Vicks Can Heal the World - Tales Of My Caribbean Family

If you're Caribbean or of Caribbean descent, you know exactly what I'm talking about here. You are one vomit away from your death bed and practically crying for a remedy to your woes. So you call your Mama and she says the infamous phrase - "Rub de Vix on you chest and breath it in!"
This a PSA to all Caribbean folks everywhere. VICKS CANNOT HEAL EVERYTHING!

This is not a joke. Break your leg? Vicks can fix that.
Multiple stab wounds? Vicks can fix that.
Huge gash on your arm? Vicks can certainly fix that.
Your house burned down? Tanty Shelly say "rub a little Vicks on your chest!"

Recently I was sick with a virus that took every ounce of energy I had in my body. I had constant migraines and muscle weakness. Seriously, it hurt to blink. So when my family from across the pond caught wind of my dire situation, they immediately advised my Mum to rub me down with the Vicks vaporub.

I wanted to burst into tears, first with laughter because the Vicks suggestion didn't surprise me. Secondly, because I knew at this rate I wasn't getting better anytime soon. And if it isn't Vicks, it's Rum specifically the strongest proof alcohol you can get, in our case the Jack Iron. One case, in particular, I woke up to go to the toilet. The lights were off and I forgot that I had placed my crafting bag on the floor containing all of my knitting needles. Of course, I walked right into the bag and one of the long steel needles pierced the middle of my foot, - from the top to the sole of my foot.

Thankfully it didn't hit any main vessels or pierce through to the other side. But I was in shock. I was staring at a huge needle stuck in my foot. I screamed for my Mum but before she came I just yanked it out. Being the hypochondriac that I was, I wanted to go to the hospital - I was going to die or lose my foot. But no. My Mother said "Stop being a baby! I'm not waiting in anybody hospital this time ah night!" And proceeded to get the bottle of rum to address my wound. You don't know how much I prayed that night that I didn't wake up to an infected, blowfish looking foot.

However, if it isn't rum, it's bush tea. My family would walk right on over to the cabinet filled with ziplock bags of various dried bush leaves from their last trip "home". The first thing that happens when you come back from this trip is you break out the foil across your dining room table and then spread all your picked bush leaves to dry out. Depending on where you're from it could be anything from Rosemary to Burden (my favorite actually), to Lemongrass and other bitter mystery plants I can't pronounce. 

I won't lie I can live with the bush teas, which I think actually helped me get out of my funk. But I can also live with the Vicks remedy. Think about it for a moment. The first mode of treatment in the Caribbean are most likely natural remedies. I know I am likely very ignorant to the fact that vicks possibly does have many health benefits, that I will go on to research about. But I think in reality vicks just offers that feel good remedy that you need after feeling like crap. So in respect to my elders, who will for eternity still tell me to use "de vicks", you will never catch me not rubbing and sniffing my hands, because god forbid you to get any sicker, you'll be to blame for not using it earlier.