My toddler, along with almost all of his friends, was recently stuck with the killer winter cold. Unlike the runny noses of the fall, this one keeps little ones up most of the night with coughing fits, keeps them home from school, and causes so much congestion you wonder how they can breathe. Since cold medications are now not recommended under the age of four, what’s a parent to do? Like many parents, I rubbed Vicks VapoRub on my son’s chest and the bottoms of his feet (a little secret I learned from a friend) to help him sleep better. Now I learn Vicks may soon join cough and cold medications in the banned list. Will chicken soup be next?

According to a study published in the January 2009 issue of Chest, Vicks VapoRub can stimulate mucus secretion, leading to respiratory problems in some isolated cases.

Bruce Rubin, M.D. (a pediatric lung specialist from Wake Forest’s Brenner Children’s Hospital) got the idea for a study after an 18-month-old girl was hospitalized after Vicks VapoRub was put under her nose. After treating the girl – who was okay once she stopped using Vicks – he did some research and found three similar cases.

Although any parent is going to panic when they hear the words “respiratory distress,” this study may not be too much cause for concern. First, it was a small study and it was done on ferrets, not children. Second, in all four cases of respiratory distress the parents had not followed the instructions on the container. The container specifically says: do not give to children under two and do not put under nose. More tests are in the works. For now, however, if you follow the instructions the worst that may happen is an allergic reaction in the form of a rash (also very rare). So while Vicks VapoRub may not always work, it likely won’t hurt.