Vapor Rub, Petrolatum, and No Treatment for Children With Nocturnal Cough and Cold Symptoms

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To determine if a single application of a vapor rub (VR) or petrolatum is superior to no treatment for nocturnal cough, congestion, and sleep difficulty caused by upper respiratory tract infection. METHODS Surveys were administered to parents on 2 consecutive days—on the day of presentation when no medication had been given the previous evening, and the next day when VR ointment, petrolatum ointment, or no treatment had been applied to their child’s chest and neck before bedtime according to a partially double-blinded randomization scheme. RESULTS There were 138 children aged 2 to 11 years who completed the trial. Within each study group, symptoms were improved on the second night. Between treatment groups, significant differences in improvement were detected for outcomes related to cough, congestion, and sleep difficulty; VR consistently scored the best, and no treatment scored the worst. Pairwise comparisons demonstrated the superiority of VR over no treatment for all outcomes except rhinorrhea and over petrolatum for cough severity, child and parent sleep difficulty, and combined symptom score. Petrolatum was not significantly better than no treatment for any outcome. Irritant adverse effects were more common among VR-treated participants. CONCLUSIONS In a comparison of VR, petrolatum, and no treatment, parents rated VR most favorably for symptomatic relief of their child’s nocturnal cough, congestion, and sleep difficulty caused by upper respiratory tract infection. Despite mild irritant adverse effects, VR provided symptomatic relief for children and allowed them and their parents to have a more restful night than those in the other study groups.

Efficacy of a Topical Aromatic Rub (Vicks VapoRub<sup>®</sup>) on Effects on Self-Reported and Actigraphically Assessed Aspects of Sleep in Common Cold Patients

“…As the Informed Consent information made clear that participants would be treated either with an aromatic or non-aromatic product, those allocated VVR would have been aware that they had received active product as soon as they sensed the aroma. The difficulty in designing double-blind studies with VVR is a recognized design limitation [32]. It is difficult to blind a study wherein the aroma of the product is so widely recognized and represents the pharmacological effect.…”

Prevention and treatment of the common cold: making sense of the evidence

“…In the one RCT 60 we found that assessed its efficacy, harms appeared to outweigh benefits. No effect was found on rhinorrhea.…”

Profil Penggunaan Obat Batuk Pilek Bebas Pada Pasien Anak di Bawah Umur 6 Tahun

“…Pada salah satu studi yang dilakukan di Amerika Serikat, penggunaan obat gosok terbukti dapat meringankan gejala batuk malam, hidung tersumbat, dan kesulitan tidur. 1,10 Sebanyak 2,8% orang tua masih memberikan antibiotik sendiri, bahkan terdapat 2 responden yang menyatakan bahwa antibiotik merupakan bagian dari obat batuk pilek. Penyebab terbanyak rhinitis adalah rhinovirus (50%), dan sisanya disebabkan oleh jenis virus lain seperti adenovirus, influenza, enterovirus, RSV dan coronavirus.…”

“…Oleh karena itu, penggunaannya tidak direkomendasikan baik pada anak maupun dewasa. 6,11,12 Empatbelas koma dua persen orang tua memberikan suplemen vitamin bila anak sakit batuk pilek. Suatu studi dalam Cochrane review menunjukkan bahwa konsumsi vitamin C setiap hari tidak secara signifikan mencegah timbulnya penyakit batuk pilek.…”

“…[13][14][15][16] Lima koma tujuh persen orang tua memberikan jamu tradisional seperti tolak angin anak, jeruk nipis dan kecap, serta beras kencur. Kandungan dalam 17 Kandungan madu sendiri terbukti dapat mengurangi gejala batuk dan memperbaiki kualitas tidur anak pada malam hari. 18 Jeruk nipis bisa dipakai sebagai komponen obat batuk herbal.…”