Vicks VapoRub 'can trigger severe breathing problems' in young children

Vicks VapoRub 'can trigger severe breathing problems' in young children

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:56 AM on 13th January 2009


A U.S paediatrician said Vicks VapoRub could cause breathing problems if placed under a young child's nose

Parents have been warned against using Vicks VapoRub to relieve cough and cold symptoms in children under two.

An American paediatrician said if applied directly under the nose, the common remedy could cause a young child’s tiny airways to swell and fill with mucus, triggering severe breathing problems.

Dr Bruce Rubin from Wake Forest University School of Medicine said the ingredients in Vicks can be irritants. The body then produces more mucus to protect the airway causing it to narrow.

‘The company is really clear it should never go under the nose or in the nose for anybody and it shouldn't be used in children under 2,’ said Rubin, whose study appears in the journal Chest.

However, although it is marketed for children over two in the U.S it is licensed for children aged six months and over in the UK.

Dr Rubin and his colleagues looked at the Procter & Gamble Co decongestant after treating an 18-month-old girl who developed respiratory distress after the salve was put under her nose.

Since the initial episode, emergency doctors at the medical centre have asked all parents of children in respiratory distress if they used the Vicks product in a similar way and have documented two more cases.

Dr Rubin said he would never recommend using the VapoRub on a child aged two and under.

A VapoRub spokesman said the product had a long history of being safe and effective when used according to the label.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1113882/Vicks-VapoRub-trigger-severe-breathing-problems-young-children.html