Q. A little while back a person wrote that after a few months the bar of Ivory soap under the bottom sheet no longer worked for nighttime leg cramps and had to be replaced.
We have been using Ivory soap in the bed ever since reading about it in your column. I’ve noticed the same thing and have accumulated several used bars.
I recently decided to try something. I took a sharp knife and scraped both sides of the bar until it was bright white again. It is working again, and I didn’t have to buy new soap.
A. Others have told us that shaving their soap renews its ability to prevent leg cramps. Remember, though, there is no waste. You can always use old bars in the shower.
Here’s what some other readers have found. VB said: “I simply put a new bar of soap under the sheet whenever I need the old bar for the shower, so I always have a fairly fresh soap. What a difference it makes for me – both for leg cramps and for restless leg syndrome!”
Susan has also found shaving the soap helpful: “I have found that if I remove the soap and use my potato peeler all over it, it renews its effect. I get leg cramps all the time, but I have found they are lessened at night since I started using C-Pap for sleep apnea. It makes me wonder if there is some correlation between the two.”
DS commented: “The soap has worked well for my husband, who used to frequently get cramps in the night. It has not happened for years, thanks to the soap. I think the flat bed soap sounds like a GREAT idea since my 5’2″ self always seems to feel that lump in the king-sized bed!”
So far as we can tell, any type of soap works against leg cramps. We did develop a large flat bar to be more comfortable and convenient under the bottom sheet. You’ll find it in our store as Bed Soap. It should solve the “princess and pea” problem of soap causing a bothersome lump in the bed. The bed looks smoother when it is made up, too.
