If there’s one thing the Internet has proven, it’s that you can say quite literally anything and, at least, one person will take you seriously. We’ve seen more than a few demonstrations of this fact, but the latest idea going around is that Vicks VapoRub can cure your cough, provided you rub it on your feet.
People seem to swear by this, right down to advising you to wear old socks so you don’t stain your sheets. But what’s not clear is just how the heck this is even supposed to work. Unless everything we know about modern biology is wrong, your feet and your lungs don’t have that direct a connection. We’ve looked and we can’t find a single mechanism that makes any sense; we can barely find anybody who has an idea why this might work at all. The best we can find is that you absorb the menthol through your skin, which, no, no you do not.
The good news is that putting VapoRub on your feet is not actively harmful; in fact if your feet hurt, you might want to give it a shot. VapoRub’s main ingredient is menthol, and menthol is useful stuff. It’s a light local anesthetic, antibacterial agent, and counterirritant, which is why your dentist uses so much of the stuff. VapoRub takes advantage of the fact that menthol gives off fumes; when you rub it on your chest, you inhale those fumes, and it helps ease your cough.
So, why are people going to bed hacking and waking up clear? The most obvious suspect would be our old friend the placebo effect–people are convinced it works, so it works. This is really just a new version of an old, old folk remedy about putting onions in your socks. You’ll find a lot of stuff about meridians and Chinese medicine and what have you out there, but really in the end it comes down to a simple fact: If you want VapoRub to help with your cough in a way that’s actually proven, rub it on your chest.
(via The Epoch Times)
