Chest Balm - Why you should avoid vicks and what's the alternative?

With Winter approaching it is timely to talk about better ways to support our children through illness than with toxic, synthetic products.

Please start to flip your products and read the ingredients as unfortunately just because something is allowed to be sold does not mean it has been deemed safe.

Turn over to the back of your products and you'll soon discover the ingredients within them are not something you ever want to be rubbing into your babies precious and delicate skin. Vicks is not reccomended for children under two years old and honestly, I wouldn't be using this on a child or adult of any age.

Vicks has been reported to cause a number of concerns including inflammation of the eyes, allergic reactions, airway constriction, liver damage and lung inflammation.

Lets look more deeply at these ingredients:

Synthetic Camphor: Ingesting as little as 5 millilitres can be fatal for a child. The following are some the other effects it may cause: Organ failure, seizure, irritant, environmentally toxic, allergic reaction and immune system toxicity.

Turpentine Oil: you might recognise this ingredient as it is commonly used as paint thinner. It can contribute the following adverse effects: Allergic reaction, skin sensitivity and irritation, lung and respiratory issues, immune system toxicity, environmentally toxic and toxic to wildlife, cardiovascular issues, blood toxicity. It is a potential neurotoxin.

Petrolaturn: This is a by poduct of petroleum. It can cause: Skin sensitivity and irritation, allergic reaction, gastrointestinal issues, potential neurotoxin, potentially carcinogenic, reproductive issues, liver issues. It is not completely refined which means it can contain PAHs which are persistent chemicals and bioaccumulative which means your body does not naturally detox these from your system.

Synthetic fragrance: A cocktail of unknown chemics most famously known for hormone disruption but also: Sensitivity and allergic reaction, carcinogenic, reproductive issues, birth defects and poor birth outcomes, kidney damage, respirartoy issues to name a few.

So lets collectively make a pact to stop using products that contain nasties like petrol and synthetic fragrance on our babies skin, particularly when they are sick and their body is working hard to fight off their illness. We don't want to be adding anything else for them to have to work to detox from or that will cause any irritation or futher respiratory distress.

The good news is that it is super easy to use a cleaner alternative that is safe and you know EXACTLY what is in it as you have made it yourself. DIY not for you? I have you covered too.

DIY:

Ingredients

3 Tbs Coconut oil

1 Tbs Beeswax pellets

Pure theraputic grade essential oils (dilution according to age and stage) - my picks would be easy air, frankincense and lime.

Method

Using a double boiler method, melt the coconut oil and beeswax together

Once melted allow it to cool slightly before adding in your essential oils and gently stir

Store in a glass jar or tin.

Optional: Add shea butter in for more of a creamy texture

DIY not for you? I can recommend the remade Easy Air vapour stick as a low tox alternative to vicks. An affordable and effective solution if you want to switch and ditch nasty products from your household but don't have the desire to DIY.

*A note on quality of your oils:

It is SUPER important to ensure you are using the highest theraputic grade oils for this that are not contaminated and adulterated with any synthetic fillers. We don't want to be swapping one toxin for another.

Hope you have found this information useful!

Catherine