They Say: Vicks VapoRub Bad for Baby

JeanneSager — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:31:00 GMT

Have you always been slightly creeped out by rubbing greasy slime along your kid's upper lip? Good news - you don't have to do it anymore.

Of course, if you're one of those people who has always wiped the Vicks VapoRub under the kid's nose, and hoped for the best, you might want to keep reading.

Reseachers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina announced this week that Vicks VapoRub applied under the nose of children two and under might actually be making it more difficult for them to breathe.

Of course, Vicks is not promoted for kids under two, and the package clearly states it should not be put directly under the nose. But hundreds of parents do it anyway - thinking the layer of gunk under the nose is going to get their kids' mucus moving faster than it would if they smeared it on the chest (in other words, if they followed directions). Unfortunately, according to Wake Forest researcher Dr. Bruce Rubin, the incredients in VapoRub can irritate the nasal passages and cause the body to produce more mucus. The thickened secretions - especially in infants and young children, whose airways are narrower than an adults - will then make breathing more difficult.

Rubin and his colleagues started their project after treating an eighteen-month-old girl in respiratory distress whose parents had treated her with VapoRub, under the nose - despite warnings on the package.

Those pesky directions, they'll get you every time.

Image/Source: Reuters

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