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Essential oils and your health

Essential Oils have a myriad of uses. One can use them for cleaning the kitchen, to brighten up stale air in the house to using them through physical application or inhalation to enhance ones physical, mental and/or spiritual well being.

Essential oils are the natural physical essence of a plant obtained by steam distillation and expression (squeezing). Surprisingly enough, often times, the essential oil will not smell like the plant it was obtained from. However, the more you smell them the more you can appreciate the depth of the fragrance. Also the more one knows about essential oils and how they work, the more they can be used to the benefit of your and your family's health.

For the common cold, pour one or two drops of eucalyptus into steaming pot of water and breath in. It can help relieve blocked sinus'. Ravensara which is a camphor type oil also works well. Add a bit of rosemary e.o. to the boiling water to help battle sinus infections.

For a chest cold, make a simple cream and add lemon eucalyptus, roman chamomile and lavender. This makes a lovely chest rub that is safe for children and also works well on adults.

If you are suffering from sore muscles or arthritis, you can take a tablespoon of light olive oil and add some black pepper e.o. This is a deep heating oil that can be used in the tub or straight on to the sore or achy areas.

Headaches are another common complaint, try putting lavender e.o. in an oil burner and breathing deep. If you don't like the smell of lavender, try using lemon instead. You can also use lavender on minor burns to help take the sting out and to begin the healing process.

Skin complaints are another thing that essential oils can help with. Instead of putting over the counter steroid creams on minor eczema, use roman chamomile and lavender mixed in a cream such as Cetaphil, or better yet, make your own cream. You can find many recipes on the internet, but the simplest is to take an ounce of bee's wax and a cup of light olive oil. Warm them until the wax has melted, add your oils and then let harden. You can make the cream "lighter" by adding more olive oil to the mixture as the bees wax melts.

Essential oils can be a wonderful addition to the medicine cabinet and yet they can be misused. Contrary to the many stories that abound, essential oils should never be used "neat" or straight on the skin without a carrier such as creams, soaps, or oils such as olive oil or fractionated coconut oil, to name two of the many that are out there. Thanks to a few unscrupulous people whose only goal is to sell as much essential oils as possible there is a lot of incorrect information bouncing around from person to person to books. One popular myth is that Lavender and Tea Tree eos can be used "neat" or straight on your skin. This is untrue.

In fact "Less is best" when it comes to using EOs. Essential oils are very powerful and when applied straight on the skin, they can burn, cause a rash and trigger allergies. In fact, as these myths are repeated and passed around, more people find they have become allergic to many essential oils and can no longer use them.

Used with care, Essential Oils and Aromatherapy are a wonderfully fragrant way to help you and your family with minor illnesses such as colds, minor depression, rashes, eczema, muscle aches and more. It can bring a lift to the stagnant air in your house and a can even trigger a pleasant memory and be a wonderful smelling addition to your life.

However, if you find that you are not getting any relief from using essential oils or if things get worse, go see your doctor. Essential oils and aromatherapy is a complimentary therapy and not a replacement for your doctor.

Learn more about this author, Kate McGee.
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