Leifer
Senior Member.
There is a home-remedy that sleeping with a bar of scented soap can help cure or reduce night leg cramps or restless leg syndrome RLS... usually a problem among the elderly......and possibly younger people too.
Snopes categorizes this as "Unproven"
My 83yo father gets awfully painful leg cramps, usually at night. I feel terrible for him.
He read online, that a swallow (or two) of typical prepared American yellow mustard is a cure for night leg cramps when they arise.
He swears by it. He doses himself, and the cramps eventually go away.
I suggested to him that it's not realistic that a couple of spoonfuls of mustard will affect his legs within minutes of a swallow....it's just not possible for the mustard to travel to his legs that quickly. He disbelieves me because his cramps go away after a minute or so, of ingesting the mustard (mustard seed, vinegar, salt, and turmeric)
I suggest to him that the cramps would go away regardless of the mustard ingestion, but he insists, and I let him believe in his treatment.....if it makes him feel better for doing-so.
He used to eat a whole banana (potassium) for his immediate treatment, but this is not wise for a diabetic.
The Study and idea:
Similarly, a bar of scented soap held under the nighttime sheets is said to stave-off nighttime cramps.....a sort of "aromatherapy".
Here's one claim of success (article) that the "bar of soap" idea could be valid, as if it's a "secret revealed".....
Reading the link (study) in the above article.....I have my doubts. Note this a "pay-to-play" article/study. (open access journal)
Next, this study openly admits the following:
(highlights)
I don't know the percentage of SSO in soap.......and it's possible it these percentages match.....but using odorous Castor oil adds incentive to a placebo effect. Why not use mineral oil or another non-odoriferous dilutent ?
Snopes categorizes this as "Unproven"
Personal observation:
While many possible causes have been posited for these contractions, those afflicted by them are far more concerned with getting rid of these debilitating cramps than they are with understanding their origin. Over the years, many preventions have been suggested, including:
While all of the above have been said to avert the problem in at least some cases, one further suppression trick appears to work, at least according to anecdotal information, for almost everyone so bedeviled: sleeping with a bar of soap in the bed. No one has yet produced a plausible explanation as to why snoozing with one's Ivory might stave off those devastating nocturnal leg cramps, yet the reports of its doing so are numerous.
- Stretching one's calf muscles prior to going to bed.
- Swearing off caffeine in the evening.
- Increasing one's intake of potassium, magnesium, calcium or Vitamin E.
- Sleeping on one's back with toes pointed towards the ceiling.
- Increasing one's intake of water during the day.
- Taking quinine (now available only by prescription) or drinking tonic water (which contains small amounts of quinine). It needs be noted that in 2010 the FDA strongly cautioned consumers against using quinine to combat leg cramps because the drug can cause severe side effects, including death.
.....(cont'd)
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/legcramp.asp
My 83yo father gets awfully painful leg cramps, usually at night. I feel terrible for him.
He read online, that a swallow (or two) of typical prepared American yellow mustard is a cure for night leg cramps when they arise.
He swears by it. He doses himself, and the cramps eventually go away.
I suggested to him that it's not realistic that a couple of spoonfuls of mustard will affect his legs within minutes of a swallow....it's just not possible for the mustard to travel to his legs that quickly. He disbelieves me because his cramps go away after a minute or so, of ingesting the mustard (mustard seed, vinegar, salt, and turmeric)
I suggest to him that the cramps would go away regardless of the mustard ingestion, but he insists, and I let him believe in his treatment.....if it makes him feel better for doing-so.
He used to eat a whole banana (potassium) for his immediate treatment, but this is not wise for a diabetic.
The Study and idea:
Similarly, a bar of scented soap held under the nighttime sheets is said to stave-off nighttime cramps.....a sort of "aromatherapy".
Here's one claim of success (article) that the "bar of soap" idea could be valid, as if it's a "secret revealed".....
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/201...atherapy-have-similar-benefit-for-leg-cramps/
How Does Soap Help?
Since the first reports on this remedy, people have come up with possible explanations for why soap might have benefit for leg cramps. Most are based on the compounds that give the soap its pleasant smell. These agents are released from the soap and can be absorbed through the skin. They appear to help muscles relax (Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, Sep. 1, 2008).
Reading the link (study) in the above article.....I have my doubts. Note this a "pay-to-play" article/study. (open access journal)
Next, this study openly admits the following:
(highlights)
The fact that the study claims that it is the SSO scent that is the "active ingredient" but then uses 95% castor oil and only 5% SSO in their test of only 14 voluntary (and alternative medical treatment seeking subjects)......is quite ridiculous and unproven......especially that the article is about Leg Cramps, and the study is about fibromyalgia.
~ Over 90% of fibromyalgia patients seek alternative medical care, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, yoga and massage therapy.
~ The soap patch also is effective for smooth muscle spasms, relieving the pain from menstrual cramps, intestinal cramps, and kidney stone.
~ Soap-scented oil manufactured by Belle-Aire Fragrances, Inc. was used for this study. The components of this oil are citronellol, geraniol, camphor, eucalyptol, and thymol. There is no actual soap in the scented oil.
Due to the occasional skin irritant effects of undiluted scented oils (Foster and Johnson 2000; Weiss and Fintelmann 2000), the SSO was diluted with castor oil to a final concentration of 5% SSO. Castor oil was originally chosen as the dilutent for the SSO because of its frequent use in the medical field (McGarey 2004). All patches in this study were made using 5% SSO.
~ Eighty three patients with fibromyalgia contacted me with a request to try the SSO skin patch. Among these patients, fourteen who reported consistently severe pain (pain score 7 and higher) were selected for the study.
~ All patients reported initial pain relief within one hour of application, including one patient who reported nearly immediate relief within three minutes. Three patients reported nearly complete relief of pain (rated 0–3), and the remainder reported pain levels of 4 or less. The pain relief lasted between 18 hours to 30 hours.
.....
I don't know the percentage of SSO in soap.......and it's possible it these percentages match.....but using odorous Castor oil adds incentive to a placebo effect. Why not use mineral oil or another non-odoriferous dilutent ?
I hypothesize that the active ingredient in the SSO skin patch is the scent itself. This would represent a new and unique method of medicinal delivery, because the scent is seemingly absorbed through the skin and not via the olfactory system.
.....I have applied for United States and international patents for the soap-scented oil skin patch.
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