Here's the rub: Right for the wrong reasons

MSNBC recently reported that Vick's vaporub may actually be harmful to young children. The case in interest was a grandparent who rubbed Vick's vaborub on their 18 month infant under the nostrils even the instructions say 1) don't put it under the nostrils, and 2)don't use in on infants or children under 24 months of age. I was interviewed for on online news service, Kaboose.com and you can read my comments here.

There are only two things that I don't like about Vick's vaporub. Unfortunately, it's the only two things that make Vick's vaporub Vick's vaporub. First, it's a petroleum based product. Do you really want to be rubbing toxic petroleum derivatives on your body? This stuff may cause cancer. Is that concerning to anyone?

The second thing I don't like is that Vick's vaporub uses three extracts from three essential oils: menthol from peppermint, camphor from camphor essential oil, and eucalyptol from eucalyptus essential oil. These compounds do really decrease cough, break up mucous and kill viruses. There are many, many, many studies that demonstrate that. If you read the case study I published on the use of essential oils in the intensive care unit, I've referenced it there.

When you use a whole essential oil, containing dozens of compounds, some of the compounds act like a partial antidote to the "main ingredient" which reduces harsh side effects when used properly.

Both menthol and eucalyptol--and for that matter peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils are too harsh for babies to tolerate. I have always warned against their use in this age group for the same reason as what happened to that toddler. There is a nerve in the nose--besides the smell nerve--that detects the smell of rotten, acrid or rancid smells--like rotten milk or spoiled meat. It causes the voice box to shutter and the airway to tight and secret mucous to protect itself from harm. Because these two oils are so strong, it stimulates not only the smell nerve, but also the this other nerve (the nasal branch of the trigeminal nerve). This is what caused the ferrets in the experiment and the baby rushed to the hospital to have a bad reaction.

The "expert" in the MSNBC article states:

“When you’re talking about an agent that does no good, your tolerance for harm is very low.”

but in adults, Vicks does improve the removal of mucous. Menthol does activate cold receptors and doesn't narrow airways--but so what? Do these experts think that suffering is better than feeling better because your brain thinks you can breathe easier? It's as if these guys have some type of schadenfreude in seeing people suffer in the real world? Peppermint essential oils, on the other hand does open up the airways, unlike menthol alone. Besides, pine essential oils like pine, spruce and balsam fir are much better and more gentle vasoconstrictors that open up airways.

The reason I made Flugon is because between adverse events from Vics (not to mention the petroleum!!!) and the deaths from over-the-counter cough and cold medications that the FDA overlooked for 50 years. I wanted a gentle but effective combination of essential oils that dissolves mucus, eases coughs, supports the immune system and has proven antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Essential oils--when used whole, in the right amount for the right age are amazingly effective in treating cold and flu symptoms in children and adults. The problem is that every chemical in this world can be a poison or panacea depending on the dose, the route given, the duration given, and the patient it's used on. The MSNBC article and the pseudo-scientific study they cited in ferrets only represents ballyhoo and sensationalism, which affects both media and medicine when there is an axe to grind and an agenda to pursue.

There is no alternative medicine, pt 2

Just before the new year I discussed an article in the Wall Street Journal by Steve Salerno entitled "The touch that does not heal." Perhaps it was meant to be simply an amusing piece because it was published in the "arts and entertainment" section and not the business section or the science section. However, I must say that it turned out to be a comedy of errors.

In my previous post, I discussed the philosophical roots of the two main forms of medicine: the rationalist and empirical schools. Here, I want to discuss some of the other points that the author brings up.

Mr. Salerno says in his article:

...what was once a ragtag assortment of New Age nostrums has metastasized into a multibillion-dollar industry championed by dozens of lobbyists and their congressional sympathizers.

The last time I checked, a noble prize winners Crick, Watson and Pauling, Harvard-educated Andrew Weil, and others are not "ragtag." There are literally thousands of MD's, DO's and others practicing some type of integrative medicine that is beyond the restrictive, reductionist concepts of 17th century Europe.

As for choosing the word "metastasized"? It has taken over 100 years for the concept of nutritional supplementation to treat illnesses to really catch on. Pauling coined the term "orthomolecular medicine" in 1967 but it is only recently that august organizations such as the American Heart Association have actually come to recommend supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids and co-enzyme Q10 for congestive heart disease, lipid problems and other issues. It has taken over 40 years since the first discovery of the "molecules of emotions" until today to simply start to understand the physiology of emotions and its impact on health.

Again, Mr. Salerno writes,

Not by coincidence is CAM most avidly touted by a loose alliance of self-help gurus (Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, et al.) and veteran hucksters like erstwhile infomercial king Kevin Trudeau. Mr. Trudeau has been sued for deceptive business practices several times by the Federal Trade Commission. In 2004, the agency deemed his sins so egregious that it barred him from "appearing in, producing, or disseminating future infomercials that advertise any type of product, service, or program to the public.

Dr. Weil, whom I personally spent a month training with as a medical student, works at the University of Arizona and is program is training MD's and DO's in scientific-based integrative medicine. Dr. Chopra is an endocrinologist who runs a private medical center in Encinitas not too far from San Diego, California. I personally worked with the Bravewell collaborative, a group of academic physicians who run integrative medical centers and research projects out of such institutions as Duke University and Scripps Medical Clinic. Not exactly a loose collection of hucksters.

As for Mr. Trudeau, he is not a physician. He is a huckster, and to mention him with Drs. Weil and Chopra is really egregious and duplicitous because on a quick read it sounds like all three have been investigated for questionable dealings.

Finally, I want to point out Mr. Salerno's amusing comments about aromatherapy:

and aromatherapy, which relies on the supposed healing properties of about 40 "essential oils,"

There are over 100 clinical studies and thousands of scientific studies about the healing properties of essential oils. Just go to pubmed, the free database of the US Library of Medicine and type the terms "aromatherapy" or "oils, volatile" and read some of the abstracts yourself. If you want to see the clinical studies, type "AND human." You can also read some full articles here.

It's funny that he puts essential oils in quotation marks. That is, in deed what the organic hydrocarbon compounds are called: essential oils. I've spoken a lot already about essential oils, so, you can view my first post from 2008 to review the evidence.

To your health in the new year.