WARNING - DO NOT use Vick's VapoRub

[Tressie]

Vicks VapoRub can make some adults feel better without really
making them better. "For kids, because it can induce some inflammation, even
a little bit, that little bit might be enough to tip over a child to having
problems," Dr. Bruce Rubin of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, said in a telephone interview.

The findings were published in the January issue of the journal Chest.

To test whether Vicks VapoRub could cause respiratory distress, the
researchers conducted experiments with ferrets. The animals were chosen because
they have airways similar to human airways, Rubin said. The researchers found that Vicks VapoRub increased mucus production by up to 59 percent; the ability to clear mucus was reduced by 36 percent."

"I recommend never putting Vicks in, or under, the nose of anybody -- adult or child," Rubin said in a statement, adding that he would never use it in a child under age 2.

Message posted on the Ferret Health List by veterinarian:


"That's not good news, and definitely that degree of alteration is a bad
idea in a healthy ferret, let alone a sick one. I don't recommend Vicks be
used in small animals at all, let alone in ferrets."
Dr. Ruth

[mindy]

i saw that study when it first came out. i will never use it again - for us or for the pets, not that i have ever used it for the pets. the best thing to do if an animal (or person) is congested is to use a cool mist humidifier.

when my cats had an upper respiratory infection the vet recommended i put them in their carriers and put a cool mist humidifier right in front of them. one of my cats really hates his carrier so i thought that would give him undue stress so i put them both in the bathroom with the humidifier. it helped loosen up the congestion.

[Johnny and Demon]

How often we used this when we were kids lol