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Jan 14, 2009 05:25 PM | 4
After we posted the news yesterday that the iconic Vicks VapoRub may be dangerous to tots, readers asked a good question: Would a Vicks baby formulation cause the same potential breathing problems described in a study in this week's issue of the journal Chest?
That research—conducted on ferrets after a handful of congested toddlers who used VapoRub were brought into the hospital—suggested that ingredients in the ointment may trick the body into producing excess mucus to protect the airways from what the brain perceives as cold air. Menthol produces that cooling sensation, and it—or the other two ingredients—could trigger the inflammatory response, said Bruce Rubin, the Wake Forest University pediatrician who conducted the study. While likely harmless to older VapoRub users with wider airways, the extra mucus could dangerously narrow the airways of kids under two, he said.
VapoRub manufacturer Procter & Gamble does advise consumers not to use the salve on youngsters under two years of age. But it makes another, non-medicated product, Vicks BabyRub, for babies three months and older. It contains petrolatum, fragrance, aloe extract, eucalyptus oil, lavender oil and rosemary oil—but not menthol or camphor.
Rubin tells us he didn’t study BabyRub, and notes the difference in its composition from VapoRub. "For those reasons, I really don't know and can't speculate if it would do the same," he says.
A spokeswoman for P&G, Paula Koenigs, says BabyRub is designed to soothe a fussy baby—and not, like VapoRub, to relieve the symptoms of colds and coughs. "We aren't convinced that it’s the VapoRub that caused the problem [reported in Chest] in the first place," Koenigs says. "I don't know how to answer if BabyRub would cause that same problem."
The Food and Drug Administration didn’t immediately respond to a question about whether it had received any adverse-event reports about BabyRub. P&G reports fewer than three adverse events per million units of VapoRub sold—usually mild, self-resolving skin irritations. The company hasn't received any reports of serious breathing problems with Vicks BabyRub use, Koenigs says.
But she adds that it's an apples and oranges comparison between the two products. "It's like, 'Do you have [health] problems if you put hand lotions on?'" she asks rhetorically. With BabyRub, "We're not talking about medicated therapy."
Updated at 5:35 p.m. January 14 with P&G reporting no serious respiratory problems from Vicks BabyRub.
Image © iStockphoto/Rebecca Ellis
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4 Comments
Add CommentRegarding the Vicks problems, the base of both the vapor rub and the baby rub is petrolatum ....... so should we be massaging petrol products into a baby's skin anywhere! It kills me that we birth a beautiful , pure child and pretty much start destroying it with chemicals immediately. Really what products are safe anymore, I make most of ours and even then there are chemicals and toxins in the wild plants I harvest , never mind knowing weather the carrier oil is pure or not.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's a sad world to bring a child into right now.
Or it doesn't matter anyway. No one is safe in any time ever from everything. The universe is trying to kill us the moment we come into the world. Now, then, with this or that. Anything will make someone sick. Find a balance that works for you. I think making your own wildcrafted medicine is crazy talk, I also think slaving your kid with every anti-biotic on the shelf is equal nuts.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJill, your baby is made of chemicals!! What astounds me is people irrational fear of "chemicals!" Everything you feel and touch is made of chemicals. Whether you harvest a chemical from plants or not has NO bearing whatsoever on whether its safe. Hydrogen is Hydrogen, Sulfur is Sulfur, Nitrogen is Nitrogen and it does NOT matter at all where it came from!! What matters is the chemical compound itself and whether that can be introduced into a human body...period...the chemical's origin is entirely irrelevant!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI guess I should have been specific. I was talking about chemicals that should not be put into a person's body especially a baby. The skin products I make myself make me feel a bit safer because I know what is in them and they're made of very simple ingredients like beeswax , water, almond, olive or coconut oils with plants I harvest in the countryside.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe baby I was speaking of is my grand daughter. After a lifetime of eating food that now is shown to cause all kinds of health problems , when we were assured they were safe, it's no wonder I worry about what this child has put in or on her little body.