[KatnEmmie]

Hi everyone,
I am coming out of lurking on the breastfeeding boards to ask a question I hope someone here can answer.

Before any long flights, I have always used vitamin E oil applied to the inside of my nostrils so that my nasal passages stay moist during the flight and, theoretically, won't be as sucseptible to germs. I have never caught a cold on a flight, inluding many transatlantic flights. We got this tip from a beloved and very old family chiropractor who, unfortunately, passed away over a year ago right after my dd was born so I can't ask him more about it and whether it's safe with my toddler.

I will be flying to London later this year and want to try it with her.

First off... does anyone know if this really WORKS...
or am I just being silly?

and
Second... is this safe for a baby? i.e applying Vitamin E directly to her mucous membranes of her nostrils.

I don't give her any supplements, so I don't even know if Vitamin E is safe to take for her orally though I would think it is... but this is different, this is in her nostrils. (Once when I was a child and had bad nosebleeds, the pedi stuck vaseline up my nose, so I figure Vitamin E oil would be even better than a petroleum product.)

I want to help her stay healthy on the flight.

Thanks,
kat

 

[Mama Lori]

An herbalist once told us to rub vaseline on the inside of the nostrils to prevent hayfever - it keeps the pollen from coming into the nose.

As for putting vit. E oil on a baby's nostrils I would think it would be just fine. When I was nursing my son when he was a newborn, my midwife had me put vit. E oil on my nipples to prevent cracking. She did say to be sure to use 100% pure vit. E oil which could generally only be found in capsule form (you prick the capsule open and squirt it on). All the stuff in bottles that I've seen has some other oil added to it.

 

[KatnEmmie]

Thanks Lori... that's exactly what I use. A capsule that I pop open, put on a clean qtip, and then roll into the nostril. Though I can't find any information about it online.

Anyone else hear about this?
~k