A New Warning about Vicks VapoRub

This isn't really "news"; my pediatrician instructed us on proper usage of these types of products when we had my son four years ago. Vicks' website has directions and warnings for the proper use of its products, and regular "VapoRub" is not recommended for children under age 2 anyway. Instructions for Vicks "BabyRub", marketed for children 3 months and older, say to place the ointment on the "chest, neck and back" and specifically warn not to place it in the mouth or nostrils. Likewise, the instructions for "VapoRub" say to use it on chest and throat; again, no endorsement of putting it under the nostrils. In our family's experience, our child's health has been better served by communicating directly with our doctor on "best practices" for how to handle even minor illnesses rather than self-prescribing as the grandparents referenced in the article apparently did.

That's why they have Baby Vicks Rub- and of course use only as directed on the neck and chest.

it is something new to me that's why im surprise. im just a first time mom. good info

Is baby vapour rub safe or dose it pose the same risk?

I believe in Vicks, so does my 17 year old daughter and 12 year old son. It helps to loosen my congestion so i can pass it out and my nostrils clears up. Whenever I cannot sleep, I rub a bit under my nostrils and immediately, I sleep like a baby through the night. I also rub it under my nostrils whenever I do outdoor barbecue, somehow it stops the smoke from being inhaled. The trick of it is that you have to keep refreshing it every now and then while barbecuing. Before I discovered the magic of Vicks, I could not do outdoor barbecue because I would be sick for days. However, I would not recommend that anyone swallow vicks. Back in the 50's and 60's, Vicks was swallowed orally for colds or coughs. Those folks back then didn't know better, I guess. Vicks is also excellent when you have a stubborn pimple that won't ripen. Just rub vicks on it, and it will ripen so it can be easily relieved of its fluid. Onetime my husband was on a farm and got a tick between his toes, I rubbed a lot if Vicks on the area, and somehow the tick got drowsy and i was able to carefully pull it out with a tweezer so as not to break it and leave some inside.

My mother in-law swears by Vicks, she told me to put on my daughters feet and cover with socks when she had a cough! Sure enough one night she couldn't stop coughing so I put the Vicks on her feet with the socks, about 10 min later no coughing! I guess she does know something after all! HA HA

I've heard rubbing baby vics on the bottom of thier feet also helps. I don't see how but many people tried it and said it works.

The study that was published today didn't look at Baby Vicks, just the regular VapoRub. That said, both products should simply be USED AS DIRECTED. The thing is, not everyone does that....and that's when potential problems can arise. It does seem common-sense-y, but with a product like Vicks that's been around forever and is so well-known, it's easy to forget that you do actually need to read the label.

We have used Vicks on our kids feet for coughs and it has worked very well. We rub it on their feet, cover with socks and about 15 minutes later they are relaxed and get a good night's rest.

You know, it's interesting how something that we've been doing for years and years now shows the potential to have a health risk. I grew up using vicks for everything.I guess you could say that Vicks was my moms 'chicken soup'. I even used it in the corners of my eyes for when they were so red and itchy from allergies. Being kind of new to motherhood I want to do everything to make sure my daughter is safe and healthy, so when my mom put Vicks under her nose, I never thought a thing of it. Maybe we'll just try the foot trick and see where that gets us!

I was very dissapointed with your article on sleep trainer under the tittle Outsourcing Parenthood. Your article did not provide a website or any other way for mothers to find a sleep trainer. The article mentioned to go to the library or bookstore for information, but as full-time mom with an infant, it is really hard to just go to the library or bookstore. If I am lucky enough to get the time to do it, the baby may not allow me to check it out as he gets restless when he is not moving, making the whole library or bookstore experience a complete headache. We rely on your magazine to do the research for us and provide us with the information as we do not have the time. Would you please provide me with information on Sleep Trainers? Thanks, Maria

My bff's doctor who is 76 told her to use Vick's on the feet and then cover with socks. I was skeptical when she told me to try it on my son when he had a cold, but it worked! Now I just use a little on his feet at bedtime when he has a cold and it's not so close to his chest or nose and he won't bother his feet because he's sleeping.

make sure that you are using BabyRub for babies...and it does clearly state on the box NOT to place under the nose...and rubbing some on the feet and putting on socks DOES work. I do it everytime my 2yr old starts to show signs of a cold and it works!

VICKS VAPOUR RUB.....like so many things that catch the attention of the media, it gets twisted turned and contorted. Mistake or Marketing? I believe the real message is everything in balance. It is sad that we have more information than ever....googol bytes of it....but less common sense. To communicate with this new era we must talk in absolutes to avoid the legal fallout. NEVER, EVER use as undirected. "There now we are safe from the lucre loving legal beagles and have strapped on our Titanium Butt Covers against any frivolous law suit." Babies feedback loop is diminished when they can't communicate easily with us shoving things up their nose. If we put too much where it it can be inhaled yes of course any oil based ingredient will reek havoc with respiration. We as adults know when we have over done the process and can react and remove the excess without inhaling it. A saline solution works well too...but spray enough up a nostril and you drown. ITS ALL ABOUT BALANCE... not just a hyped up news story passed around so many times it takes on reality... and the merchants of fear have succeeded once again. Don't self prescribe. See your professional. See your doctor. See your Pharmacist. What would you know? You are just a MOTHER. (It is such a great thing that everyone one of us has a mother and that no matter our status in life we can afford a mother...not always a doctor....and I believe that is exactly why we still manage to survive despite all stories to the contrary.) Don't pass on silly old wives tales that will hurt your child. See a doctor who can set you straight. Help them set up a life time pension plan with your drug habit. Let them set you on a path to the pharmacy and iatrogenesis (which kills 700,000 in N. America each year!!) That kind of thinking is what has dropped us into this new economy. It is time we started thinking for ourselves. Using our innate common-sense. Trusting in our innate intelligence instead of worshiping the Gods in Green at the alter of excess and get our lives back on track. IF 'GOD IS LOVE' and there is no greater love than that of a MOTHER. Then MOTHER must be GOD? Hats off to all the mothers, who against all odds, trust themselves, their intuition and their God given common sense to raise wonderful children. Who are not prone to razing the planet....BRAVO!! Obama said it well: "...all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness" (Not just the money mongers.)

Caution is advised in what to interpret from the lab of Bruce Rubin on this Vicks Vapor rub study. There is reason to believe his lab had a lot of problems, and the experimental technique is flawed. There is a letter to the editor from a journal called Plagiary where the student's lab advisor ommitted data, changed words in an article to to make it sound more sensational (like in this story), threatened the student calling the student "snarky" and "destructive" on E-mail when the student pointed out the shoddy lab methods. It seems the student believed the advisor then plagiarized the student's work and published it as his own, but mixed up the methods and results paragraphs when copying them, resulting in a lopsided paper. Searching the web for keywords in the letter, like "Bueche theory" and "cystic fibrosis", points to this investigator. It seems the plagiarized lopsided paper was published in the New York Academy of Sciences, 2007. Comparing the draft version of the paper which is still up, to the final version, there is a huge difference, perhaps due to the student's allegation of Rubin's plagiarism. I wonder if this Vicks study was performed with the same questionable methods that the graduate student uncovered in Rubin's lab. From the student's letter, it appears Wake Forest's Office of Research was very aware of the situation, but chose not to have the draft removed. I would just beware. You can find that story at http://www.plagiary.org/responses.htm. If anyonoe knows this and knows where the student's original work or copies of the E-mails are, I'd be interested in seeing them.