How Essential Oils Help Me Get Through a Cold

With the onset of cold and flu season, personal experience warrants this post.  Following are the essential oils that helped my family get through the discomfort.

Breathe – DoTerra

Breathe is a blend of peppermint, eucalyptus, etc that opens up the chest, the sinuses and relieves tension in the muscles that tighten up during a head cold.  On adults, the Breath oil is fine applied directly on the throat, chest and neck.  For kids, its best to use the Breathe stick, which is a blend to dilute the oils.  This blend helps my daughter breathe when she is sick and tends toward asthma.  Usually, it helps us avoid using the inhaler.  It opens up the sinuses, relieves sinus pain and pressure and loosens up mucus.  It really works!  When I had my cold, my head felt like it was about to explode and my neck muscles were tight an sore.  Breathe or Peppermint applied to the neck has an incredible ability to lighten the load of my 100 lb head.  You do NOT want to apply Breathe or Peppermint to the face directly- it burns and if it gets near the eyes, you’re in trouble.  Simply apply to the throat and chest, and if you need stronger sinus clearing, you can cover your head and breathe the Breathe.  Additionally, you can put a few drops of the oil in a mug of hot water and breathe in the steam with a towel or blanket over your head.  This is an amazing chest and sinus opener, that also delivers the oil’s properties to the affected areas. 

Breathe or just Peppermint, can also be applied to the feet followed by socks to help a tight cough in a child.

Peppermint cough drops and beadlets

The cough drops are extremely soothing to the throat and chest and the beadlets are a straight drop or two of peppermint that will open up the sinuses instantly. 

Peppermint on the neck muscles can provide immediate pain and tension relief while the aroma works to clear the head pain. 

Additional useful oils

Melaleuca, also know as tea tree oil, is a superior health-supporting properties.  In cases of severe sore throat, it can be used in a gargle or rubbed on the glands of the neck to absorb through the skin and act to bolster the immune function and support killing the germs.  Melaleuca is strong, so should not be used straight on kids skin, but diluted with oil.  Adults can usually tolerate a few drops on the glands of the neck.

Oregano oil is also an amazing immune support.  It is very strong and should NOT BE used directly on the skin anywhere except the soles of the feet.  It can be ingested if put in a capsule and used as an antibiotic.  Rubbed on the soles of the feet, it can penetrate and work systemically quite effectively.  Place socks on after application. This works great on kids.

On Guard- Doterra

On Guard is a proprietary blend for immune boosting, and germ-defeating.  It can be used to prevent illness or taken during illness.  It can be ingested in capsules called On Guard Plus, applied directly to the skin, or popped in the mouth with On Guard beadlets.  It is a hot and spicy formula, so use caution with kids, both in the mouth and on the skin.  Dilution is recommended if using topically with kids. 

On Guard uses similar principles as a Chinese Medicine formula used to “shield” a person from illness that is going around.  This formula is Yu Ping Feng San.  On Guard is best used as a preventive formula. 

Essential Oils are just one of the natural remedies I use with my family to keep them healthy and heal their illness.  While EOs have incredibly strong properties and immune boosting affects, their ability to take away pain, open airways and relieve congestion are the key reasons I would never go through an illness without them! 

You can order Doterra here.    Or, if you chose to Work with KT,  we can use essential oils as an integral part of our plan together.

Essential oils can be an amazing part of any first aid kit for moms trying to heal their families naturally!

In Health,