Vicks on Baby's Feet?

Be careful with Vick's of any kind, in some people it has been found to constrict the airway and make issues worse. You might want to try a saline nasal spray and nose sucker, cool air humidifier, and elevating the head of her mattress slightly first.

There is no reason why it SHOULD work, but I swear it does! I do it with both of my children ages 2 and 4 and have done it with baby Vicks when they were infants.

I'm not here about the vicks. Another poster said they elevated their baby with a boppy at night. Please do not do that. It's too dangerous to have stuffed things in a baby's crib. Get a mattress wedge & put it under her crib matress. I keep our under our boy's mattresses all the time because of allergies.

God bless!

Hi A.! I'd ask your pediatrician if it's okay first. I use the Vicks plug-ins with my son when he's sick. You put the plug-in into an outlet, then put a tab of Vicks on it which then heats and spreads the vapors overnight. It's very easy, no mess, and works well all night. I don't think that was recommended for babies under one year though. Something about the possibility of a reaction that might cause the baby's airways to constrict instead.
I think my pediatrician suggested just cool mist humidifiers and putting a pillow under the head of the mattress for the first year. I know it's miserable because you feel like you're not doing anything to help. Hang in there!
ps- If your ped does approve the Vicks, there was a coupon in the newspaper this weekend for a dollar off any Vicks product.

I put it on my baby when she was that age..I put it on her back and feet. i used the baby vix...it seemed to help her with the coughing...oh and I ONLY did it at night. What really helps is a cool mist humidifer in the room. Also in the bathroom, I had a normal tub and would put the vix baby soap in the tub and then I would run (in the sink..not the tub) HOT HOT HOT water to create steam.
if you are worried about the vix from the previous posts, then dont do it, but steam in the bathroom and cool mist humidifer will DEF work...

My ped said you don't even have to put it ON your baby, just somewhere she can smell it like on a rag placed near her head somewhere she can't reach it (under the bed?). It is all about the vapors, not the contact. You can also use the Vicks (tabs?) in a humidifier for the best effects since it will also help break up the cough.

We've used both...baby and adult vicks. I think it helped. And it's worth a try, right? good luck

Since she's a baby, I would try the baby Vicks.

I'm sure there are any number of experts that will tell you this doesn't work. In my experience it has worked and I continue to do it. If nothing else, my kids love getting a good foot rub before bed. We use Baby Vicks on the kids and like you said, apply it to the bottoms of their feet before bed (under socks). It could be the Vicks clearing their nose, it could be that I'm massaging their feet and hitting some sort of pressure points that's activating their immune systems (I've read this is the reason it works), it could all be some crazy coincidence. But for my kids, it seems to clear their colds up within days and so we'll keep doing it.

I do it as an adult & on my kids they have 1 for babies & the older version not alot then use socks..Hope she get's well we have had all 3 sick already

I did this when my son was a baby. We used baby vicks. It did work, too. Good luck!

We do it! I would use the Baby Vicks if you have it, but I've used the regular too on my son when he was a baby. I don't know why, but I swear it works. :-) I do it on me too, but on me I just slather it on my chest, back, feet, nose, where ever! But when my son was a baby, I just did his feet.

Someone told me this when my son was a baby and when nothing else worked I tried it but it didn't work for us. He kept coughing AND threw a fit trying to get his socks off!!! I know Mom's that swear by it though so if all else fails try it - who knows : )
Good Luck!
T. C.

A few years ago, there were a number of advisories about this. Menthol stimulates the creation of mucus, which can be really dangerous for some people. There were reports of babies and children who went into respiratory distress after using Vicks and other such products. As someone who has experienced this type of reaction, the feeling of your lungs shutting off is terrifying! You can ask your ped, but I personally wouldn't take the risk.

HTH,

C.

We used the baby Vicks, as well, on the bottoms of his little feet. Then, we placed socks on. You know, I honestly can't tell you if it actually worked, or if it was the humidifyer, our elevating the mattress..., etc, etc. We used a boppy and we'd lay him on that to raise his head, as he could breathe so much better that way. It's so tough to see your little ones sick! You can try the Johnson and Johnson vapor bath, as well.

It's all coincedence! Anyone who says it works is only by chance, lol. Vicks helps the chest to breathe in the menthol, not for the feet. Why soak in menthol on your feet? If that worked you could rub it in anywhere on your body and have a miracle cure, lol!

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat
events and chat within 2 hour radius