Vicks vapo rub - safe to use?

I just bought some as DS is a little congested, but I noticed the label says not to use on children under 2yrs old - have any of your used this anyway?

 

I bought baby vapor rub (generic at Target). It seemed to help them sleep a little better...at least for the first half of the night.

 

Our pedi said not to use it directly on them. He said you could put some on you then lay them on top of your shirt and a thin towel if you wanted to. He did a-okay the J&J vapor bath and a warm bath with a saline nose wash afterwards. And that seemed to help our little ones when they were congested.

 

I was always a big fan of the vapor bath. It seemed helpful, and my girls seemed to sleep a little better after the bath. I know that the Vapo-rub says not safe for children under 2, and if your pedi advises against it, I would follow that advice. But I will add that many years ago I had a pet rabbit with upper resp. and the vet had me use the Vicks on her. I did question it's safety -- she weighed 3 lbs and rabbits are sensitive -- but he said it was safe to eat and ok to use on the rabbit. I think the main reason not to use it on babies is that it burns if it gets in the eyes and may be too harsh for sensitive skin as babies tend to have. I think the suggestion of putting it on yourself and laying down with the baby is a good one. I would try that.

 

I've never used it. My girls only had a cold once and they were very young - the pedi said to try a humidifier, a suction, and saline nose spray and that's it.

 

As Aimee mentioned humidifers also help (although we live in 90% humidity so we don't need one - though we use one religiously when we visit my folks in the desert). And another thing to try is to raise the head of the bed. We use rolled up towels under the mattress to lift it up. It allows the stuff to drain although if you have movers you may have them end up at the foot of the bed frequently. For mine they tummy sleep and after they are out they are pretty good about staying put so we hold/rock them until they pass out (ONLY when they are sick!) and then put them down.

 

I used the vicks baby rub it says for 3 month old and older but my Dr said it's ok to use on my angels

 

I have not used the rub but I do use the plugins. I swear by them!

 

i have the "baby" version. I use it often when they are congested!

 

I also used the baby version of the vick's rub and it was wonderful for clearing them up, even if it was for 30-45 minutes. Last month during their first cold, I would suction them, raise their mattresses, and give them a bath before bed, but the vicks is what cleared them up to fall asleep. Unfortunately, they often woke up in the middle of the night because they were so congested. Poor babies.

I hope yours get through their colds quickly! It took about 2-2.5 weeks for them to completely get better. I seemed like they should have been through it faster, but I guess that's normal for a baby cold.

 

I know that the baby rub is not only safe to use but..safe to eat according to poison control when we had to call them....

 

I also use the baby version. I think it helps them at night. I think I also read on here, that if you put it on the soles of their feet and put socks on, it will help stop a cough too. I tried it last season and it worked like a charm ardon:

 

We used the baby version as well, Pedi say no to the regular stuff till they get older ~

QUOTE(denali_ice @ Sep 18 2008, 08:00 AM) [snapback]985837[/snapback]
I know that the baby rub is not only safe to use but..safe to eat according to poison control when we had to call them....


good to know :laughing:
I have been worried everytime they touch their tummy after I put it on them & then of course the fingers go in the mouths....

 

We use the plugins as well and it seems to really help our girls. If it gets too strong, then we just crack open their door.


QUOTE(cohlee @ Sep 18 2008, 07:23 AM) [snapback]985775[/snapback]
I have not used the rub but I do use the plugins. I swear by them!

 

We're using the baby one now

I will try it on the soles of their feet with socks on. Poor Mikayla is keeping herself awake all night coughing till she throws up so willing to try anything. Thanks for that

As for eating it that is great to know thanks for that

 

you can actually also buy a product called Vicks Vapo-Steam - if you have a warm steam humidifier you pour this stuff in the water and it works like the plug in and its great - I've also used the baby rub but the vaposteam is what helps the most...

 

We use the baby one too its called vicks baby balsam here.

 

We used the baby version some when they were younger. I think I just put it on a cloth and put it in the bed with them though.