Study on camphor-free natural topical medicine for upper respiratory tract infections in children

ABSTRACT

Upper respiratory tract infections [URTI] are the most common acute illnesses that are often of viral origin. Cough and chest congestion are the common symptoms of this disease. Children are prescribed with drugs that are considered to relive the symptoms of this disease. The topical medications contain vegetable camphor for more than a century that relieve chest congestion and cough caused by URTI. The use of camphor in such products remains questionable especially in children who are more sensitive to its side effects. Herbion "Chest Rub" for children is a camphor-free formulation that contains eucalyptus oil mixture, menthol, turpentine and clove oils and is used to relieve symptoms of URTI. The objective of the present investigation was to determine the effectiveness of the chest rub in children suffering with congestion and cough caused by URTI. The study compared the results of the chest rub applied to a group of infected children with a placebo group. Patients were selected randomly on the basis of the criteria set for the study. The results indicated that the chest rub was quite effective in majority of the cases in relieving the symptoms of URTI as compared to the placebo group