Stuffy Nose - Use Vicks on Feet?

I was anxious to try this too, as my kids both had coughs and it worked for me as well. I forwarded this on to my friends to tell them it worked and this is what my friend the nurse had to say about it:

"The soles of your feet are the funnels for things to come in and toxins to come out. That is the science behind reflexology. I have used Eucalyptus essential oil for steam inhalation and foot massage on my son and it works wonders also."

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I recently read somewhere NOT to do this, unless you are using Baby Vicks, not the 'real' Vicks. I guess the amount of camphor or something in the full strength can be fatal to children. Please ask your doctor or pharmacist before trying this.

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My guess is that it's the same as putting it on their chest, but their bodies are much smaller than ours. If you put it on their chest it may be too strong. But if you put it on their feet, it's far enough away from their nose to not be too strong but it's also still within smelling distance.

Hey Tam,

Ok, so I looked this up on an urban legends site, 2 of them actually, and one of them said it was an urban legend, and one said "undecided". So, last night Ethan had a cough. Used it before bed, and he slept through the night..but his cough wasn't bad and he's generally a good sleeper, so who knows. Alex was congested, had a runny nose and a little cough. After getting up 8 times last night, by 6am I put some of the Vicks baby rub on his feet, and he was still up 3 times between 6am and 7am when he got up for the day...so it didn't seem to work at all. So I am undecided. I do think that it's safer to use the Baby Vick's, and not the full strength, but I'm going to research that some more. I'm glad your Alex slept throught the night though! Yay! Email me soon...T

probably the same reason why if you rub the sole of your foot with Garlic your breath smells like garlic.

I recently read that the human feet have hundreds of pores on them that have to do with so many other parts of your body. Example my husband has to sleep with socks on, nothing but underwear & sock, I guess his feet control his body temperature????

The answer to your question no one knows. There has actually been one study done to see if this theory was true. It turn out that the kids that had vicks on their feet had the same outcome as kids that had it on their chest. So far, no other studies have been done. As far as the medical community is concerned....there is no proof it works better than putting it on your chest...there are a lot of moms that would disagree with that

I have read the same about giving herbal extracts and aromatherapy oils to babies--you should massage it into the soles of their feet. There are many reflexology points in our feet, and babies' feet haven't been caloused yet from walking like ours have, so they're even more sensitive. Plus, massaging babies' feet is very relaxing for them. I used to be able to put both my kids to sleep when they were little by massaging their foot, one at a time, while they were nursing. I'm glad it worked for you!
Peace,
K.

I recently heard about that and my one co-worker swears it helps her kids. I've never tried it on my kids, but hey you never know.

I tried it with my 3yr old after reading those same postings. It worked, but she seemed almost drugged by it. It concerns me that the bottom of the feet might be too absorbent for small children. My husband pointed out to me that he heard years ago of some older kids putting ben-gay on their soles to get high because it gets into the system fast and strong. That really concerns me and I don't think that I'll be using it on the feet again. Yes, it stopped the cough, but I don't think it's safe. I think I'll just be putting alittle on her chest from now on. Just my personal opinion, I know other people swear by it.