Menthol

The first and most common symptom of this virus we had was coughing. Not just ordinary coughing but the kind that occurs often and is difficult to stop. Cough drops worked well in quieting the fits and opening the airways.

I was also giving Richelle elderberry syrup every day, trying to help her immune system beat the virus. I didn't notice the "other ingredients" which listed eucalyptus, peppermint, thyme, and myrrh oils.

One night, after about two weeks of all this, Richelle woke me up with her non-stop coughing. It took me about fifteen minutes to gather my thoughts enough to remember the Vick's vapor rub on the feet trick to stop coughing. I stumbled around finding the Vick's and then slathered probably more than was necessary on each of Richelle's soles. It was dim and I didn't have my glasses on. You're supposed to put socks on afterward but I wasn't awake enough to search for a pair. Richelle stuck her feet back under the covers, flopped over in bed, fell back asleep...and never coughed once until morning.

Three days later, Richelle broke out in what I thought was poison oak. She insisted she hadn't been in the brush but I sent her to the shower with the bottle of dish washing liquid - my first line of defense for poison oak.


Of course it wasn't poison oak. It was an overdose of menthol. She ended up with a rash that covered most of her body. It started here on her cheeks and she looked rather squirrel-like for probably a week. It didn't help that I forgot about the Vick's on her feet and Mike had to remind me to change her sheets.