Should you put vegetables in your socks to cure your cold?

Putting potato or onion slices in your socks at night to get rid of a cold: does it work or not?

Some people believe that these vegetables can “absorb” toxins, bacteria, or viruses from their body through the soles of their feet. This idea might be rooted in two old beliefs (1-5):

• In medieval times, people believed illnesses spread through bad air and thought raw cut onions could absorb it and protect against the plague.
• Foot reflexology, a practice based in traditional Chinese Medicine, believes that stimulating specific points (meridians) on your feet can affect the various organs they are linked to.

Reflexology usually involves massage or acupuncture to target points along the meridians. Simply placing sliced vegetables under your feet is unlikely to have the same effect, and there’s no evidence to suggest that it can help prevent infections (1,4,5).

While onions and potatoes are packed with good nutrients that support the immune system, there’s no evidence that they have the ability to absorb microorganisms or toxins from your body or the air (1-3,6-13).

Potatoes turning brown/black when applied to the skin are simply due to the natural process of oxidation between the starch in the potato and the air (14,15).

While putting vegetable in your socks is most likely not dangerous, it shouldn’t be used as a substitute to seeking medical attention, especially if you notice (16-18):

• Adults: worsening symptoms, fever for more than 5 days, trouble breathing.
• Children: fever of ≥38.5°C for more than 48-72h, difficulty breathing, refusal to eat, blue lips, coughing that leads to vomiting, drowsiness.

The reality is that nothing can cure a cold or the flu other than your own immune system. You can still manage your symptoms with rest, lots of fluids, over-the-counter medications, and even some homemade remedies like warm water with lemon and honey and saltwater rinse and gargles. Flu vaccination is one of the best ways to help prevent the flu or reduce its severity, but once you have the virus, it’s about symptom relief and giving your body time to recover (16,19).