My first experience with alternative medicine was at the home of my North Dakota grandmother. She and grandpa built their farm house with their own hands, and most of what they needed on the farm, they made. Grandpa and Grandma were not about to spend good money on doctorin’.

My mom and her siblings used to endure homemade mustard plasters for their chest colds, and when I was unfortunate enough to contract a bad cough at Grandma’s house, my turn came.

The mustard—ground fresh mustard seeds mixed with water—is painted on an old piece of cloth, which is folded in half and placed on the chest. After a few minutes, my mustard plaster seemed to feel warm, and soon, the spicy smell stung my nose. After about thirty minutes—the length of one Flintstone’s episode, which I was watching at the time—Grandma took the mustard plaster off and put me in a hot bath. My cough didn’t keep me awake that night, and in the morning, all traces of my cold were gone.

Why would a mustard plaster work? The mustard is an irritant—it can even burn the skin if left in place too long. Some scientists think the irritation helps draw blood to a congested area. Others believe that it serves as a sort of counter-irritation, and stimulating the skin allows the nerve endings in the lungs to relax. But in truth, nobody knows why it works. It just does. These remedies stick around for a reason.

Grandma also used to remove the menthol crystals from a mentholated cigarette—this was before they soaked the menthol (and 300 other deadly toxins) right into the tobacco—and mix it with turpentine and lard to create a primitive mentholated rub. This bizarre blend is still around: Vicks Vapo-Rub contains both menthol and turpentine oil.

Strangely, she believed the menthol mix worked best when applied to the FEET. Mustard on the chest, menthol on the feet. I have heard that some people do use Vicks under warm socks to treat a cold. Maybe it’s the counter-irritation principle again, since there are so many nerve endings in the feet.