I was forwarded a short video with the alluring title, “Miracles Happen When You Apply Vicks VapoRub to Your Feet.” The speaker tells us in a compelling tone that the miracle is about inducing sleep and calmness, especially when suffering from a cold, by applying Vicks VapoRub to the soles of our foot and then donning socks. The speaker turns out to be a chiropractor and that already starts the alarm bells tingling. He may know something about alleviating low-back pain by spinal manipulation but when he starts philosophising about nerve receptors in the foot being stimulated to send a signal to the “medulla oblinga” in the brain, he is out of his element. First, it is “medulla oblongata,” not “medulla oblinga,” and while this part of the brainstem does control breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, there is no evidence that its activity is stimulated by rubbing a concoction of camphor, menthol and eucalyptus oil on the sole.
First, a little backgrounder. Lunsford Richardson’s son suffered from croup, a respiratory infection that causes a deep, bark-like cough. As a pharmacist, Richardson knew about the folkloric use of camphor for colds dating back to ancient China and decided to give it a shot by blending it into petrolatum to formulate an ointment that could be rubbed on his chest. Camphor can be isolated from the camphor tree which grows in the Orient by a process known as steam distillation. Today, however, most camphor sold is made synthetically from pinene, extracted from pine trees. Richardson also added some menthol from the peppermint plant and oil of eucalyptus, both of which had long traditional uses as decongestants.
Richardson’s idea was that when heated by the body, the combination of ingredients would release soothing vapours. Apparently, the boy’s symptoms were eased and the pharmacist thought he was on to something. But he needed a laboratory to experiment with formulations, and as the story goes, his brother-in-law, Joshua Vick, happened to be a physician with access to a lab. The name Vicks VapoRub was born. In early ads the product was promoted as “a gift to the American mother from all of the ends of the Earth.” Camphor came from Formosa, eucalyptus from Australia, menthol from Japan and petrolatum from North America. The decongestant effect is likely due to the strong scent of camphor, but problems associated with its use have also been documented. Skin irritation, headaches, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations have been linked with inappropriate use of camphor.
But just what does "inappropriate use" mean? How about rubbing your dance partner with a camphorated cream before attacking the dance floor? This certainly isn't listed as a potential use on the label of Vick's VapoRub! But believe it or not, this is just what teenagers in northern England started to do a few years ago. Why? According to some sources, it helps prolong the effect of the designer drug known as Ecstasy. This dangerous substance is the rage at raves, those parties where young people contort themselves on the dance floor as lights flash and electronic music blares away. When police started to crack down and search people as they were entering the venue, the ravers tried taking the drug before coming to the dance. That didn’t work because Ecstasy has a short half-life. However, some clever closet chemist figured out that if Ecstasy were taken before the dance, its effect could be prolonged by smearing oneself with camphor. And Vicks VapoRub was an easily available source of this substance.
Now people are raving about a use of Vicks that has nothing to do with raves. They are rubbing it on the sole of their foot to help them sleep whether or not they have a cold. As far as I can tell, nobody has carried out a proper trial about the purported soothing effect of sleeping with a sock full of Vicks VapoRub.
Admittedly, there is a plethora of anecdotal evidence, but you can also find anecdotal evidence for autourine therapy, treating restless leg syndrome with a bar of soap under the sheets, or determining the sex of a fetus by dangling a ring over the expectant woman’s belly. I suppose it is possible that some camphor gets absorbed into the bloodstream and produces some effect, but claiming stimulation of the medulla oblongata via nerves is a step too far-fetched. In any case, why would such stimulation produce a calming effect? Maybe someone can carry out a proper controlled trial so that we can put this notion to rest one way or another. In any case, I wouldn’t expect any sort of miracle to happen. And that then is the rub on rubbing Vicks VapoRub on your sole.
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