Explain to me scientifically how rubbing 'Vicks' on feet is actually meant to work??

[Indadhanu]

I've heard it over and over and over again, people SWEAR by it. Jazz has a bit of a cough/cold and I keep hearing "rub 'Vick's into her feet and put socks on, it'll stop her coughing!".

Now, she's not coughing enough for me to be able to say that it works. It could just as easily be that the toy she is playing with is stopping her coughing, if you know what I mean

I'd like to know how this is meant to work? I mean, how does it work better than putting it on their chest? (before you tell me about the dangers of the actual Vicks Vaborub, I use a eucalyptus/lavender mix most of the time, and sometimes the Baby Balsam).

Explain it to me!

[krysalyss]

Maybe it is just to avoid the possibility of her getting it into her mouth or eyes? Never heard of it myself.

[shellbell3]

I had the impression that it was put on the feet cause chest was too sensitive area for them. And that way you still got it coming up. Don't have anything scientific tho!

[Trillian]

I don't know but both my Mum and MIL told me to do it with the kids. MIL's father always slept with a sachet of camphor at his feet during winter as well and he never got sick through winter. DS2 broke out in a massive rash all over his chest and back after having vicks on for a few days straight last week so I might try the feet trick next time LOL.

ETA - found this on a google search. So it hasn't been scientifically tested and proven, but there is anecdotal evidence.

Description: Folk medicine
Circulating since: March 2007 (email version)
Status: Claims are anecdotal, scientifically unproven


Email example contributed by David C., March 26, 2007:

Subject: For Coughing
Sorry, no graphic for this one, and don't laugh, it works 100% of the time although the scientists at the Canada Research council (who discovered it) aren't sure why.
To stop nighttime coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks.
Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief.
Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly.
I heard the head of the Canada Research Council describe these findings on the part of their scientists when they were investigating the effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in children as compared to alternative therapies like accupressure. Just happened to tune in A.M. Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so, I listened.
It was a surprising finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly.
An adult friend tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, ( incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it.
So, if you have grandchildren, pass it on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed by the effect.
What do you have to lose?

Comments: Though I can't prove them false, the above claims have neither been scientifically tested nor proven, nor is there a generally accepted medical explanation for how putting Vicks VapoRub on the soles of one's feet could relieve a coughing fit. Some people who have tried it insist the treatment really works, but a smattering of anecdotal reports does not amount to proof.
"From the standpoint of traditional medicine," observes pediatrician Vincent Iannelli, MD, "there is no good reason that rubbing Vicks VapoRub on a child's feet should help a cough. In fact, many studies show that over-the-counter cough medicines don't even help when you use them as they are intended.
"Why might it work?" he continues. "It could be that your child can still breathe the vapors, even if you put it on their feet. Or maybe the active ingredient, menthol, acts to dilate the blood vessels in the feet, and this triggers some reflex that quiets the cough. There are other reflexes that cause coughs, like we often see when we clean wax out of children's ears, so it is not unthinkable that there are others."
The principle of 'counter-irritation'
The remedy wouldn't have seemed so strange to doctors a hundred years ago, who often prescribed liniments and poultices containing mild irritants such as mustard, garlic, or camphor to the chest and to the soles of the feet to relieve symptoms of colds and whooping cough. Like Vicks VapoRub -- the active ingredients of which include camphor, eucalyptus, and menthol -- these preparations would have had the effect of stimulating blood flow to the skin. Catalogued under the heading of "counter-irritants" in early twentieth-century medical texts, such treatments were based on the principle that "internal morbid processes may at times be relieved by creating external irritations" (Horatio Charles Wood in Therapeutics: Its Principles and Practice, 1908).
To be sure, there was vigorous debate over how counter-irritants actually worked. "One commonly offered explanation," wrote pharmacologist Horatio Wood at the time, "is that there is only a certain amount of blood in the body, and that if the blood be drawn to one part there must be less in another part. Surely, however, the amount of blood drawn to the skin by a mustard plaster is too small sensibly to affect the general mass in the body. It is more probable that the phenomena of counter-irritation are the result of reflex disturbances of the vaso-motor nerves which influence the size of the blood vessels, or of the trophic nerves which directly affect nutrition."

[Party-of-five]

I started doing it after my aunty told me to put a slice of garlic on my DS's foot with a bandaid to help with a cold...I did this to both his feet and did he have some wicked garlic breath the next morning so I figured if the garlic got absorbed so would vicks( i use euky bear rub) I do it with DD1 now when she has a cold.
Sorry not scientifc evidence

[BellyBelly]

No idea. But its a petrochemical based product so I don't use it on their skin. Luckily mine don't get sick that often but even my daughter will make herself a honey and lemon tea if she's feeling a bit throaty... but yeah not had coughing probs in a while.

[AwesomeFoursome]

Wow I never heard this before. Do you use adult vicks or baby vicks?

[stepmum1]

Baby Vicks is also a petrochemical that contains essential oils that should NOT be used on little people as it can affect their hormones.

The feet thing is linked in with the thought that anything on the soles of the feet can be tasted in your mouth. Have you tried garlic on your own feet? You can actually taste it. Same with garlic in the vagina (as a group B strep measure for example).

[~Kim~]

I have looked and looked but have no idea why except that the feet are very absorbant.

[Sopdet]

My uni lecturer advised to do it with garlic as it is absorbed better through the feet than the chest

[ShootingStar]

You can get a baby version of vicks called Baby Balsam.. ive found it works great and you can put it on their chest.

[stepmum1]

Baby Balsam has the same petrochemicals as Vicks and contains 2 essential oils that should not be used on prepubesent children.

[Pandora]

So, what's safe to use?

[stepmum1]

Cuddles!!!! A saline spray like fess little noises, homeopathic's, vaporiser without any smelly stuff, manuka honey, probiotics, sodium ascorbate. Are all teh things we use when colds, flus and coughs strike. Lemon and honey and/or ginger tea is ace for sore throats.

[Bathsheba]

I use a lot of Manuka honey: internally and externally... It's a good antiseptic too... Great for wound healing. Expensive but that's usually the way isn't it? That's why cheap things with petrochemicals are so embraced I guess. I find though that if you get back to basics ( by avoiding too much processed foods) that good health follows which is the cheapest outcome of all. Yes good old lemon, garlic and honey are the safest.... And drinking lots of water... Us humans tend to have faith in the more complex solution when in reality keeping it simple is best.

[Willow]

Eucalyptus can be lethal on children and cause breathing issues.

Lethal - really? How is it possible that we have been using eucalyptus in this country as a cold remedy for DECADES, and this is not a known fact? I heard this recently and everyone I have spoken to about it has pretty much replied 'that's BS'. I am not saying they are right, I am just trying to point out that generally, people have no idea about this.

I have used Eucy Bear on my kids as I thought it was a better alternative. We have had zero problems and I am positive it helps relieve their symptoms. I have stopped using eucalyptus in our vapouriser though.

[Inanna]

I think what needs to be remembered is that just because we use something for a long time doesn't mean it hasn't got side affects or issues yk?

I have seen peppermint oil stop a child breathing. I have also seen similar with eucalyptus oil - but used with caution & in the correct context it's safety is managed...

Euky Bear, Vicks etc are all petroleum based. They have some fairly heavy duty chemicals in the ingredients. It will be a personal choice weather you use them or not. Remembering that just because someone uses something without ill effect doesn't mean it's safe. yk? It's like Great Uncle Fred who smoked 2 packs of ciggies, drank a bottle of Johnny Walker & ate dripping sangas every night but lived to 100. We know through education that there are safer ways to live.

Likewise with these types of remedies. They undoubtedly help. If though you are wanting to look for a safer remedy that has less toxicity then avoiding chemicals can be helpful, also choosing a more dilute concentration of essential oils is also helpful. Lavender, Eucalyptus, peppermint, camphor can be toxic, can cause breathing difficulties esp in young children. They can cause miscarriage. It's just something to be aware of. Just because it's "natural" doesn't mean it's safe. It's always good to seek out somebody who is trained in the use of these oils before you use them. Lavender can help with relaxation and headaches - but use it to a more concentrated doseage can cause headache!

[Willow]

I think what needs to be remembered is that just because we use something for a long time doesn't mean it hasn't got side affects or issues yk?...Remembering that just because someone uses something without ill effect doesn't mean it's safe. yk?

I understand that Inanna. And I am not talking about essential oils generally (peppermint etc, I am aware some oils have very nasty side affects) but specifically eucalyptus. If eucalyptus is as 'lethal' for small children as some of these posts suggest, I would have though it'd be a known fact? When a product has been as widely used for as long as eucalyptus has, I would think global, serious affects would be common and known iykwim? I think perhaps it is not 'lethal' to the majority of children, but should be used sparingly and with caution. I will continue to use it for my children when I think it's necessary because *I* think at times the risks outweigh the benefits for the limited times I use it. They would not be exposed to it more than a few times a year, if that, and *my* children have not had any adverse reaction to it's use.

The petrochemicals are a different issue, and one I can't really comment on with much knowledge. Other than to say that it seems to me at times nothing is safe these days. And the products that claim to be 'safe' this week, are suddenly not next week. And even those that are 'safe' generally cost double the price. It all gives me a headache to be honest.