Vicks Vaporub niet goed voor jonge
kinderen
New research out of Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center suggests that VicksŪ VapoRubŪ, the popular menthol compound used
to relieve symptoms of cough and congestion, may instead create respiratory distress in
infants and small children. The study appears in this month's issue of Chest, the
peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, and reports that the
product may stimulate mucus production and airway inflammation, which can have severe
effects on breathing infants or young children because of the small size of their airways.
"The ingredients in Vicks can be irritants, causing the body to produce more mucus to
protect the airway," said Bruce K. Rubin, M.D., lead author of the study and a
professor in the department of pediatrics at Brenner Children's Hospital, part of Wake
Forest Baptist. "Infants and young children have airways that are much narrower than
those of adults, so any increase in mucus or inflammation can narrow them more
severely." VicksŪ VapoRubŪ was first compounded in 1891, in Greensboro. It was
introduced in 1905 with the name Vick's Magic Croup Salve. The flu epidemic of 1918
increased sales from $900,000 to $2.9 million in just one year and Procter & Gamble
has since marketed the product as "The only thing more powerful than a mother's
touch." The salve is widely used to relieve symptoms of colds and congestion, but
there are few data supporting an actual clinical benefit, according to Rubin. Vicks has
been reported to cause inflammation in the eyes, mental status changes, lung inflammation,
liver damage, constriction of airways and allergic reactions. Interest in conducting the
study developed after Rubin and colleagues treated an infant who was taken to the
emergency room after developing severe respiratory distress following the application of
Vicks directly under her nose. Researchers sought to determine the effect of the product
on the respiratory system using ferrets, which have an airway anatomy and cellular
composition similar to humans. The team conducted tests on healthy ferrets and ferrets
that had tracheal inflammation (simulating a person with a chest infection) that measured
the effects of Vicks on mucus secretion and buildup in the airways, and fluid buildup in
the lungs. Results showed that Vicks exposure increased mucus secretion in both normal and
inflamed airways. In addition, the studies showed that exposure to the product decreased
the rate by which mucus was cleared from the trachea. The findings support current product
labeling, which indicates the product should not be used on children under 2 years of age.
However, many parents continue to use Vicks on their sick children, often rubbing the
salve on the feet or chest, Rubin said.
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