Soap Under the Sheet…What the Hey?
About a year and a half ago, as I was chatting on the phone with my Aunt C., she mentioned that she got frequent leg cramps during the night. I winced with sympathy… every once in awhile I get a leg or foot cramp at night, and it’s definitely not a fun way to be jolted out of dreamland. Sometimes it can take up to an hour of hobbling around in the still and dead cold of the night to work the cramp out, and even then the darned thing might come roaring back the minute I lay down again. I can’t imagine dealing with this every night, but it’s a common experience for many folks, especially as one gets older.
My aunt went on to tell me that her doctor had prescribed quinine pills to control the cramps, even though these pills can cause liver damage. This made me sit up and pay serious attention…as soon as I hung up the phone I looked online for more information about those pills…they sounded way too dangerous to me for anyone to take, especially someone dear to me!
It was true, according to all the information I found. The quinine pills do help stop nocturnal leg cramps but are not recommended because of potential liver damage. But many doctors prescribe them anyway because otherwise their patients would never get a decent night’s rest.
My personal opinion is that our North American society as a whole pops way too many pills. And I’m talking about the legal ones here! At any rate, as I was reading up on the subject I remembered all the Dr Gott columns I had read over the years that frequently recommended putting a bar of soap under your sheet. According to every person who wrote the good doctor, this strange practice actually works!
I promptly looked this up. Lo & behold, the internet is chock full of testimonials from thousands of people who say that after they put a bar of soap under their sheet, they got relief from both leg cramps and restless leg syndrome. And nobody knows why.
I didn’t know anyone personally who had tried this trick, but I thought that the direct testimony of all these people surely meant something, so I called my aunt back and told her about it. Sure it sounds crazy, I said, but give it a try anyway.
To this day, after she stuck a bar of Ivory soap under her bottom sheet, my aunt has had just ONE leg cramp. And she had been plagued by nightly cramps even when she took those pills. Taking the pills had merely reduced the frequency and severity of the cramps. She no longer takes the pills, by the way! Aunt C. now puts the soap bar in a pillowcase down near her feet.
Well now. After this direct testimony on the matter I continued to delve into the mystery. A few naysayers pooh pooh the practice, arguing that since it’s too ridiculous to work, it therefore can’t work. Hmmm…Whatever, as they say. There are numerous testimonials from people telling of the relief this practice has brought them, even though they personally didn’t believe it could possibly work…they only tried it out of desperation or because someone hounded them into it! Sometimes cures are a matter of mind over matter…you believe in a potion or pill, therefore it works, the so-called “placebo effect.” But these people didn’t believe, yet it worked anyway. So what is up with that?
There is some speculation that the reason the soap cure works is because soap contains traces of sodium chloride, which is simply table salt. So somehow, the theory goes, your body is absorbing these salt vapours through the sheet and it helps correct your body chemistry. So it balances your electrolytes like drinking Gatorade. Well, it’s some kind of theory, anyway! Another one I ran across has to do with the electromagnetic energy exuded by the bar of soap somehow affecting the magnetic polarity of your body which halts the cramps or restless leg syndrome.
As I continued to read various posts and websites, I discovered that some people are saying it has even helped to alleviate their chronic pain. Folks with bad backs and other chronic pain issues have found relief by putting soap under their sheets. Some people use little hotel soap bars stuffed directly into their socks both at night and during the day. One fellow wrote that he keeps a small bar in his pocket while he plays Bridge…before he did this he was unable to stay seated for that long without getting leg cramps.
Folks who do this all have their favourite brands of soap, too. I found a lot of people swear by Ivory, and they say that Dove and Dial doesn’t work for them. But then, of course, it’s different strokes for different folks…some people swear by Dial and Dove. Irish Spring gets a few votes as well, though I can’t personally imagine putting up with the smell of that stuff all through the night. If you try this for yourself, practitioners say to give it at least three nights to kick in. And, if you don’t get any relief, try a different brand of soap. Most people take it out of the wrapper, although some people say it’s not necessary. Most also say that you need to replace the bar after about four months.
If you try this, drop us a line to tell us how it how it worked…or didn’t… for you, and what brand of soap and technique you used. Our inquiring minds wants to know more about this mystery!
Stephanie Kelley
