Using ESSENTIAL OILS to Prepare for Cold and Flu Season

By JC Shannon

September is upon us and it's time to prepare for cold and flu season, particularly if you have school children. The younger the child, the higher chance of having more disease brought into your home. While simply washing your hands and exercising polite behavior can prevent many problems when coughing and sneezing, cold and flu bacteria still slip in.

Your best bet is prevention. Always wash hands before preparing and eating food, exercise, get some sunshine every day, keep stress levels down and get enough sleep. Also use ESSENTIAL OILS to give your immune system a boost. There are some that specifically work well in this time and season as antiseptics, decongestants, expectorants and disinfectants. These oils are as follows:

Tea Tree           Eucalyptus     Peppermint
Frankincense     Hyssop          Thyme
Sandalwood       Rosemary       Lavender

There are several ways to use these and you should play around and discover what works best for you. Some blends work well for different needs and I’ve listed a few different mixes to try for boosting your own immune system. Any of these can be used to treat your home regularly as prevention as well as using them when, heaven forbid, someone in your home does catch a cold or flu.

Hyssop is an excellent tonic for opening breathing passages and it stimulates the respiratory system. (Caution: never use Hyssop if you are prone to epileptic seizures. It has been known to stimulate seizures.)

3 drops Hyssop
6 drops Sandalwood
6 drops Lavender

While Thyme is great as an antiseptic and an expectorant, it is also extremely potent and you should only use a drop or two at any one time.

Frankincense has strong cell-regenerating properties as well as an ability to clean and purify the air in a room. Adding a couple of drops to a base oil and massaging into the soles of your feet can do wonders for your immune system.

1 drop Thyme
2 drops Frankincense
2 drops Hyssop

Eucalyptus has long been recognized for its ability to open breathing passages and fighting congestion and is often used in commercially prepared cough drops.

5 drops Eucalyptus
2 drops Peppermint
2 drops Lavender 

3 drops Frankincense
3 drops Hyssop
6 drops Eucalyptus 

Tea Tree is invaluable and is safe to use on even the most delicate parts of the body. Rosemary, like Frankincense, is particularly useful in cleaning the air in a sick room.

I recently went through a severe bout of bronchitis. I found the following blend to be the best for me in addition to my prescribed antibiotics.

5 drops     Chamomile

5 drops     Eucalyptus

5 drops     Lavender

5 drops     Rosemary

5 drops     Tea Tree

8 drops     Peppermint

Suggested methods of use are to add any one of these blends to a simmer pot, humidifier, lamp ring or diffuser and let the scent permeate the room. A few drops can be added directly to a warm bath. If you already have a respiratory illness, add a few drops of a blend to 1 ounce of base oil, like FCO, and massage into chest, back, arms and abdomen.

The best thing you can do is find which blend or blends work best for you and use them. Once you see how they make you feel, you can learn how to experiment with your oils and create blends more uniquely suited for your own tastes. Here at Rocky Mountain Oils we provide a wide range of top quality, 100% therapeutic grade ESSENTIAL OILS which will give your body the best defense possible in preparation for winter illnesses.

(This information is provided for informational purposes only. It is not approved by the FDA nor is it provided in order to diagnose, prescribe or treat any disease, illness or injured condition of the body. Rocky Mountain Oils assumes no responsibility for such use. Anyone suffering from any disease, illness or injury should consult with a physician or health care provider.)

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