Lime slice stopped massive muscle cramp
Q. My wife told me about the mustard cure for muscle cramps some time ago. Last week, I participated in a run/walk in Indianapolis with some old friends. Two of them ran a half marathon. After the race we were sitting in a bar when one guy had a massive cramp in his left quad. He is a well-trained runner, so the cramp was unusual.
Massage and stretching had no effect. I went to the unattended bar looking for anything that might help. I grabbed a slice of lime, willing to try whatever was at hand. My friend sucked on the lime and said the effect was essentially immediate! The cramp dissipated quickly. I don’t have an explanation.
A. Neuroscientists have shown that triggering special transient receptor potential channels in nerve cells can stop muscle cramps quickly (Muscle & Nerve, May 9, 2017). This is an elegant explanation for why tasting strong flavors like pickle juice, mustard, ginger or cinnamon can be helpful. Perhaps lime also stimulates TRP channels.
Q. When I worked in a nursing home, the nurses would use a mixture of A&D Ointment and a packet of table sugar to heal bedsores. It worked like magic!
Now I hear manuka honey is the best way to go. I keep it in the medicine cabinet for treating wounds and sores.
A. Honey has been used to aid wound healing since ancient times. In the past few decades, scientists have found that manuka honey (made by bees visiting the flowers of a New Zealand plant, Leptospermum scoparium) has potent antibacterial activity (PLOS One, Dec. 28, 2016).
Some Italian honey from bees visiting honeydew flowers is comparable to manuka honey in antimicrobial activity (Schweizer Archiv fur Tierheilkunde, July 2016).
The most recent research found that a combination of honey and citrus pectin resulted in the fastest wound healing (BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, May 16, 2017). The scientists prepared their concoction by mixing liquid manuka honey with an equal amount of sterile deionized water. They then added an equal volume of powdered pectin little by little, stirring continuously. The resulting foam was spread on a backing and dried with hot air. In an experimental rat study, this topical formula was surprisingly effective for healing wounds.
Q. I have a number of autoimmune diseases and had recurring problems with my thumbnail. I read a letter in your column from a writer whose toenail symptoms (black under the nail, warped nail, cuticle issues) perfectly described my thumbnail. The letter writer had a chronic fungal infection that caused these symptoms. Vicks VapoRub cleared it up.
Nothing had worked to alleviate my thumbnail symptoms.I started using Vicks twice a day every day a few months ago. My thumbnail is cured.
A. Thank you for sharing your story. A study of AIDS patients, who have compromised immunity, reported success with this approach (Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, January/February 2016).