Evidence-Based Remedy of Old for a Cold?

As a baby-boomer, I am a sucker for waxing nostalgic about the old days. A reasonable person would say, “Get over it! What was so special about your boomer past?” Well, you could burn leaves outside. Pop Rocks and Space Food Sticks. Great TV shows like Leave it to Beaver, Bonanza, and Bewitched…and my mom’s cough and cold remedy, Vicks VapoRub®. I loved that stuff.

Most of these items have had comebacks, but only one has reemerged due to a recent scientific study. No, not Pop Rocks. The new research tells us that the greasy-goo known as Vicks VapoRub can ease kid’s colds. Mommy said so, and now science says so, too. The new research findings appear in the December 2010 issue of the journal Pediatrics.  Believe it or not, Proctor & Gamble, who happens to make the mentholated glop, funded the study. However, the study leader said he was free to publish the results regardless of the findings and was free of (ahem) bias. By ahem, I mean I might be getting a cold.

For those of you unfamiliar with VapoRub, this is a concoction of camphor, menthol and eucalyptus oils, and maybe Vaseline® and automobile lube that has been around since the early 1900s. Once you open a jar of this stuff, the pungent odor can be detected from a block away.  This was a good pungent. I have fond memories of pulling on the neck of my flannel cowboy pajamas to allow the penetrating vapors to waft up into my nostrils.

The new study comes after recent recommendations stated that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should never-ever be used in children.  Never. Experts noted a lack of proven efficacy and that the fruity-flavored potions could even be harmful to tots. Sales of most kid’s cold meds went away in a sneeze.

The research team recruited 138 children, ages 2 to 11. The parents smeared a real or a phony salve onto their child’s neck and chest 30 minutes before putting him/her to bed. The study authors, as well as the parents of these children, found that those treated with VapoRub had improved sleep and an improved sensation of airflow compared to those who received PlaceboRub. The study also included a “no treatment” arm. I’m not sure why they would treat an arm with this stuff in the first place.

VapoRub may sound old-fashioned to some of you. I recall stories from my grandparents who never had the benefit of the new-fangled menthol rub. They told tales of using a mustard plaster on their chests to treat colds. That sounded gross to me and like a terrible waste of condiments…unless of course they put a hot dog on your chest too. If the current generation of parents were to use condiments for medicinal purposes, it would not be simple mustard. It would be something like a wasabi-ginger reduction with a Vidalia onion and shallot aioli in an olive oil and free-range organic butter base. I’m sure this would pair well with a 2009 black cherry cough syrup—piquant while being full bodied.

I remember that taking cough syrup was like a punishment. It was usually “cherry flavored” but actually tasted like the smell of paint thinner. Cherries filed a lawsuit for defamation of flavor. Do you remember the taking-cough-syrup drill? Mom pours the cough syrup onto a teaspoon. Your feeling of dread deepens. You open your mouth, mom inserts spoon, the taste hits, and your whole face spontaneously winces. Pause. The aftertaste hits. You have a mini-convulsion and you shake your head back and forth, causing that cheek-flapping noise. Now, your cold symptoms don’t seem so bad after all. I guess this is success.

If you are thinking of trying VapoRub on yourself or your children, the authors noted that the stuff is relatively safe. The most common side effect was a burning sensation on the skin, seen by 28 percent of the children. They did not specify if this was a minor discomfort or if the kids ran through the house screaming “stop the burning, stop the burning!” It was probably minor.

The authors also noted that ingestion of camphor could be harmful. However, they said it would be difficult to ingest enough camphor to be dangerous since it is mixed into the whole jar of the petroleum jelly. I doubt any kid would swallow a jar of camphor-infused goo. Then again, if you gave a choice between the old cherry cough syrup and a jar of gel, you could have a problem.