It’s not every day you receive a parcel that’s travelled all the way from Switzerland, but that’s the surprise that turned up on our doorstep earlier this year. Vicks had asked me if I’d like to take a look at some of their products. I had expected a small package with perhaps a vapour rub or two, but the delivery had come all the way from their head office with a great deal more than I’d ever expected, so I was a little bit gobsmacked.
As there’s nothing worse than a poorly child, anything that eases their symptoms and makes life a little easier rates highly in my book. The Vicks delivery of a Gentle Touch behind the ear thermometer and a Paediatric CoolMist mini ultrasonic humidifier arrived when IJ was recovering from the cold she seems to get every time the weather gets a little warmer, so it could not have been better timed.
Reading about health-related products way not be particularly exciting but when your child is ill suddenly those products really do matter. So here is what we thought of both the thermometer and the humidifier:
The thermometer is gentle enough to be used without waking a child, which is preferable to sticking something in their ear while they are asleep. I do like the reassurance, with thermometers that are placed in the ear, of knowing I have hit exactly the right spot but this one would be particularly useful for very young children and babies who don’t like medical instruments near them. And as this one only touches the skin the risk of cross contamination is virtually eliminated; no lens filters are needed as the ring touching the skin is washable.
The clever science bit is that: 'the thermometer uses a novel heat flow technique to measure the temperature of the blood carotid artery which runs behind the ear, this is the best external place to take the temperature because the carotid artery takes blood to the brain and hypothalamus (the temperature-regulating gland) and so accurately reflects core body temperature.'
Although we had no need to make too much use of the thermometer, we did find it easy to use and the readings accurate. The colour-changing display also acts as a backlight for night time temperature readings. The thermometer also has a multiple memory function which can store up to eight temperature readings.
At RRP £44.99 the thermometer is expensive but actually costs little more than the one we already own. For a piece of mind I’ve always be prepared to pay that little but extra.
The Paediatric CoolMist Mini Ultrasonic Humidifier
The CoolMist humidifier is wonderful and we’ve made great use of it. A Vicks vapour pad can be added to the base so it emits a soothing menthol vapour, which helps with a child’s breathing and encourages restful sleep. We found switching it on just before bedtime worked really well in a small room, and the fact that I told my daughter it would help her sleep seemed to have psychological benefits too.
It also has a germ killing function because the water passes through an antibacterial cartridge so I’ve ended up using it in all the bedrooms. By maintaining a moisture level between 40% and 60% it also helps reduce the survival of flu viruses and ease dry nose, throat, eyes and skin discomforts.
It isn’t cheap at a RRP of £49.99 but it’s a product I’d be happy to invest in because it has a range of benefits I particularly like.
We received both of these products free of charge to review, all the way from Switzerland – did I mention that bit?!
I keep meaning to get a thermometer as the one we have is not particularly reliable - I'll have a look at this one as it looks much better than ours x
Posted by: Cass@frugalfamily | April 17, 2011 at 03:43 PM