Jan 16, 2009 8:00 am US/Eastern
Study: Vicks VapoRub May Be Dangerous For Infants
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Doctors at Wake Forest University School of Medicine say the ointment may cause airway inflammation that can restrict breathing and airway inflammation.
CBS
A popular remedy for sick kids may actually do more harm than good. Researchers are warning parents of the dangers of Vicks VapoRub, reports CBS station KCBS-TV in Los Angeles.
Doctors at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina say the ointment may cause airway inflammation that can restrict breathing and airway inflammation.
All this after an 11-month-old girl was treated for severe respiratory distress. The researchers say VapoRub was put directly under her nose.
"It was being used improperly to begin with, because it's not recommended to be put under the nose and it was used improperly because it was used on a two-year-old" according to pediatrician Lauren Lubin.
Lubin says the research is flawed because the there weren't enough people in the study, but she doesn't recommend using the product in children or adults.
Lubin says, "it hasn't been proven to be beneficial and I think that some of these medicines like this can have some adverse side effects, whether it be a skin reaction or an airway reaction in someone who's sensitive to it."
Just to be clear, the study has nothing to do with what's called 'Vicks BabyRub.' It only dealt with Vicks VapoRub and Proctor & Gamble that makes the ointment says the study is completely without merit.
Proctor & Gamble says they've tested thousands of children from one-month to twelve years old and they say VapoRub is just as safe now as it was years ago.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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