It might be hard to believe, after all, many of us had used Vick VapoRub. It seems like a harmless ointment, effective for fever, nasal congestion, and many other affections.
Many people can look back on those sick times from their childhood and remember using a bit of Vick’s VapoRub to help with the coughs and any congestion, but it turns out that may not have been the best idea we ever had. One mother from Mexico wanted to share her story and we thought you should hear about it, because no one would ever reasonably expect what happened to her. She came home from work one day and noticed her 2-year-old toddler had a bit of a fever when she got close to him. Figuring it was something simple like the common cold (it usually is) she opted for a little home remedy versus heading in to a doctors office.
In the end she decided to rub some Vick’s on his chest, under his nose and on his back to help break up the mucus. Since she had just gotten home from work she herself was a bit exhausted so the two passed out side by side, the mother just never expected it to be the last time she would get that chance.
It turns out that while VapoRub is great for clearing out congestion in adults, in children it increases mucus production by around 60%. Her baby suffocated right beside her while they slept. She immediately grabbed her child’s body and took him to a hospital where doctors confirmed it, the camphor from the rub had caused too much inflammation in the respiratory tract. Her baby had been dead for hours by the time the doctors were able to declare it.
This is exactly why she wanted to tell her story, so no other parent would ever have to live through the torture of losing their child to something so unexpected. While it does state on the label not to use on children younger than 3 those warnings are hardly read by anyone, on any product, so there really can’t be judgement passed on the mother here. This was just an unfortunate accident with even more unfortunate results, but at the very least it doesn’t have to happen to anyone else!