Vapor Rub

[Rick]

April 28, 2011

Vapor Rub Really Works! (Vapor rub provides relief for nighttime symptoms of cough, cold, Paul IM, et al. Pediatrics 2010; 126: 1092-1099 (of course, we have known this for years because our patients have told us, but someone has finally proven it).

A vapor rub relieved children’s nocturnal cough and cold symptoms better than a placebo or no treatment and also allowed them to sleep better, according to a study of 138 children ages 2-11 years.

The safety and efficacy of over the counter treatments for upper respiratory infections (URI’s) recently have been questioned. In 2008, the Food and Drug Administration advised that cough and cold medicines not be given to children younger than 2 years, leaving clinicians and parents with few options.

While a vapor rub containing menthol, camphor and eucalyptus oils has been used for more than a century, there is no evidence that it is effective for URI symptoms.

In this study, researchers randomly assigned children who had cough, congestion and rhinorrhea for at least seven days to receive a single application of a vapor rub or placebo (petrolatum ointment) or no treatment. To prevent parents from knowing which treatment their child was assigned to, they were instructed to apply the vapor rub between their upper lip and nose before opening their child’s treatment. Then they massaged an unmarked ointment on their child’s upper chest and neck area for one minute before bedtime.

In the morning, parents completed a survey asking how often their child coughed during the night, about the severity of their child’s nasal congestion, and the extent to which the parents and their child’s sleep was disrupted.

Results showed that the vapor rub was significantly better than no treatment for all outcomes except rhinorrhea. It also was better than petrolatum for cough severity, and child and parent sleep difficulty. Petrolatum was not significantly better than no treatment for any symptom. Mild irritation was more common among those treated with the vapor rub.

The authors noted that some clinicians may be wary of using a camphor-containing product due to the association between toxic ingestions and seizures. However, toxicity occurred with a liquid preparation. An estimated 20 milliliters of vapor rub, which contains only 4.8% camphor, would have to be ingested to produce toxic effects in a child under 6 years.

ETA:I copied this for some reason it wouldn't let me link...

[oldr_n_wsr]

My mother swore by Vicks Vapor rub.

[The Hen]

my mother did too. I hated it. I always found it 'burned' the skin on my chest. I felt it was some form of punishment.

[Rick]

I think my mom used it on me twice, can't remember for sure.

I'm just glad I grew up AFTER the caster oil age...