaporizers with the Vicks, and a little dab under the nose as a kid and it helped a LOT. What I wish they DIDN'T do, however, was give me nose drops. I still have memories to this day of how much they seemed to make my little 3, 4, 5 year old brain feel like it was going to pop out the top of my head, and then for a couple hours afterwards my throat would be raw.

Ugh. :(

[bitchkitty]

41. Huh - who would have thought?

Maybe it's the petroleum sludge that is the main ingredient, combined with menthol, which is a powerful astringent and antiseptic on its own. Menthol vapors will kill insecticide-resistant mites in a second. I don't imagine it's a good idea to let a baby or very young child inhale it.

On the other hand, it was a big part of my childhood, and I associate that smell with Mommy. I'm 53 now and the smell of Vicks brings a picture of my young mother bent over my bed, rubbing Vicks into my chest. - as clear as if it were yesterday.

[TankLV]

42. I still useit and swear by it - it has ALWAYS made my breathing easier...

the vapors open up my congested passageways...

NEVER ever heard of anybody EATING the stuff before this thread! UGH!!!

NOT a good idea...

what's next - milk bad for you? Oh, yeah - it's already been condemned...

[Rosa Luxemburg]

45. can use it for other things

http://www.ehow.com/how_4461175_vicks-vapor-rub-unique-ways.html

[soothsayer]

47. feh, vicks is fine if used properly---but obviously not on an allergic kid

no need to malign the fine product

[NuttyFluffers]

49. l *love* that stuff! i love all medicine tasting and smelling stuff!

Vicks, Mentholatum, Ben Gay, Icy Hot, Tiger Balm... mmmm! give me a bag of licorice, teaberry candy (tastes like Pepto Bismol), tamarind sweets, and cinnamon red hots to eat, some birch beer to drink, and a vat of these various mentholated rubs all mixed together to slather all over myself and i'll be happier than a pig in shit. MMMMM! medicine! then i'll go eat a phat plate of wasabi, pickled and candied ginger, chili peppers, and sauteed onions and garlic. yay!

:D