Moms Beware: Nix the Vicks for Tiny Tots

Moms Beware: Nix the Vicks for Tiny Tots

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

filed under: health logic

Before you slather your sick child with Vicks (the old stand by) you might want to think twice, because it can be dangerous for children under two years old.

According to U.S. researchers, Vicks Vaporub can cause respiratory distress in children under two when inappropriately applied directly under the nose, causing a child's tiny airways to swell and fill with mucus and triggering severe breathing problems.

Researchers revealed that the only problems they've seen with Vicks is when the product has been put under the nose of a very small child.

Dr. Bruce Rubin of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina said in a telephone interview with FoxNews that, "The ingredients in Vicks can be irritants, causing the body to produce more mucus to protect the airway. And since infants and young children have airways that are much narrower than those of an adult, any increase in mucus or swelling can narrow them severely.

"The company is really clear that it should never go under the nose or in the nose for anybody and it shouldn't be used in children under two," said Rubin, whose study appears in the journal Chest.

While the researchers only tested the Vicks product, Rubin said similar products, including generic versions, could cause the same negative effects in infants and toddlers.

We spoke to momlogic's pediatrician Dr. Cara Natterson to hear what she had to say about this latest warning:

"This is another example of how over-the-counter medicines are not necessarily benign. Vicks clearly labels its products not to be used in children under two without speaking to a doctor. Vicks does have a line of infant products for babies over three months -- these products don't have any "medicines," but they do have herbs such as eucalyptus, rosemary and lavender.

"I agree with the researchers that none of these products should be applied near the nose, and that products for older children should never be used for babies. In my practice, when parents wanted to use Vicks, I would recommend putting a small amount on the feet at night. I cannot explain why this works, but it seems to relieve nasal congestion for many children.

"But a few caveats: I never recommended it for children under two and I always cautioned parents that only a little bit should be used, because it can make the feet slippery -- and a child running out of bed can easily slip."

5 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

When our first daughter was about 18 mo., she was diagnosed with moderate asthma and any flare up she has had (now 2 1/2) has been moderate as well. We put vicks on her feet and cover her feet with socks…and it works like magic! It reduces coughing so much that she can sleep and helps reduce all congestion. We started this 6 mo. before she turned 2. For my newborn daughter, if needed, I may try this trick with Vicks newborn line of products, since I was not aware of this line with my first child.

- Alison Rippey

Posted 01/14/09 02:40 PM

Thanks for the info!! My daughter will be 2 in June. I have always just put a little bit on the front of her jammies. Never on her skin because I didn’t want it to irritate her skin. Thank goodness she never gets sick and I’ve probably only used it a handful of times since she was born. Next time I will try it on her feet. Probably for my 6 year old too. THANKS!!!

- ashley

Posted 01/15/09 07:42 AM

- ashley

Posted 01/15/09 07:43 AM

Well this is good to know, my daughter’s pediatrician advised me to slather on the vicks (chest) when I called on what to do about her cold, and she was only months old!!! I’ve been doing it ever since, now I know better.. thanks. Good to know I have an ignorant pediatrician.

- Anonymous

Posted 01/15/09 12:49 PM

When my DH was still an infant, I found Baby Vicks. I was so happy and it worked so well for her. She had “baby pneumonia”, I forget the medical name. Now, she’s have problems again(she’s 31mths). They don’t sell the Baby Vick’s here and I was desperate to get her some relief that wasn’t cough syrup or a nebulizer(it didn’t help so we don’t use it). All they had was plain ol’ Vicks. Since she is old enough, I decided to give it a try. I was soooo happy to hear her wheezing disappear almost immediately! She didn’t like Vicks, the fumes were stinging her eyes a bit, but she felt better when I stuck a shirt on her. She felt so good she didn’t want to go to sleep!

- Ju

Posted 03/31/09 12:31 AM