Remedy may be 'ridiculous,' but it worked

Q. I am a research scientist, so I like evidence. My husband is an architect who is a critical thinker and not about to fall prey to nonsense.

He came down with a terrible cold that led to pneumonia. The cough was unrelenting and kept us both awake for several nights in a row. None of the antibiotics or cough syrups relieved it. He was exhausted from coughing, as well as from not sleeping.

In desperation, we turned to one of your ridiculous remedies — the Vicks VapoRub on the soles of the feet. To our amazement, he stopped coughing and got a good night's sleep. We can't explain it, but we sure are grateful.

A. We can't explain the power of Vicks VapoRub on the soles of the feet to calm a cough, either. It doesn't seem logical, but many readers have told us it works.

We are sending you our Guides to Colds, Coughs & the Flu plus Unique Uses for Vicks for many other options to calm a cough and relieve congestion. Anyone who would like copies, please send $4 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (61 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons' People's Pharmacy, No. QVi-276, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. They also can be downloaded for $2 each from our Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

Q. I have had headaches for as long as I can remember. Some were debilitating, and some I just had to soldier through. Recently, they were becoming more frequent, with the most common being a sharp sensation on one side of my head.

Then a friend suggested I do some research on artificial sweeteners. After reading numerous accounts of headaches caused by aspartame, I immediately stopped drinking diet soda and using sucralose in my coffee. Within 24 hours, the headaches completely stopped. I still get a monthly hormonal migraine, but my life has improved dramatically since eliminating these chemicals from my diet.

A. Your story is a good reminder that a food diary can help headache sufferers determine if a specific food triggers their headaches. There has been significant controversy over whether aspartame (found in NutraSweet) can cause headaches, but migraine specialists recognize that some people may be sensitive to this sweetener (Clinical Journal of Pain, June 2009).

There is also a case report of migraine triggered by sucralose, the sweetener in Splenda (Headache, March 2006). Diet soda is not essential for health, so you are fortunate to have found a good way to prevent many of your headaches.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them c/o King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., 15th floor, New York, NY 10019, or via their Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.org