Seasonal allergies: complimentary care
“It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician.” ~Meryl Streep
Aromatherapy
Essential oils are the extracted aromatic essence of common and rare plants, namely trees, fruits, flowers, and herbs. More than 150 essential oils are known to have been extracted, each with its own unique scent and healing property.
Essential oils act...
“It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician.” ~Meryl Streep
Aromatherapy
Essential oils are the extracted aromatic essence of common and rare plants, namely trees, fruits, flowers, and herbs. More than 150 essential oils are known to have been extracted, each with its own unique scent and healing property.
Essential oils act within the body pharmacologically (like drugs but safer), physiologically (benefit, stimulate, or adapt to specific systems), and psychologically (triggering a brain response).
Although essential oils are generally considered safe for home treatment, you should consult a qualified health practitioner if you are pregnant, use homeopathic remedies, have a chronic illness like high blood pressure or a serious health problem like epilepsy, are undergoing psychiatric treatment, or plan to use with babies or young children.
The aromatherapy benefits of essential oils are easy to obtain at home in a variety of ways. Oils can be added to baths, massage oils, steam inhalation, body and skin care products, mouthwashes, and compresses. Sometimes essential oils are enjoyed simply for their fragrance.
Essential oils that are helpful with hay fever include:
Cypress is an antispasmodic that is often used as a throat gargle. Several drops added to a vaporizer relaxes tense muscles and prevents coughing spasms.
Eucalyptus’ reputation as a powerful antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and decongestant, accounts for its use in the treatment of colds, coughs, sinusitis and infections. It has a calming effect and ability to open aid breathing.
Lavender, well known for its calming and relaxing properties, can be massaged into the chest to reduce spasms. Some hay fever or asthma sufferers may be allergic to lavender.
Peppermint’s uplifting and invigorating characteristics open up passages that ease breathing.
Roman Chamomile is calming and soothing to the nervous system, helps prevent spasms, and induces sleep. A few drops in a vaporizer or sprinkled on a light bulb is even gentle enough for children. Should not be used in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Tip: Drinking a glass of lemon water (juice of ½ a lemon or a few drops of lemon oil in a glass of warm water) first thing in the morning can regulate blood pressure, reduce phlegm, relieve indigestion, purify the blood and flush toxins from the body. Drink up!
Homeopathy
Contrary to allopathic medicine, homeopathy is based on the philosophy that minute doses of a substance that produces symptoms similar to the illness, triggers the body’s immune defenses. This is poplary known as the principle of “like cures like”. Although Samuel Hahnemann, an 18th century German physician, is credited with developing homeopathy as we know it today, it was Hippocrates (“the father of medicine”) who initially understood the philosophy.
Homeopathy follows a methodology that considers the individual’s (a) specific symptoms, (b) reaction to sickness, and (c) ability to heal for determining diagnosis and treatment.
An unusual aspect of homeopathy is that many of the substances used in remedies would be harmful if taken in their basic form. Remedies are diluted, however, and developed from plant, animal, and mineral origins and include snake venom, homey bees, coffee, and copper.
Although many doctors remain skeptical about its effectiveness, the value of homeopathy is proven by its worldwide popularity as a safe and effective treatment for many problems.
Euphrasia, the homeopathic version of eyebright, has been used since 1305 as a treatment for sore, watery, irritated eyes associated with hay fever sufferers.
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine based on the philosophy that each person is uniquely individual, and that illness impacts the body and mind collectively. As the traditional medicine of Indian for more than 5000 years, Ayurveda is the oldest recorded medicine known to mankind.
Ayurvedic healing may incorporate the use of herbs, nutrition, cleansing, acupressure massage, breathing, yoga, Sanskrit and astrology. According to ayurvedic practitioner, Rose Parsad, “In Ayurveda, we usually start looking to why the allergy has occurred rather than at the symptom by itself!”
Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine
If you would like to go deeper than treating the symptoms, acupuncture or Oriental Medicine (OM) may be a great place to start.
Acupuncture looks at the flow of energy or “qi” through the body’s pathways. From this view, blockages in the body’s energy stream result in disease. Tiny needles are placed along the pathways to balance qi.
Oriental Medicine is concerned with the internal and external causes of disease rather than the symptoms. An emphasis is placed on rebalancing qi using any number of treatments including the use of herbs, moxibustion, breathing, cupping and nutrition.
Neti Pot
The neti pot, the cousin of the old-time nasal syringe, is a form of nasal irrigation that has gained tremendous popularity over the past few yours. Neti pots are fabulous for clearing and soothing clogged and irritated nasal passages.
Rather than trying to explain how to use a neti pot, here's a video ...
7 practical uses for peppermint essential oil
Peppermint grows with ease and abundance in many regions. One can often find a wide variety growing in backyards, neighborhood and community gardens, sold at farmers markets and natural food stores. To tell if a live plant is fresh, gently rub a mint leaf between your fingers to release the oils and inhale the wonderful aroma. Ahhh.
A favorite of many for centuries, peppermint is one of the most useful essential oils. Its variety of therapeutic uses has found application in many commercial products. The oil blends well with other oils such as lavender, frankincense, lemon, sandalwood, orange and ylang ylang.
Although generally regarded as safe (GRAS), peppermint can cause skin irritation. Therefore, pregnant and lactating women and young children should always seek the counsel of a health care or holistic health practitioner before using.
Peppermint is easily incorporated into the home and lifestyle and can even replace many common over-the-counter remedies used to …
- Soothe. Apply peppermint topically to sooth itching and reduce swelling of mosquito or spider bites, and bee stings. Along with lavender and frankincense, peppermint can help to drain the sinuses, relieve headaches, and even relieve migraine pain.
- Breathe. Peppermint instantly opens the sinuses and bronchial airways, improving breathing for allergy, hay fever, asthma and bronchitis sufferers.
- Invigorate. Peppermint’s ability to arouse mental alertness and concentration makes it useful as a quick pick-me-up to combat sleepiness, dizziness, faintness, fogginess, or general dullness.
- Calm. Just as peppermint invigorates, it also soothes and relaxes. It can reduce the symptoms of hysteria, shock, anxiousness, restlessness, insomnia and stress, especially when combined with lavender.
- Deodorize. Peppermint is a powerful freshener. It’s commonly used in the laundry, bathrooms (add to cotton balls), foot deodorizers (add to creams or oils), toothpaste, and mouthwash. One drop under or at the back of the tongue is a great breath freshener.
- Digest. Even just the fragrance of peppermint is known to stimulate the appetite, ease digestion, alleviate nausea, and relieve irritable bowel and motion sickness.
- Flavor. A few drops of peppermint essential oil can be used to flavor homemade toothpaste or mouthwash, or added to teas and salads.
Due to the powerful nature of pure, therapeutic essential oils, a little goes a LONG way. There is no need to overuse oils. That said, essential oils can be …
- Diffused into the air. There are several ways to diffuse essential oils and many commercial diffusers are available. The goal: accessing the oils’ beneficial properties.
- Applied or massaged directly into the skin. Diluting with carrier oil is recommended. Always test on a small patch of skin first to determine potential skin sensitivity.
- Ingested. Caution: only certain oils can be consumed. Find and consult with a registered aromatherapist for details.
*Peppermint should be avoided altogether if you have mint allergies.
Did you know?
Therapeutic grade oils are distilled or cold-pressed in a way that maintains the integrity of the plant’s effectiveness. Not all essential oils are created equal.
For more info on certified pure therapeutic grade (CPTG) essential oils, check out An Intro to Essential Oils.
[Full Disclosure: Aqiylah Collins is a dōTERRA Wellness Advocate]
Image: Mint Leaves by Kham Tran is used here with permissions granted under the GNU Free Documentation License
Managing Moods
“Moody.
1. Given to frequent changes of mood; temperamental.
2. Subject to periods of depression; sulky.
3. Expressive of a mood, especially a sullen or gloomy mood”
Image: Mood Mix by Aqiylah Collins. All rights reserved.
Image: Blood Brain Barriere by Ben Brahim Mohammed is used here with permissions granted under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license