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 this may not have been the best idea we ever had.
A Mexican mother tells her tragedy to warn other parents and avoid someone else going through what she’s living: the loss of her 2-years-old baby.
When she came back from work, she came into her baby’s room. She got near to kiss him but felt he had a fever. She imagined it was just a common cold and thought about a home remedy to relieve him.
She rubbed Vick VapoRub on the chest, back and under his nose to help him breathe. She then tucked him in and laid down next to him.
She was tire, so she fell asleep next to her baby. Hours later, when she woke up, she noticed her son wasn’t breathing
She carried him and took it to the hospital to save him. But, sadly, everything was pointless, the baby had been dead for hours.The medical report stated the child died due to inflammation in the respiratory track, produced by the camphor contained in the famous ointment.
She never imagined that home remedy would take his baby. She only wanted to help him breathe, and the ointment did exactly the opposite.
The thing is, this remedy is effective for adults; however, for babies younger than two years old, the ointment increases the mucus by 60%. The mucus accumulates on the trachea and blocks the breathing.
The label warns the ointment is contraindicated for children younger than 3 years old. Sadly, in the case of the Mexican mother, the warning went unnoticed.
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.
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
Using home remedies for several affections is something common in homes around the world, but we hope this story draw attention to this fact: when children are concerned, we must always read the labels and ask for the advice of experts before using any home remedy.
We must not let a simple mistake take our loved ones; we must be careful and seek medical advice to treat any illness
