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  • 2007-03-19 (xsd:date)
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  • Should You Apply Vicks VapoRub to Children's Feet? (en)
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  • This advisory that applying Vicks Vaporub (a brand of mentholated topical cream) to the bottom of one's feet at bedtime, then covering those feet with socks, will stop persistent nighttime coughs hit the online world big in March 2007. At that time, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the agency touted in the advisory as having discovered this cure, sent us a statement denying it extolled the application of Vicks VapoRub to a child's feet as an effective counter to nighttime cough: However, while the NRC has neither researched the claim slathering VapoRub on a child's feet will alleviate nighttime cough nor endorses the practice, that particular home cure had been proffered by many people in the health industry prior to the March 2007 e-mail. (That e-mail, by the way, refers to that body as the Canada Research Council, but its proper name is the National Research Council Canada.) Joe and Teresa Graedon of The People's Pharmacy, a health advice feature run as both a syndicated newspaper column and a weekly show on National Public Radio, included mention of this potential use of the salve in their 2002 Guide to Unique Uses for Vicks. Expanding on the 2002 suggestion Easing chest congestion is standard, of course, but have you considered applying it to the soles of the feet for a persistent nighttime cough? in February 2007, they wrote: We also suggest putting Vicks VapoRub on the soles of the feet for a nighttime cough. Put on socks to protect the sheets. Vicks' usage instructions state nothing about slathering its VapoRub product on one's feet; instead, they instruct those looking for temporary relief of cough due to common cold to rub a thick layer of the salve onto their chests and throats. And contrary to the instructions outlined in the e-mailed advisory, some health agencies have warned camphor-containing products should not be used on children and should be used only in accordance with the directions on their labels: (Vicks' VapoRub product has about a 5.26% camphor content; the unapproved camphor cubes and tablets referenced above may contain higher concentrations of camphor.) Vicks has addressed another VapoRub rumor that postulates using the product to combat toenail and fingernail fungus (an alternate use of the product that has been ballyhooed by a number of folks for years, including author Dr. Peter Gott, whose Dr. Gott syndicated health column at one time appeared in more than 400 newspapers.) An automated response at the phone number for VapoRub consumers (800-873-8276) advised: We do not recommend using VapoRub for the treatment of toenail fungus. Consult your doctor or pharmacist on the best treatment to meet your needs. Thanks for calling. (en)
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