Vicks Vaporub and Cough
During a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can ‘taste’ it.
Some of us have used Vicks Vaporub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I’ve never heard of this. And don’t laugh, it works 100% of the time, although the scientists who discovered it aren’t sure why. To stop night time 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.
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 surprise 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.
My wife 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.
If you have grandchildren, pass this on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed at how it works!
The request attached was for the Skeptic to “please be gentle on me!”
meercat
Ok, I will try my hardest to be gentle, this won’t hurt me a bit!
I think that this is yet another example of a chain e-mail which trades on the same old logical fallacies in an attempt to spread false information.
1. There is the Appeal to Authority:
“During a lecture on Essential Oils” Who was giving the lecture? Which college / university was it held at?
“the scientists who discovered it” During which trial was this discovered? Where was it published and by whom? This may seem pedantic, but any real scientific trial is published, and the information is available to the public. If “scientists” had discovered this they would have published.
Scientists publish their work so that their peers can review their methods to ensure that the procedures followed were sound and do not present any glaring errors or omissions. This is an essential feature of science.
2. The author uses loads of Anecdotal Evidence
“My wife tried it on herself”
“And don’t laugh, it works 100% of the time”
“Some of us have used Vicks Vaporub for years for everything”
I have a list of the 20 most common logical fallacies on my website. A logical fallacy is, basically, a flawed argument. People use logical fallacies when they have nothing stronger to base their argument on. An argument which uses logical fallacies should not be trusted.
Now let’s look at the bad information used in this e-mail;
“The foot soles can absorb oils”
Your skin is an amazing barrier and is virtually impermeable. If this were true putting cheese in your socks would allow you to taste cheese. Doesn’t quite seem right does it?
“put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks”
Vicks only recommends using this product on the chest and throat for relief of a cough. Don’t you think they would print on the label “Put it on your feet” if it ACTUALLY worked 100% of the time?
“more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines”
Oh, Really? Prove it, I say, and with controlled trials, not anecdotal evidence.
“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 surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime”
Would you trust some guy you happened to hear on the radio? The author doesn’t even take the time to mention who this person is. This is a major red flag and makes me think that this was made up out of whole cloth. For that matter, don’t trust what you read on my website without questioning every assumption and testing every premise.
There are a few other blatant problems with this e-mail, I will leave it up to you to figure them out.
P.S. My sincere apologies for the bad formatting, I am using a family PC and am a little pressed for time. Please forgive my multiple font colours and sizes. When my ADSL modem is replaced I shall try and remember to fix it all up!
17 November 2008 at 11:06 pm
I do not know if this VapoRub on the feet business has any merit, but here is some info on skin absorption:
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
Med Sci Monit, 2008; 14(8): PI19-23
“When analyzing the results of the skin penetration of terpenes from the Vicks VapoRub® drug product, higher terpenes absorption into the skin layers than expected based on previous studies was found. This confirms that many factors influence their penetration and it is therefore difficult to foresee. Terpenes are well-known penetration enhancers [19–21], so their mutual penetration enhancement may appear. The short time in which saturation of the SC with terpenes occurs and the high accumulation of most of the investigated terpenes in the skin layers prove that these compounds easily penetrate and permeate the SC and that in vivo they may easily penetrate into the blood circulation.”
29 November 2008 at 5:05 am
Since we read the email about the Vicks on the feet, any of us that have tried it, had it work. So, research, or no research, tried and true it works. And even tho anythying I have read about it since the email says its not true or has not been proven, it works.
2 December 2008 at 5:09 pm
Hey Cheryl
Sorry to be the wet blanket skeptic here, but your comment is a prime example of anecdotal evidence, a kind of evidence which is rather useless in the scientific / sceptical worldview unless it is able to point us in the direction of research which provides testable results.
I’m sure you can understand why it is not an opinion changer in this case, or any other.
SD
4 December 2009 at 7:15 am
My daughter has had a persistent cough for 3 weeks now. It has been horrible EVERY NIGHT. She was up all night coughing so bad to the point where she would gag herself. I have tried every over the counter nighttime and daytime medicine for her with ABSOLUTELY NO improvements what-so-ever. Today I learned about the Vick’s on the soles of the feet. I thought to myself “What could it hurt?” I put it on and put her socks on and NOT A PEEP IN HOURS! Despite what “research” has not concluded YET. My daughter has not made a sound in all this time is EVIDENCE ENOUGH FOR ME.
I don’t need to wait 20-30 years for scientists to get on the ball and do all of their research. My research just proved to me first hand that yes, it does work. For some odd reason beyond my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that…it works. P.S I also rubbed Vick’s on her chest, neck, and other areas surrounding the lung. Absolutely no improvement with the coughing there, either.
3 December 2008 at 1:30 pm
Great post.
I personally encountered this email a while ago and sadly a family member condoned, as well as supported this garbage without second thought.
I took her up on it, based on the idea that “if you had to apply Vicks on your feet soles – why not just apply it directly to the problem area?” – needless to say I got no response to this inquiry.
I would like to also point out the following lines at the end of the original mail: “If you have grandchildren, pass this on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed at how it works!”
I believe spam artists employ something like an “appeal to your better nature” or “sympathy vote” here to get you to pass it on. I am of the firm opinion that if the information in the email was of such great consequence people would pass it on of their own volition.
5 December 2008 at 3:15 pm
“Sorry to be the wet blanket skeptic here, but your comment is a prime example of anecdotal evidence, a kind of evidence which is rather useless in the scientific / sceptical worldview unless it is able to point us in the direction of research which provides testable results.
I’m sure you can understand why it is not an opinion changer in this case, or any other.”
Although of course to her, successful application is the only evidence she needs, and she should keep doing it until it stops working, whether there’s statistical evidence for it or not.
That said, the e-mail’s complete nonsense, even if your feet did absorb garlic, why would you taste it? That would indicate that you’ve either got tastebuds elsewhere in your body than your tongue, or that it’s been secreted into your saliva. Are we then to expect that if we take garlic per rectal, that we’ll soon taste it? Clearly silly. And I’d be very surprised if they found Vick’s on feet did anything other than give you sticky feet.
5 December 2008 at 9:41 pm
As far as “tasting” garlic that has been absorbed into the skin goes, if you use a clove of garlic rectally or vaginally you will find that you do start to exude garlic smell after a while. (This is a popular “folk” remedy for yeast infections that I tried one desperate night when the apothecary was closed. My husband made me sleep in another room.)
The sulfurous “garlic breath” odor mostly comes from the lungs and occurs after certain compounds in the garlic are absorbed into the bloodstream. Brushing your teeth after eating garlic or onions won’t cure your breath. Source (includes references so a journal article): http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,756476,00.html
Since I was taught that smell is a large component of taste, what the original e-mail may be saying is that you will get garlic breath so bad you can practically “taste” it. That did indeed happen to me during my unfortunate night with a garlic pessary. The odor was overwhelming.
I imagine somebody read the same sort of things I did about garlic/onions and came to the idea that perhaps Vap-o-rub could also directly enter the bloodstream and then be exhaled through the lungs (presumably providing relief). One problem is that the soles of the feet are quite different than the mucous membranes of the digestive system/respiratory system/rectum/vagina. (You probably don’t want to put Vap-o-rub on any mucous membranes.)
Self-experimenting is a fine tradition that can lead to a nice hypothesis. The hypothesis can then lead to proper scientific studies. It sounds like this idea is in the hypothesis stage. I’ll give it a try just because I’m interested and also chest congestion, but I’m not going to consider my anecdotal evidence as anything other than an interesting self-experiment.
Cheers!
6 December 2008 at 6:36 am
Garlic is also secreted in the sweat. This makes the tasting garlic idea a little more feasible. However, the sense of smell is an important part of taste. Maybe they could smell their feet covered in garlic which translated over to taste. Think about it. Anyway, at least you’d be safe from vampires.
7 December 2008 at 8:19 pm
Chem major here: Dimethyl sulfoxide is readily absorbed through the skin, and there seems to be at least a widespread belief or consensus that touching it can cause one to taste a garlicky flavor, though I haven’t spilled it on myself so far so I don’t know personally. I wouldn’t completely discount the possibility of garlic doing the same thing, since it contains related compounds, even though it would be inconvenient to test due to concerns mentioned in #6. This isn’t to say that I think that it’s likely, or that it’s relevent to the ability of unrelated substances to penetrate the skin, or that feet are a sensible place to apply such a treatment.
11 December 2008 at 6:02 am
So my sister in law was praising this last year (she was ahead of the game, I guess) and I expressed scepticism (and was thoroughly attacked for it).
The only thing I can possibly think of that would allow this to work would be the effect of vasodilation. However, since you are applying it to your FEET, there may be a very slight increase of blood flow to your feet. I am unsure how this could possibly affect your epiglottis or trachea (air tube). The epiglottis is the little flap between your trachea and your esophagus (tube to stomach). When it or the trachea is irritated (as in covered in phlegm or food) it trigers the cough reflex to clear your lungs or to keep objects out of them. Perhaps it does work(the human body s freakish) but I would not take it to work reliably without double-blind testing. A little warm lemon water with honey in it is not only cheaper, but tastier
12 December 2008 at 1:42 pm
Two words: Placebo Effect. The cough reflex is triggered by all kinds of physical irritants in the respiratory tracts, but can also be caused by purely psychological reasons, like a nervous cough before public speaking. Even stimulation of some nerves in the ear can cause involuntary coughing. If you carefully stick a Q-tip deep into your ear and gently wriggle it around, chances are that you will feel a strange tickle in your throat at some point.
When you combine the trust of a household name like Vicks with blind faith in anecdotal email ‘evidence’ and the fact that coughing can be triggered (or suppressed) by the brain and nervous system, you end up with a very strong case for plain, garden-variety placebo effect.
So yes, it probably works for some people, but for all the wrong reasons
16 December 2008 at 5:43 pm
Hi there, this interesting tip was given to me by a close friend haven’t tried it yet, but he swears by it, I have a cold however and am going to try it tonight, having heard the argument for and against. I am trying to understand the analysis you have put these claims to and feel a bit of common sense would go a long way here, why not try it yourself then you can share your experience, rather than you opinion on experience you haven’t had.
17 December 2008 at 9:22 pm
Did it work Andrew?
Even if it did, and I’d be doubtful that smearing Vicks on your feet helped your cough, I would be inclined not to recommend that other people try it until there was some kind of evidence that it worked.
You know, that pesky body of data which scientists are always referring to. I think that is why I will always be a sceptic, I demand proof and evidence of a claim before I am willing to accept it.
SD
18 December 2008 at 6:40 am
Vicks Vapo Rub on your feet doesn’t work.
If it did for anyone, I’d also suggest you rub some on your butt and see if that prevents you from peeing!
19 December 2008 at 1:21 am
Vicks on your feet certainly does stop a cough and keeps your feet soft too!!
21 December 2008 at 2:44 am
Andrew, When ever I have a cough or cold the Vicks on the bottom of my soles has worked for me. I don’t know how it works or why it works but you know what I really don’t care as long as it works. People that I have shared this with have tied it and it has also worked for them. I am not trying to persuade you all I am saying is that this worked for me.
Michael
23 December 2008 at 3:32 pm
Of course, that depends on what you mean by ‘works’. If you mean “I feel better”, then you’re absolutely right.
This could be caused by confirmation bias, psychosomatic mechanisms or very very unlikely actual mechanisms.
But if you mean “actually stops you coughing”, well that’s not true in the first case – and unless you’ve performed some sort of study and measurement on your experiences, with statistical analysis – then there’s no way of knowing.
25 December 2008 at 4:27 am
As I sit here, I am dealing with what seems like the worst case of bronchitis ever known to man. I have tried the Vaporub remedy for the past four nights. It actually has worked 3 of the 4 times that I used it. Maybe not 100% but not bad results. As for the skin being a “virtually impermeable” barrier, I have a nicotene patch on my right butt cheek that says you are wrong. There are many topical treatments for a multitude of medical problems. Are they placebos as well? Am I being tricked into thinking that I am not having a nicotene fit? Perhaps it is a placebo effect. Who cares, if it helps you to sleep. And by the way, it actually feels good. Not nasty at all
25 December 2008 at 4:42 am
And one other thing; to the person that stated “yes, it probably works for some people but for all of the wrong reasons”. What the …. does that mean? If it works and does no harm then what are the wrong reasons? If you break your arm, do you have to have scientific evidence to prove that it hurts? To hell with the scientific evidence, I’m sick. I didnt wait for the scientific analysis, I tried it and it helped me. I have my proof. Case closed.
26 December 2008 at 8:36 pm
“Am I being tricked into thinking that I am not having a nicotene fit?”
Try your patches on your feet for a week. See how that works.
30 December 2008 at 8:49 am
Ender, the patches work anywhere. I think my feet would be one of the last places I’d put it. There is a gel you can rub on your hands for nicotine. As for remedies that don’t cost much, the pharmacy would have a fit. Hell if someone killed the rhino virus with a cheap product they would probably be paid not to tell.
31 December 2008 at 4:09 pm
Paranoid much? Have you actually tried the patches on your feet, or are you just making up facts?
7 January 2009 at 4:54 am
I don’t see why it’s so impossible to conceive of a mechanism whereby the substances in the Vaporub absorb through the soles into the bloodstream, then are passed through the lungs, and on exhale provide relief.
If that were the mechanism, then I would expect application on the palms to have the same effect.
16 January 2009 at 9:13 pm
Generally, Vicks Vaporub on the sole feet wll work. Unless
the condition require antibiotics. I have try it on myself and
experiment on many others. It works. It follow the same principle as foot reflexology. We have thousands of acu-points on our feet and that is the way how the”Chi” flows.
16 January 2009 at 9:52 pm
Please remove my email address on your website.
13 February 2009 at 7:58 am
to all you skeptics try it before you open youre preverbial fatt mouths… I was once like you but not now ,it worked for me and I have neummonia sorry for the mispellings take care
25 March 2009 at 7:30 am
I have a daughter that has a skin allergy to almost everything. When she had a cold/cough, we tried the humidifier and it did not help. We tried Vicks on her chest and it made her break out. I had heard about putting Vicks on the feet and it would work, so I tried it on her feet. She did not break out and her cough stopped within hours. I have also tried it on myself when I was sick. It has worked for my whole family and many friends. It may not work for everyone but what’s the hurt in trying it for yourself? I like that I don’t have the “Vaseline” feel on my chest in the morning and it also helps make your feet soft. They aren’t telling you to eat the Vicks… just put it on your feet instead of your chest. We put many different medicines in our bodies that “don’t work” and no one has a problem with that but to try a home remedy that will not give you a side effect or complications makes people nervous.
13 May 2009 at 5:15 am
I’m a skeptic myself, so I don’t necessarily buy the idea that this remedy works. I plan to try it when I have occasion to do so (seems to me that, if I try it on either my 2-, 3-, or 5-year-old without telling them what it’s for, the placebo effect wouldn’t be a plausible explanation for a positive result), but knowing full well that it may prove useless.
However, I take issue with the stance that many would-be skeptics seem to take with regards to, “alternative” treatments. They claim they’ll believe it when science proves it, but in the meantime they continue to buy into whatever traditional knowledge science has supposedly discovered with regards to a particular health issue. They decry anecdotal evidence, deeming it, “unscientific,” when in fact, when tested in the right conditions some so-called anecdotal evidence may be just as accurate as a scientific study. But they seem to accept, “scientific” evidence at face value, without studying to see if the science behind it is faulty. Sometimes I find that the broad claims I see published in relation to supposedly-scientific studies are in reality a huge stretch to make from the actual findings of the given study (one example: http://dcscience.net/?p=209). Of course, in the case of that example the conclusion actually seems biased in favor of the natural remedy, so I’m not claiming a widespread conspiracy against alternative remedies here, or anything (Vick’s isn’t exactly a, “natural” remedy, anyway). Just that sometimes it’s necessary to dig deeper than the headlines, even of reputable sources, to see if a finding is truly scientific in its nature. That, to me, is true skepticism.
)
13 May 2009 at 4:52 pm
I know I’m hitting this rather late, but while the email chain itself is a logical fallacy with horrid arguments (of course the scientists would know why it works), the usage of Vicks in this fashion is totally sound science.
Camphor, which is a mild anesthetic, counterirritant, and expectorant (and other words – look in various medical dictionaries), is a major component of Vicks Vaporub. The reason why it is applied on the skin is because it is poisonous when ingested (http://jcp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/47/5/653). Skin application has relatively low absorption (http://jcp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/44/10/1151 and others) but the amount retained in plasma is still effective, so to all intents and purposes, it doesn’t matter *where* you apply it on your body – it will still work. (I submit to the prosecution the note that Vicks recommends application to “sore, aching muscles.”)
The point of putting it on your feet at night is that the skin on the soles of the feet is somewhat thicker, at ~1.5mm versus ~0.9 on the rest of the body (let me know if you want refs for that). Delivery of the ketones therefore takes slightly longer, as it works its way through the skin. In this manner the effects of the camphor last over a longer period of time than it would on the chest. Also, with socks on, the petrolatum carrier of the camphor doesn’t rub off the skin as quickly as it would on the hands or chest, as people move throughout the night and very few ppl wear close-necked pajamas.
The reason why Vicks recommends chest application for cold relief is for the vapors to hit and clear the sinuses. If coughing is more of an issue than the sinus, those vapors won’t get to the bronchial tubes in any decent dosage – it’s all skin absorption at that point. (Which reminds me: to one of the other commenters, inflamed bronchial passages are one of the main reasons for coughing at night, not the epiglottis-let me know if you want refs for that one too)
Having relief that lasts through the night, or having a diabetic-friendly option for relief that can be used in the workplace (many diabetics can’t take cold medicines), is a fairly compelling reason to pass this around.
In terms of anecdotal evidence vs scientific, it is worthy to note that Vicks contains “inactive ingredients” that have no scientifically-tested application to cough or sinus problems. (that is, in the US.) Cedarleaf and nutmeg oil would be cheaper to include as a synthetic, if they use them as a fragrance.
But both oils also have a significant terpene component, so it wouldn’t surprise me if, in the future, you see some studies about these oils coming out.
I know it’s aggravating when people don’t know the science behind something and therefore can’t explain it, but just because they don’t know it and they cover their lack of knowledge with poor arguments doesn’t mean it is not there.
16 June 2009 at 1:26 am
No scietist here. But I am skeptical as I get older. I hurt my back about 8 years ago. Had a lot of lower back pain and inflamation as I tore ligaments from mu sacral joint.
Anyway more to the point. A good freind of mine who is a chiropractor told me to cut two liquid advils in half and massage the oil into the inflamed area.
Instant releif that lasts many hours. My wife and I use this trick on any kind of sore joints or muscles and I have told dozens of people about it. There has been 100 percent success with those who try it. You can actualy feel the pain disolve away before you finished rubbing it into your skin.
So bottom line is yes medicines can be quikly absorbed through the skin.
27 October 2009 at 7:57 pm
OK, my daughter has coughed for the last 3 nights… I am trying tonight… only way to prove this to work or not work, is to try it.
6 November 2009 at 4:40 am
Ummmmm……..ok, I am a very big skeptic when it comes to these home remidies and such but my four year old has been coughing for the last hour, dry hacking. My wife said she was going to do this vicks thing and I just rolled my eyes at her and laughed. That was 15 minutes ago. No cough. She just said …ahem!
6 November 2009 at 4:42 am
Still no cough, sleeping soundly!
6 November 2009 at 4:48 am
WTF? Whatever…..it works Still no cough…..I’m going to bed!
7 November 2009 at 2:41 pm
Thanks Andrew, but unfortunately your annecdote does not carry any weight and cannot be considered as evidence for the efficacy of putting Vicks on your feet to treat a cough.
7 November 2009 at 3:03 pm
Two nights is a row now , 5 minutes after putting vicks on, cough dissapated and he slept soundly the whole night. Dunno why but it worked
7 November 2009 at 3:24 pm
Have you heard of the placebo effect?
7 November 2009 at 10:32 pm
He’s 4 and he was sleeping when it was applied
7 November 2009 at 10:43 pm
I hope he gets better soon.
17 November 2009 at 8:46 pm
It can’t POSSIBLY work. A Dr. didn’t write it on a prescription pad and get a kickback from a drug company.
What is wrong with you people thinking you can get better not using the wonderful meds that modern science has given us!?!
Sorry….my rant. I’ll have to remember this next time I have a cough. I have used the warm foot soak followed by cold socks covered with wool socks to open sinus passages, so acutally would believe this would work!
Thanks for sharing your stories.
18 November 2009 at 12:39 pm
Straw man followed by anecdote and confirmation bias. What a great argument you make Jean…
20 November 2009 at 8:50 am
I will give this a shot tomorrow when I pick some up. Been coughing for two days now after my girlfriend got me sick. Been using the cayenne pepper gargle method for keeping my throat clear of phlegm (it usually gets super bad in the morning, using that right now has kept my throat relatively clear) Cough is getting more and more persistent though so I’m willing to give this a shot. At the very least, I will end up using it on the neck…
22 November 2009 at 2:17 pm
Ok, so I woke up in the middle of the night to my son coughing…a lot. Came downstairs, typed in “ways to stop a cough” and this idea of putting vicks on the soles of their feet showed up. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I tried it…Vicks + socks and back to bed. Sure enough, after about 5 minutes, the coughing stopped and he slept the rest of the night and didn’t cough once. I’m not convinced that was it, but I got a decent night’s sleep after doing it!
28 November 2009 at 7:50 pm
Well my mother-in-law has sang Vick’s praises for years. When my 3 year old son came down with a barking cough and the doctor said that they do not prescribe or recommend cough or cold medicines for children anymore I thought it couldn’t hurt and I gave it a try. It worked. It also worked for my 6 month old, who could not have been affected by any placebo affect. I know that the author of this article does not like tried and true “proof” because it is hearsay (unless conducted by a lab somewhere and published in a journal) but like many other people who have tried it and had success, somethings just work. Last night I drank tea with honey before bed, but still coughed for an hour and a half after laying down…frustrated I grabbed the Vicks I had put on my chest before bed and slathered it on my feet and put on socks. I was skeptical but desperate at this point. I didn’t cough one single more time all night. I woke up in amazement and went quickly to my computer to find out WHY it works. I still can’t find the answer to that question, but after last night I have all the proof I need. As for you, either try it and make up your own mind or keep googleing until you find someone else to tell you what you think.
1 December 2009 at 9:19 pm
I think it’s interesting you didn’t reply to Woof’s comment. I’d think the same thing that you could apply it to your chest or your feet and it’s kind of irrelevant because it absorbs through the skin either way. Would you get more vapors if it’s on your chest, yes. But more absorption? Meh, probably not.
I think your cheese argument doesn’t make sense at all. Many lotions and medications are applied through the skin, you just sound silly saying it.
I do agree that the e-mail itself is full of fallacies.
4 December 2009 at 7:20 am
My daughter has had a persistent cough for 3 weeks now. It has been horrible EVERY NIGHT. She was up all night coughing so bad to the point where she would gag herself. I have tried every over the counter nighttime and daytime medicine for her with ABSOLUTELY NO improvements what-so-ever. Today I learned about the Vick’s on the soles of the feet. I thought to myself “What could it hurt?” I put it on and put her socks on and NOT A PEEP IN HOURS! Despite what “research” has not concluded YET. My daughter has not made a sound in all this time is EVIDENCE ENOUGH FOR ME.
I don’t need to wait 20-30 years for scientists to get on the ball and do all of their research. My research just proved to me first hand that yes, it does work. For some odd reason beyond my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that…it works. P.S I also rubbed Vick’s on her chest, neck, and other areas surrounding the lung. Absolutely no improvement with the coughing there, either.