Can Using Vicks VapoRub on Your Feet Stop a Cough? A Chemist Weighs in on the Viral Health Hack
Learn what the medicine-cabinet staple can—and can't—do
Coconut oil lowers bad cholesterol. Apple cider vinegar melts belly fat. And the list of viral health myths goes on. One familiar entrant into the pantheon of questionable cures: Putting Vicks VapoRub on the bottoms of your feet to relieve a cough. Where did this idea come from, and is there a sliver of truth to it? We asked a leading chemist and expert on all things health to separate fact from fiction—and share the surprising science behind the claims.
Does Vicks VapoRub on your feet ease congestion?
The short answer is no, and the slightly longer one is heck no. That comes on good authority from Joe Schwarcz, PhD, Director of McGill University’s “Office for Science and Society,” which has the mission of separating sense from nonsense.
In fact, he doesn’t mince any words when it comes to his Vicks verdict: “There’s no way that you can ease congestion or stimulate the brain into calmness by rubbing anything on the feet—it’s ridiculous.”
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But that’s far from the end of the saga. How did this social media trend take root? And is there any benefit to applying Vicks VapoRub as directed? Keep reading for a little background on this viral myth. Spoiler alert: Part of the story includes a fun digression into rave culture.
The active ingredients in Vicks date back hundreds of years
Camphor, eucalyptus oil and menthol have been used for centuries, a tradition that inspired the modern formulation of Vicks VapoRub. “It traces back to a pharmacist named Richardson, who was familiar with an ancient Chinese practice in which people would hang a bag of camphor around someone’s neck when they had a cold,” explains Schwarcz. “Inhaling camphor can create the sensation of opening the nasal passages.”
“Over time, it became a standard over-the-counter remedy, typically rubbed on the chest to help relieve nasal congestion, despite there being little evidence that it actually opens the nasal passages,” he adds. “The only way it really does anything is by inhaling it through the nose—then it might actually have an effect.”
The surprising roots of the Vicks viral myth(s)
There have been several popular stories about other supposed uses of Vicks VapoRub over the years, observes Schwarcz. “One involved teenagers at raves in England who were said to rub the product on their bodies to prolong the effects of ecstasy. That claim got a lot of publicity for a while, but it simply isn’t true.”
Then there’s the story that brings us to the raison d’etre of this article: the now debunked idea that rubbing Vicks on the soles of your feet and putting on socks somehow stimulates a nerve that promotes calmness, easing cold symptoms such as a cough and congestion. “That myth, as far as I can tell, can be traced back to a chiropractor I came across on Instagram,” reveals Schwarcz.
“His claim on these posts is that there are nerve receptors in the foot that get stimulated and send a signal to the brain. But he doesn’t even get the biology right—he calls that part of the brain the ‘medulla oblinga,’ when it’s actually the medulla oblongata.
“He clearly doesn’t know his anatomy, and it’s all just silly conjecture. There’s absolutely no connection between the soles of the feet and eucalyptus or any calming effect. It’s going to do nothing.”
Still, there’s 1 proven benefit of Vicks
You’re likely already familiar with it: the placebo effect. But if you’re like us, you’d be surprised to learn just how powerful it is. “It’s well studied—roughly 30 percent of people will respond to an intervention that has no physiological effect, simply because of the belief behind it,” says Schwarcz.
“For relatively harmless issues, like the common cold, it’s perfectly reasonable to make use of the placebo effect,” Schwarcz points out, adding one important caveat: “It becomes problematic when people apply it to serious conditions, like cancer. While someone might experience short-term psychological benefits, it doesn’t affect the actual disease.”
The bottom line on using Vicks VapoRub on your feet
Vicks VapoRub may help ease congestion if inhaled. And while there’s no science to back up the claim that it alleviates congestion if applied to the soles of your feet, there’s no harm. And you may even benefit from it, if it improves your outlook and helps you recover faster.
Schwarcz adds that the more tried-and-true ways to ease a cough and congestion include what you probably already know: rest, hot tea and the ultimate “cure”—good old-fashioned time.
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