How Essential Oils Can Help Your Family

The mass marketing of essential oils and their increased availability to the public has made all kinds of aroma therapy products available to us including bath soaps, bath gels, shampoos, body sprays, candles, candle burners and all kinds of creams, soaps and potions. You can even get incense that is made out of pure essential oils.

Aromatherapy works best if the molecules of the essential oil are dispersed through the air or water so that they can be absorbed through the skin. The molecules can also be dispersed through the air so that they trigger nasal receptors to send healing messages to the brain. The brain then responds to the change in chemistry so that your body can feel more relaxed, joyful or calm.

You can try putting oils in a base carrier oil such as olive or almond and applying them to your pulse points or temples. You can also disperse the oils through the air using a diffuser or candle oil warmer or add a few drops of the oil to eight ounces of distilled water and mist your surroundings. However if you use a diffuser, don't dilute the oils first in any way.

You can try taking a bath in diluted essential oils just before you go to bed or you can try spraying or applying the oils to your linens and pillows. A bath is very therapeutic as the warm water helps release the scent molecules in the oil.

Various essential oils many therapeutic uses including the curing of headaches, the relieving joint pain and helping an individual experience less stress. For instance peppermint or rosemary oil can help with a headache. Joint pain is relieved by pine, cinnamon, chili and juniper oils.

Certain oils such as lavender and marjoram are known to relieve insomnia. Other types such as sandalwood and patchouli are used for massage. Applying geranium oil to the wrists is thought to reduce symptoms of PMS and menopause in women.

Various aroma therapy products can also produce different types of psychological moods. For instance orange oil can produce a feeling of joy or elation. Peppermint oil can help an individual feel more alert. Rose oil and vanilla oil may actually put you in a romantic mood. If you have a racing brain or feel a bit angry, lime oil may help you chill out.

Some oils also have antibacterial and anti-viral properties. Good examples are pine and eucalyptus oils, which help stave off the propagation of germs in your environment. That is why we see so many essential oils added to natural cleaning products nowadays!

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Strep Throat and Rheumatic Heart Disease

If your kid gets strep throat, watch out! It can cause a much more serious condition.
Rheumatic heart disease is an inflammatory condition where the valves of the heart are damaged by rheumatic fever which is itself a condition that develops two or three weeks after infection by group a Streptococcus evidenced by scarlet fever or a ‘strep throat' (strep pharyngitis).

Despite the name, the condition that causes rheumatic heart disease, (rheumatic fever) actually has nothing to do with genuine rheumatism. Instead, the name comes from the fact that there are similarities between the symptoms of the condition and rheumatism.

Rheumatic fever is generally a condition that causes inflammation that affects many of the connective tissues of the body including those of the brain, skin and joints as well as those of the heart. In many cases, the damage caused by rheumatic fever is permanent and irreversible.

In developed countries of the West, rheumatic fever and the heart damage caused by it is relatively unusual nowadays. However, in developing countries, rheumatic heart damage or disease is the leading cardiovascular cause of death.

Strep throat can also cause Myocardial ischaemia or ischaemic heart disease. This is a condition caused by reduced blood flow to your heart, a condition that is most commonly caused by arteriosclerosis of the coronary arteries (a narrowing of the artery caused by thickening of the arterial wall).

As myocardial ischaemia generally results from a thickening of the arterial walls which produces restricted blood flow to the heart, it is a condition that tends to worsen with age. This is why heart disease is so often called the 'silent killer.'
Flus, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases can also give your kid cardiomyopathy. This is a term that refers to any form of reduced effectiveness and efficiency of the myocardium, the muscle element of the heart that makes it what it is. People who have cardiomyopathy are at a significantly increased risk of heart arrhythmia, sudden cardiac failure and/or heart attacks.

It can also cause irregular heartbeats. These are called arrhythmias. This is a catchall phrase that is used to describe any heart malfunction which is caused by irregularities or defects in the electrical signals being sent to your heart.

Don't just shrug off any case of strep throat in your family. Be aware it could lead to much more serious complications.

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