Every Day Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy should never be your first line of defense when it comes to emergencies but having some of it on hand can be helpful for healing certain ailments.  

Here is a bit of a breakdown of what is nice to have on hand. 

Essential oils are quite effective for muscle pain. You can mix a few drops any peppermint, juniper, clove, pine or balsam oil oils in 8 ounces of a carrier oil such as grapeseed and rub it over the sore spots add them to a bath or rub them directly into the skin.  Just a word of warning though. Never use essential oils directly on the skin without the carrier oil or you could cause an allergic reaction in yourself or your children. 

Use Tea tree oil along with geranium or lavender oil to heal cold sores.  Mixed with chamomile oil, tea tree oil it can be a good remedy eczema.  Keep in mind too that you don't have to mix up this kind of thing yourself.  However you can if you want! Tea tree oil can be bought in commercial preparations or made into an oil by yourself by diluting two or three drops of the essential oil into eight ounces of a carrier oil such as aloe vera. This oil can then used to heal and disinfect small cuts, scrapes, bruises, insect bites and bee stings.

Many aromatherapy oils are extremely effective when it comes to getting rid of headaches or stuffed up noses. Lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, neroli (orange blossom) or linden blossom oil either diffused through a room with a steamer. If the kids have given you one of those tension headaches you can rub these oils on your head or neck.  Headaches that are caused y sinus problems are effectively relieved by diffusions of lemon, lavender basil, clove, eucalyptus, frankincense, juniper, pine or rosemary oils. If the headache is believed to have a hormonal cause, chamomile, jasmine, geranium, clary sage or lavender may relieve it. 

Aromatherapy can also be used to treat nausea, dizziness and nervous conditions. This is effectively done simply by rubbing a blend of peppermint and ginger oils in a circular motion on the stomach and pulse points or by anointing a handkerchief with a few drops so that you can sniff the aroma while on a road trip.  I sometimes give my kids ginger candies to quell queasiness on the road. 

Essential oils can also be used to relieve jet lag and hangovers as wells .Oils that are very effective for both are peppermint, orange, clary sage, geranium, eucalyptus, ginger and basil.  Teas created from these herbs and plants are also very effective if you overdid it the night before! You don't have to be an herbalist to get this stuff. Many herbal remedies already made from these oils are available in stores.  All you need to do is read the list of ingredients in the cream, spray or lotion carefully to see if you are getting the right thing.

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