It’s the sticky hold out days of winter here in the OH, and Wee One and I just went through our latest bout of exchanging illnesses. In the interest of science and wanting to make myself feel better, I thought I would experiment with a few untried strategies for addressing a cold.
Tip #1: Rub Vick’s Vapo-Rub on the bottom of your feet and wrap them in thick socks. Now, I swear by Vick’s Vapo-rub on my chest, and sometimes I even put a hot towel over it which, I think, turns up the soothing effect (or maybe that’s just my imagination.) I have friends who swear by this strategy, which I decided to try this time.
It didn’t do anything. Not that I could tell. I don’t have thick socks with me right now, so maybe that was what was missing, but no. I won’t try that again.
Tip #2: A Shower Orange. I heard about this on NPR, and then investigated it further on it’s own subreddit. It is as simple as it sounds: eat an orange in the shower. I did not find it to be life changing as several sub-redditors (perhaps hyperbolically) announced. However, there was something liberating about having the water right there to wash away any sticky mess.
I ate orange with more abandon than I normally do. Instead of tidily peeling each little slice and nibbling on that, I just it like an apple. Sticky orange juice be damned, and it was joyous.
It smelled good, too, in the warm mist. I might do it again, ’cause it was just fun.
I Didn't Just Wake Up This Morning With A Craving 
I’m in Ohio suffering with a cold, too. I do swear by the Vicks on the feet, remedy. I used to put it on my daughter’s feet when she was coughing in the night and it helped. When I tried it on myself, it was such a weird sensation. When I inhaled to cough, the vapors seem to rise up through my chest and stopped the cough before I could get it out. I didn’t like the feeling. I think I’ll stick to putting it on my chest and under my nose. And now that my daughter is 16, she refuses to put it on her feet.
Wow! You felt the vapors come up more when it was on your feet than when it was on your chest?
My husband always puts Vick’s on our daughter’s feet when she has a cold. I can’t tell that it helps, but now she demands her medicine.
Sometimes the psychosomatic things work, I guess!