Friday, December 5, 2008

Vicks VapoRub


I know I am supposed to be focusing on diaper reviews, but I had to pass info about this product along as we are nearing cold and flu season.  

Marshall (my DH) came home with an e-mail the other day about Vicks VapoRub.  
The e-mail stated this:

"How to stop cough in 5 minutes!!! This is a must try... We have all been kept awake by our own or someone else's cough. Try this and pass it on. The tip and not the cough. ANYTHING is better than antibiotics. Even babies could benefit from this and the parents wouldn't worry about the safety of their child. And of course, it is harmless and free from any type of side-effects. WOW! I was raised, and raised my kids with Vicks. How come I never knew this? I can't wait for my next cough. Amazing!"

Treatment:
To stop night time coughing in a child (or an adult, as we found out personally), put Vicks Vapor Rub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime and then cover with socks.

" Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about five minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. This works 100 percent of the time, and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly."

As many of you may already know, my 10 month old has asthma.  He's been on steroids, singulair granuals, and a few different albuterols for breathing treatments.  Some nights when he has a cold he doesn't get a lot of sleep due to coughing and wheezing.  (I don't get much sleep either.)  When Marsh brought this e-mail home, I read through it and decided to give it a try.  I am so pleasantly surprised with how well it works!  Rowan did stop coughing in about 5 minutes.  About 4 hours later, he was up coughing again.  I reapplied the rub to his feet and again he stopped coughing and slept restful the rest of the night.  We've now done this a few nights in a row and it has worked like a charm.  Pretty incredible, huh?  We are using the baby rub too which just has soothing ingredients and is safe for babies 3 months and older.  I might get some of the regular vaporub just to keep on hand though.  It gives me peace of mind to use something like this to calm Rowan's wheezing and coughing rather than an albuterol with a steroid in it.  I'm sure if we used the original vaporub it would stop his coughing for the entire night.
Supposedly this works on adults too, and I am definitely going to try it the next time I get a cold with a cough.

Ingredients in Original VapoRub
Active Ingredients (Purpose)
Camphor 4.8% (Cough suppressant and topical analgesic)
Eucalyptus oil 1.2% (Cough suppressant)
Menthol 2.6% (Cough suppressant and topical analgesic)

Ingredients in BabyRub
Petrolatum, fragrance, aloe extract, eucalyptus oil, lavender oil, rosemary oil

You can buy this in most grocery/retail stores. I will usually buy the generic brand from Target.

Hope this helps!

7 comments:

Cassandra said...

I'm really glad you posted this. The other day, a girl in my class (who has a 13 month old) was swearing by this relief method. I was skeptical, and I meant to ask if you had every tried it. I'm glad you were able to find some relief for Rowan!

The Cederstrom's said...

I'm sure that this really works, but I would be careful and put the vapor rub on a small area before I would put it all over. A lot of people are allergic to some of the ingredients in vapor rub, so I would be very careful. Luckily my kids are not allergic to any of the ingredients, and I do agree that this works very well.

tiff snedaker said...

Good to know Brook. Nice to have someone who knows about this. Thanks :)

Cory and Becca said...

Thanks for the tip, my baby has been a bit congested, I will try it out!

Cory and Becca said...

BTY, do you have any reviews or preferences with high chairs, and what to look for? I will need to be getting one in a few months.
Thanks!

tiff snedaker said...

Becca - I think it depends on how much room you have. We have always lived in apartments up until now, and have used the high chairs that hook onto a chair. I LOVE them, they are affordable and work well. As far as traditional high chairs, I really can't give you an opinion there because I haven't had one. I have a cheap space saver chair that is made by the first years that my sister gave me. If I had the choice though, I woud get the space saver chair by fisher price, or one from fisher price in the rainforest line.
Hope your baby gets feeling better!

Katie S said...

we've done this! It really works. I love this tip!