Chest
Original ResearchOver-the-Counter Cough RemedyVicks VapoRub Induces Mucin Secretion, Decreases Ciliary Beat Frequency, and Increases Tracheal Mucus Transport in the Ferret Trachea
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Case Report
An 18-month-old previously healthy girl was brought to the emergency department (ED) by her grandparents. The grandmother stated that the girl had an upper respiratory infection but otherwise had been well until 2 h before coming to the ED when severe respiratory distress suddenly developed.
In the ED, the child was not interactive with her grandparents or the medical staff. She had wheezing and intercostal retractions. Her initial pulse oximetry saturation was 0.66 while breathing ambient air.
Animals
Unlike rodents, ferrets have an airway anatomy and cellular composition that is similar to humans and other carnivores, and have often been used to study airway inflammation and mucus secretion.3, 4 Adult ferrets (weight, 1.0 to 1.6 kg) were obtained from Marshall Farms (Rose, NY). This study was approved by the Wake Forest University Animal Care and Use Committee.
Study 1
As a requirement for Animal Care and Use Committee approval, we first studied the effects of VVR on tracheal mucin secretion,
Mucin Secretion
In vitro (study 1) VVR increased mucin secretion by 59% over baseline (n = 15; mean relative secretory index, 2.22 ± 1.17; p = 0.0012) [Fig 1].
In vivo (study 2) VVR increased mucin secretion in the normal airway (14%) and in the inflamed airway (7.8%), but this did not reach statistical significance. Mucin secretion was significantly increased by 67% in the group treated with LPS compared to the group not treated with LPS (p = 0.007), but VVR only slightly increased mucin secretion further (Fig
Discussion
Lunsford Richardson II and John Farris first compounded VVR in 1891 in Greensboro, NC, soon after buying the local W. C. Porter Drugstore. VVR was introduced in 1905 with the name Vick's Magic Croup Salve. The flu epidemic of 1918 increased VVR sales from $900,000 to $2.9 million in just 1 year. Procter & Gamble has since marketed VVR as, “The only thing more powerful than a mother's touch.”1
VVR is widely used to relieve symptoms of colds and congestion, but there are few data supporting a
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