Dangerous Memories (Vicks VapoRub)

Member Name: ladybahnsidhe

Product:	Vicks VapoRub
Date:	17/03/01 (10534 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nostalgia, clear nose and that warm feeling

Disadvantages: Can impact liver function in sensitive individuals and be dangerous to children under 2 years of age

Recently, I stepped into a cab and was transported instantly to my childhood. One whiff was all it took. The driver, in an attempt to fight off a head cold, had slathered himself with Vicks Vapour Rub, and the heady scent filled the air.

I spent many a night as a child breathing in the scent of menthol and eucalyptus, a victim of my grandmother's belief that it would cure anything. At the first sign of a sniffle, out would come the little blue jar (and was there ever such a pretty color blue?). During the day, a dab on the upper lip kept my nose clear throughout school. (It also kept most people with sensitive noses far away, but that's a different tale.)At night, Nana would smear some on a flannel and tuck it against my chest inside my nightie. And if a cold should actually dare to rear its stuffy nose, she pulled out the heavy artillery -- a teaspoon or so dropped into boiling water poured into the sink, with me over it to inhale the penetrating fumes thus released. This followed by a steamy bath, then lying in bed while she gently rubbed the ointment into my chest and covered the whole with a clean flannel before tucking my nightie around me. To this day, the scent of Vicks Vapour Rub engenders a warm, loved and cared for feeling that makes me feel better even if the product didn't work as advertised.

The fact is, however, that it does work. Created by a North Carolina pharmacist when his children came down with chest colds over 100 years ago, Vicks VapoRub still uses his original formula of menthol, camphor, eucalyptus oil, cedarleaf oil, nutmeg oil, thymol and turpentine oil suspended in a beeswax base. He used this rather than the petroleum bases used in other products because it is easily absorbed by the skin, therefore far less messy than many other ointments. Each of the active ingredients is an effective decongestant alone. Together, they are a super plumber for the stopped up nasal passages.

Vicks Vapour Rub has be
en a popular home remedy for generations, and for more than just chest colds. A number of people report that it is effective in curing fungus infections in the nails, a use for which it was never meant. Anecdotal reports, however, claim that applied daily over the course of several months, it eliminated such infections. Others report that it soothes headaches when rubbed on the forehead and upper nose. The cooling/heating effect as the eucalyptus is absorbed by the skin makes it popular in treating mild muscle aches, and one of its active ingredients may block the minor pain of small cuts by deadening the nerves around the wound.

The product is not without its hazards, however. One of the more popular ways of using Vapour Rub is to dissolve a dollop in boiling water. The Vicks web site (www.vicks.com) specifically gives the warning NOT to heat the product, as it may cause splattering. Among the other warnings are not to rub it into the nasal cavities or mucous membranes, nor to ingest it, nor to use it on children under two. These same warnings are on the Vicks Vapour Rub label. Although they are soft-pedaled, the dangers are very real.

The June 2000 issue of The Southern Medical Journal reported a case of a 2 month old infant hospitalized for an unrelated illness who was discovered to have camphor poisoning due to repeated use of Vicks VapoRub in the previous week. This was an admittedly rare case, aggravated by the infant's low weight, but it does point to one of the dangers of using over the counter medications without a doctor's advice.

"Basically, camphor [the active ingredient in Vicks VapoRub] is a poison
if it is ingested," says Dr. Warren Bishop, director of pediatric
gastroenterology at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa
City. "It smells good, it makes your skin warm whenever you rub it in, but
it really has no efficacy whatsoever. But it has bee
n reported that
camphor causes death of liver cells, and that can lead to death if a
product containing camphor is eaten."
-- http://www.ahealthyme.com/article/remedy/100245888

In this particular case, the ingestion method of the camphor was through the skin rather than digested. I would strongly urge parents to follow the label instructions of any product, particularly any warnings. Vicks Vapour Rub is clearly labeled for use in children over two years of age, and this near tragic case illustrates why.

Although I have fond memories that are sparked by the scent of Vapour Rub, and my general opinion is still that it is soothing to both body and soul, I would end this op with this warning lifted from the Southern Medical Journal's article on this child.

"The use of cold remedies in small children is of questionable benefit, and
such agents may be potentially dangerous. Even if the package inserts of
camphor-containing cold remedies do not recommend their use in children
less than 2 years of age, these remedies are widely available to a general
public unaware of their toxicity."
--http://primarycare.medscape.com/SMA/SMJ/2000/v93 .n06/smj9306.11.uc/smj9306.11.uc -03.html

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