Vicks Winter Warmer Event Recap #BehindEar

I had an opportunity to attend an informative winter warm-up event in Boston!  The event featured somet of the latest gadgets from Vicks to help aid in cold and flu prevention.  I was really excited when the email showed up in my inbox last week because I’ve been using Vicks products since I was a kid and it’s a brand that I trust.

Dr. Meg Meeker was the guest speaker and she was just phenomenal.  She gave us some great tips on how to stay healthy this upcoming cold and flu season.  I learned so much from her and I am excited to share some of her great advice with you.

• Saline drops are great for helping to clear stuffy little noses, but instead of using a nasal aspirator (bulb syringe), try using one that’s made for the ear instead. It’s smaller and is able to reach further into the nose to really get the saline in there.  Nasal bulbs don’t reach deep enough to get the saline far up enough to really work, so it irritates the baby more than helps them.
• Did you know that you should change out your toothbrushes once a month?
• Use paper cups when they are sick.  It helps eliminate recontamination.
• The humidity level of your home  should be somewhere between 40-60%.  Anything lower than that and the germs can really fester.  Humidifiers play a key role in decreasing the likelyhood of getting sick.
• Pedialyte is perfect for kids under two when they have fevers and need to be kept hydrated.  Use Gatorade for kids over two.
• Starve a cold or feed a fever?  Both false.  Liquids, liquids, liquids for both colds and the flu.
• Use a Cold Mist humidifier when your child has a cold.
•  Use a vaporizer when they have the flu.
• Steam from the shower can really help clear out your kids (and your) sinuses & help with post nasal drip/coughing.  I do this with my kids anyways and I can attest to how well it works.

The timing of this was perfect especially sine we’re going to be heading right into flu season before we know it.  I feel like I’m a little better prepared for it now, do you?

While I had the chance to mingle with some other Boston bloggers, I was able to check out many Vicks products that were out for display.   One that caught my eye was the Vicks Cool Moisture Starry Night Humidifier.  As it humidifies, it projects stars onto the ceiling – how cool is that? 

A big thank you to our gracious hosts, Finale Desserterie & Bakery in Boston for having us all.  The lunch spread, and more importantly, the dessert spread was nothing short of amazing.

Before we all left to go home, we were given amazing gift bags, which included all sorts of Vicks goodies (everything pictured below) and Dr. Meg’s book The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers.

I put the Vicks Behind Ear Thermometer to use almost immediately as a matter of fact.  My four year old, who was actually supposed to come with me to the event, ended up coming down with a miserable cold the day before, so he stayed with his nana for the day.  Since he was so sick, and I have borderline OCD about fevers when it comes to my kids, I busted mine open and took his temp (which was normal by the way).

Prior to getting my Vicks Behind Ear Thermometer, I had the type of thermometer that you stick in their ear.  Neither of my kids liked it, but they are both uncooperative when it came to taking their temperature orally, so the ear it was.  With the Vicks Thermometer, just like the name suggests, you just have to place it gently behind their ear and boom – it takes their temperature in a few seconds.  My four year old loved not having to get poked and prodded in order to get his temperature taken, believe me.

Like I said, I’ve been using Vicks products since I was a kid and it’s a brand that I trust.  Do you use Vicks products?  Which is your favorite?

**All opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own and were not influenced in any way.  No form of monetary compensation was exchanged.  A gift bag was provided at no charge**