Some people swear that if you place Vicks VapoRub on your feet (or your child’s feet), it will help with a cough.

Vicks VapoRub has been around since [1919](https://vicks.com/en-us/vicks-history), when a Spanish flu epidemic secured its place in American medicine cabinets. However, it’s only in recent history that people have started using it on their feet instead of its intended application on the chest and neck.

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There’s no actual scientific proof that rubbing the cough suppressant on your soles (followed by socks, of course) can stop your coughing, but there is plenty of [anecdotal evidence](https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/vicks-on-the-soles-of-your-feet-is-better-than-diamonds-on-the-soles-of-your-shoes).

What is Vicks VapoRub?

The salve’s active ingredient is menthol, which Rutgers University doctor Satya D. Narisety, M.D., tells [Parents.com](https://www.parents.com/health/cough/is-putting-vicks-vaporub-on-your-kids-feet-a-safe-effective-cough-cure/), "doesn’t really open respiratory tracts or break up mucus, but tricks your mind into thinking your airways are opening up and you’re not so congested."

A family friend told me about the old-timer’s remedy of using Vicks on the bottom of the feet for a cough. This was back several years ago when I couldn't get rid of a nagging cough. After 2-3 nights of using it on my feet with socks covered, my cough went away. It has also worked for my daughter several times over the years. ~ Rebecca E

What the Research Says

Joe Graedon, a pharmacologist with an M.S. from the University of Michigan, has a theory about how the [Vicks-on-feet treatment](https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/can-science-explain-why-vicks-on-the-feet-calms-a-cough) could work. This theory is based on recent research by Nobel laureate neuroscientist Rod MacKinnon, M.D., and his colleague Bruce Bean, Ph.D., of Harvard.

MacKinnon and Bean’s studies demonstrate how overstimulated nerves trigger muscle cramps. Their research found that drinking a spicy beverage of cinnamon, ginger, and pepper extract stimulated nerves in the mouth, throat, and stomach, which, as Graedon writes, "affected the spinal cord and overwhelmed the nerves that were causing muscle cramps." These findings might explain why so many people swear that eating a tablespoon of mustard cures their nighttime leg cramps.

Since feet contain many nerves, Graedon guesses that sensory nerves in the soles of the feet might respond to stimulation with Vicks VapoRub:

The [brain’s] cough center is right next to the spinal cord. If the sensory nerves in the soles of the feet stimulate the spinal cord, they might be able to interrupt the cough cycle.

Takeaways

Once again, the remedy hasn’t been observed in any official capacity (nor debunked by the experts at [Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/foot-note/)). But there seems to be no harm in trying it yourself the next time you feel a coughing fit coming on. If nothing else, you’ll end up with smoother feet.