Can Vicks VapoRub help relieve facial pain?
Q: I have been very interested in the messages about using soap containing limonene to help with cramplike pain. I have been plagued with such pain on my face. I did research on products that contain limonene. Vicks VapoRub is one. I have been using that around my eyebrows and forehead, and it helps relieve pain.
A: We are fascinated by your report. That could help explain why Vicks VapoRub is considered helpful for soothing sore muscles. A chemist who specializes in volatile compounds reported to us that the soaps people find useful against leg cramps usually contain limonene in their fragrance. This compound from essential oils has analgesic effects (Inflammation, April 2017).
We should offer one word of caution: Dermatologists have reported one case of skin depigmentation (vitiligo) triggered by the application of Vicks VapoRub (Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, November 2008). Be alert for any changes in skin tone where you are applying the Vicks.
Q: You have had some people ask questions about dry nasal passages. My father used oxygen for his congestive heart failure, and as a result he, too, struggled with dry nostrils.
His hospice nurse had me use K-Y Jelly in his nose because it is watersoluble. She told me that Vaseline could be inhaled into his lungs and get stuck there with no way to dissolve. Your readers might have an easier time finding K-Y Jelly
than the Ayr Saline Nasal Gel you previously suggested.
A: Although many people have written to tell us that they use petroleum jelly in their dry noses, pulmonologists discourage such oil-based lubricants. K-Y Jelly is water-based, as you noted, and should not pose the same hazard.
Q: I started having hot flashes at 40 years old and I’m now 55. My hot flashes have become unbearable. I went searching online for other natural remedies and found maca. It is a root from Peru. After about three days, my hot flashes have been reduced to just one or two a day, with no full body sweating. Can you tell me anything about maca for menopause?
A: Some randomized controlled trials have shown that Pycnogenol and maca extract (Lepidium meyenii) can help control hot flashes (Maturitas, February 2014).
There is little, if any, data on the safety of this plant compound, especially taken out of its indigenous context (Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Jan. 30, 2018).
It is now being grown in China as well as Peru due to its reputation as an aphrodisiac.
Q: I have read that beets lower blood pressure, but there is controversy about whether only raw ungrated (i.e., not oxidized) beets lower blood pressure or also grated and cooked beets do. Can you clarify this question?
A: Most of the research involves beetroot juice. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials concluded that the juice lowers blood pressure (Advances in Nutrition, Nov. 15, 2017).
We have not seen research comparing grated or cooked beets with beetroot juice. One reader offered this testimonial:
“I recently had my blood pressure increase (140 over 90). I started taking beet powder. I add this to food or water. It has a pleasant taste, not very beety. My blood pressure now is in the normal range.”