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The Soap Chip Trick Works for Painful Airplane Flights!

Q. I was wondering how to deal with a long airplane flight. My legs get very sore when I have to sit for a long time. How can I use the soap for that?

I just discovered this website a couple of nights ago when I couldn’t sleep. I tried the soap last night and it did work for me.

A. We don’t know why someone tried soap in bed to ease leg cramps, but we sure have heard from a lot of people that it works. Even more interesting is the soap chip solution to leg cramps or restless leg syndrome while traveling. One visitor to this site shared the following story:

“A friend told me about the soap chip trick when I mentioned the debilitating thigh and calf cramps I had on my last plane ride and was afraid to fly again.

“I used Irish Spring soap under my sheets and my foot (broken foot bones with post arthritis), ankle, calf and hip bursitis pain is all gone. I am astonished!

“I ordered the The People’s Pharmacy Leg Soap from PeoplesPharmacy.com and put the small ones in my socks for a long plane flight. I experienced no cramping or discomfort.  Previously I used leg cramp pills and general pain medicine still with severe leg cramps on and after the plane trip.

“P.S. My internist is skeptical and although she says she has many patients with this problem, I doubt she will advise them of this ‘grandma’s remedy’…Too bad.” J.G.F.

When you are at 30,000 feet and stuck in a middle seat, it is hard to get up and pace the aisles to relieve the discomfort. Putting pre-cut soap chips in socks is about as easy a solution as we have ever heard of. That’s why we came up with the idea of cutting soap into small, easy-to-handle chips so that people would not have to try and shave or smash soap to into small enough pieces.

Here are some more soap stories:

“I put a bar of soap under my husband’s sheets without his knowledge. It worked. So this proves that it is not all psychosomatic.

“When he saw the soap he couldn’t believe it. It probably wouldn’t have worked if he had known it was there because he is such a skeptic when it comes to home remedies.

Thanks!” S.R.B.

“I have suffered from RLS since the age of 14. I have tried many different remedies, even resorting to beating on my thighs at night until they were numb so I might sleep.  Nothing has worked with the exception of some minor relief from Hyland’s “Leg Cramps With Quinine” pills, of which I take many.

“Last night I drifted off to sleep around 10:30 pm. I awoke suddenly at 11:30 pm, and had my typical terrible antsy feeling in my legs.  I sat up in bed immediately, ready to get up and walk around, when out of frustration I grabbed my notebook and fired it up.  I searched RLS, and found references to soap.

“I was willing to try anything, but highly suspicious of the soap claim. My wife brought me a new bar of Zest. I opened it, rubbed it directly on my thighs, and tossed it in bed with me.

“I then waited for the RLS to return with a vengeance.  It did not return!!  This is no joke. Try it: you have nothing to lose but your RLS.

“I later got up and put the soap under the bottom sheet, on top of the mattress pad, where it remains.” R.C.H.

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About the Author
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist who has dedicated his career to making drug information understandable to consumers. His best-selling book, The People’s Pharmacy, was published in 1976 and led to a syndicated newspaper column, syndicated public radio show and web site. In 2006, Long Island University awarded him an honorary doctorate as “one of the country's leading drug experts for the consumer.”.
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