Fact or fiction: can an onion in your sock cure your cold?

If there’s one thing I find absolutely disgusting, it’s people noisily sniffling. You know the type: people who summon all the strength in their toes to move the accumulated snot from their nose to their throat. My nightmare is sitting between people like that on the train in the morning. And it happens regularly. I can tell you, there’s a whole lot of gagging involved. But anyway, those people have a cold, which is of course the absolute worst for them (ahem). Then I saw a hack making a very hopeful promise to get rid of your cold. An onion on your bedside table or in your sock (?!) is supposedly a miracle cure.

Onions are supposedly medicinal. A cut-open onion is said to release sulfur compounds that clear the air of bacteria and viruses. It could also help you breathe more easily, which is why people recommend putting an onion on your bedside table at night. And then there’s the onion in your sock: it’s supposed to purify your blood and protect you against the flu. No more sniffles, then.

I almost dashed into the Appie to buy a bag of onions—I could hand them out to those snot-gurgling people on the train. But a little extra research made my plans waver. Is it fact or fiction that onions can cure your cold?

No scientific evidence

The answer: complete fiction. There is absolutely no scientific research supporting this claim. In the past, people firmly believed that onions purified the air, keeping diseases away. That’s why people started placing cut onions everywhere—from their bedside tables to their socks. But there’s absolutely no evidence that an onion actually makes your cold virus disappear. So I definitely don’t need to hand out onions to all the sniffling people on the train.

What onions are actually good for

But with this failed hack, the saying does apply: it can’t hurt to try. What’s more, there is a chance that a red onion can help clear your blocked nose. When you cut open an onion, essential oils are released that make your eyes water and loosen your mucus. This allows you to breathe more freely. So you won’t suddenly be rid of the cold virus, but you may get rid of that nasty mucus in your nose. The hack isn’t a complete failure, then. I’d say: put a cut onion on your bedside table when your nose is blocked. It’ll mean less sniffling in the morning—and therefore less irritation for fellow passengers—on the train.

Also read:

• Have a cold? (A little) hot whisky helps
• Study: have a cold? Eat chocolate
• Red wine helps against a cold

Image: Smart Fox video, source: EOS Wetenschap