Abstract:
A warming vapor pad to treat respiratory syncytial virus infections in babies, children and adults includes a fabric impregnated with a topical ointment providing medicated vapors to relieve a user&#39;s cough, with the fabric being superimposed on an elastic thermal wrap for application as a single layer on the user&#39;s chest.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    A Provisional patent application covering the invention described herein was filed on Mar. 23, 2009, and assigned Ser. No. 61/210,678. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program. 
       REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    This invention relates to respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV), in general, and to an improved management and treatment technique for RSV suffering babies and infant children, in particular. 
         [0006]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0007]    As is understood in the medical profession, respiratory syncytial virus infection attacks one&#39;s nose, eyes, throat and lungs as to which the body never becomes immune. As is also understood, infants develop more serious problems, like wheezing or trouble breathing. Babies and infants younger than 6 months, especially those born prematurely, often display serious symptoms which can lead to such other problems as pneumonia. As is additionally understood, pursuant to recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, most physicians choose not to recommend any medications for children under 4 years of age, which makes the infection far more disheartening for those parents thus unable to treat their child at home. 
         [0008]    By and large, management and treatment of patients with all degrees of this RSV severity is accepted as necessary to relieve symptoms and reduce the likelihood of long term illnesses caused by the virus. For mild cases of RSV, the treatment is typically focused on relieving the symptoms—cough and cold medicines (which vary in efficacy) and bronchodilators such as metaproterenol or albuterol have been employed to help relieve whatever chest congestion and wheezing develops. Additional studies have assessed the effectiveness of these bronchodilators to suggest that epinephrine, racemic epinephrine, and ipratropium bromide may have a clinical role in the management of what acute bronchiolitis may develop. However, none of these treatments are readily available to babies, infants, and children under the age of 4 years. 
         [0009]    As will be appreciated, the basic premise for managing mild to moderate RSV infection at home is to control the symptoms and make the patient comfortable. Thus, air temperatures are sought to be maintained between 70° F. and 72° F. so that the air is not overly dry, nasal and nasal secretions are vigorously and frequently suctioned to keep the nasal airway clear and to reduce infant fatigue due to attempting to breathe through a mucous obstruction, and fluid levels are to be maintained to avoid dehydration. If the symptoms, however, become more pronounced, or if a child suffering these conditions seems particularly ill, visits to the pediatrician are very common. There, a physician can assess the severity of the disease to determine if hospitalization is required. 
         [0010]    Where such severe RSV symptoms are diagnosed, several possible hospital treatments might follow: a) vigorous suctioning of nasal secretions; b) intravenous maintaining of fluid levels to combat dehydration; c) administering humidified oxygen via mask, tent or nasal tubing to maintain oxygen saturation of arterial blood at or greater than 95%; and d) providing mechanical ventilation for the child with an impending respiratory failure. 
         [0011]    As will further be understood, administering ribavirin by aerosol is a medically accepted manner of treating severe RSV disease in infants and children. Being a broad-spectrum antiviral with virustatic effects, such ribavirin inhalation solutions serve to inhibit RSV replication during the active replication phase—while at the same time, significantly improving arterial blood oxygenation, decreasing illness severity and decreasing viral shedding. Because such antiviral agent is confined strictly in a hospital setting where it is delivered via a small particle aerosol generator whose operation is undertaken only by physicians and support staff familiar with the specific ventilator being used and the mode of administration of the drug, treating RSV of an infant or child at home this way is not a management technique for a parent to oversee. This becomes all the more so as this antiviral agent is delivered to the child or infant through an oxygen hood, oxygen tent or face mask attached to the generator, and as the ribavirin is not to be administered with any other aerosol generating device, or together with other aerosolized medications. As such, its use is wholly restricted to the hospital environment. 
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    It is an object of the invention, therefore, to provide some new and improved management and treatment technique for RSV suffering babies and infant children, in particular—but one which is also available to older children and adults as well. 
         [0013]    It is an object of the invention, also, to provide such an RSV management and treatment technique which can be administered in a home environment, instead of to a hospital-type usage. 
         [0014]    It is another object of the invention to provide this RSV management and treatment technique in a way as to be easily administrable by a parent or adult user, generally without any extensive training in the manner of its implementation. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    As will be seen from the following description, the RSV management and treatment technique of the invention follows from a recognition of the known benefits to be derived from the use of thermal packs from which heat energy is applied to specific areas of a user&#39;s body in providing consistent, convenient and comfortable heat application. The invention also follows from joining with the thermal advantage that produces, the use of topical ointments which provide medicated vapors which work to relieve a user&#39;s cough. Even though such ointments are not recommended for use with children under 2 years of age (where, for children over 2 years of age and adults, the directions for use typically call for rubbing a thick layer of the ointment on a chest or throat, for example, or for rubbing the ointment on sore, aching muscles), the present invention will be understood to encompass a cotton or other cloth impregnated with the ointment superimposed onto the thermal pack with the resultant combination then being applied as a single layer about the baby&#39;s or infant child&#39;s chest. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    These and other features of the present invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of an elastic wrap helpful in an understanding of the invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates a pattern for using the elastic wrap for placement on a chest of an RSV suffering baby or infant-child according to the invention; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a side view of a warming vapor pad embodying the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a typical disposable elastic thermal wrap as developed by the Proctor &amp; Gamble Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Such thermal wrap comprises one or more thermal packs having at least one continuous layer of a material which preferably exhibits specific thermal physical properties, and a plurality of individual heat cells which preferably comprise an exothermic composition, spaced apart and fixed within or to the structure of the thermal pack. Termed “disposable”, such thermal wraps may be stored in a substantially air-impermeable container and applied to a user&#39;s body as often as required for the relief of pain. After the heat source, i.e., the heat cell(s) or thermal pack(s), has been fully expended, the wrap is intended to be thrown away, as by being deposited in a suitable trash receptacle. 
         [0021]    In  FIG. 1 , a flexible material  10  has a body-facing side  12  and a plurality of heat cells  14  indicated within a pattern  16 . Typically, the dimensions of the pattern  16  are set out in accordance with the use to which the thermal pack is to be employed, as is its positioning within the wrap itself. In a typical manufacture, each thermal pack includes a plurality of these individual heat cells  14 , embedded within a laminate structure of the thermal pack although each thermal pack may alternatively comprise a single continuous base layer in which individual, or groups of such heat cells are fixedly attached and spaced. 
         [0022]    An example of a different pattern for using the disposable thermal wrap or pad for placement on a chest of an RSV suffering baby or infant-child according to the invention may be as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0023]    In use, utilizing a mentholated topical cream ointment impregnated onto a cotton or like fabric as an overlay atop the thermal wrap or pad not only serves to open the nasal airways of a wheezing child but that the heat generated by the thermal wrap or pad goes further in calming any spasms that might be present. The combination of the vapors together with the heat in a configuration suitable for a placement about the chest area serves the purpose—and in an arrangement light enough for simple packaging and shipping by a manufacturer. In this utilization, the vapors of the mentholated ointment significantly lessen the tendency for the baby or infant-child to have to breathe faster to bring the needed oxygen in and out of the lungs, which previously had been clogged because of the mucous present.  FIG. 3  illustrates a side view of the warming vapor pad of the invention with a cotton or cloth layer  18  impregnated with the topical ointment superimposed on the body-facing side  12  of the thermal wrap material  10  in downward application to the chest area. 
         [0024]    In a preferred construction of the invention, the mentholated ointment has as its active ingredients camphor, eucalyptol and menthol—with cedar leaf oil, nutmeg oil, turpentine oil, thymol and petrolatum as its inactive ingredients. One such cream ointment which provides positive results even when just coated over gauze layer materials atop the thermal wrap is available from the Proctor &amp; Gamble Company as VICKS VAPORUB. There, camphor, eucalyptus oil and menthol are included as active ingredients to the extent 4.8%, 1.2% and 2.6% respectively. 
         [0025]    As will be appreciated by the medical profession, any type of thermal wrap or pad, once properly dimensioned for use can serve the purpose of the present invention, not just from the Proctor &amp; Gamble Company but from other manufacturers as well, including Okamoto Industries Inc. of Tokyo, Japan—just as other mentholated topical cream ointments can be employed as an overlay atop the heat cells on the body facing side of the thermal pack. 
         [0026]    And, as will be readily understood, the warming vapor management and treatment wrap or pad of the invention would also find usefulness in instances where just coughing and chest colds exist—not only for babies, infants and children under the age of four years, but for older children and for adults as well. The teachings of the invention should, therefore, also be read in the light of this beneficial advantage, which follows from the foregoing disclosure. 
         [0027]    While there have been described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the teachings herein. For at least such reason, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the invention.