Have you ever received the e-mail about putting Vicks on your kids feet to stop their coughing? The first time I read that e-mail several months ago I laughed out loud and deleted it.

Then I heard from 2 families that used this old wives remedy. I kind of chuckled and thought, “Okay, glad it helped.”

There is a basic article about it at Snopes.com and a similar article at About.com. The second article has this statement:

“Why might it work?” he [pediatrician Vincent Iannelli, MD] 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.”

Fast forward to when my one year old was coughing regularly in the middle of the night. As I lay there unable to sleep and praying that everyone else would stay sleeping, I thought of using the Vicks. Why not give it a shot? The toddler was mostly asleep and getting medicine in her is tricky when she’s awake. So I found the foul smelling stuff and fumbled around for a pair of socks. It did the trick that night and we were both able to sleep. [Read more...]