Toddler cough-- vanished.

I have a good story to share tonight!  Forgive me if this is a bit long; I'm trying to tell the story of how I thought through and selected a treatment.

Quinton, my nearly-two-year-old, got up this morning with a barking little cough.  Some chest congestion is fairly common for him-- he seems to have inherited my allergies.  However, this was that unhealthy, hoarse sounding sort of baby cough that makes a mom think, "uh-oh, here we go."

Except now, of course, Mom goes, "Hmm.... what can I try here?  Which of God's amazing plants was created to help heal my little fella today?"

I have a handful of aromatherapy books, all from different authors so that I can learn from multiple perspectives and backgrounds.  Most of them caution that "more is not necessarily better" and that many oils work best in smaller amounts rather than larger ones.  This seems counterintuitive to me, and I usually use the oils in higher concentrations than they recommend.  However, I've been wanting to try obeying their instructions-- less oils means less expense, after all!  If less works as well as (or better than) more, I'd be silly not to try it.

Another principle that I find fascinating is that essential oils work BETTER together than separately... that a blend of two or more oils will make each oil more effective than it would have been when not combined with the others.  (tip:  Lavender, in particular, seems to work as a fantastic "booster" for other oils.)  Again, this works against my sense of logic.  But I wanted to use a blend for my fella to see this principle work to end his cough.

With Quinton whoofing sadly as he played, I consulted my oil spreadsheet and pulled the oils I had that had mucolytic or anti-spasmodic qualities that would fight both the congestion and the cough.  I was about to make a blend myself for him.  (Yes, I'm slowly building an oil database.  I used to design databases for a living.  Nerdy, I know.)

But then I remembered:  I already had a blend on hand.  I bought a "respiratory" blend (made of eucalyptus globulus, eucalyptus radiata, eucalytus citriodora, pine needle, spruce needle, marjoram, lavender, cypress, peppermint, and myrtle) a few weeks back.  I don't own six of those ingredients, so I'd figured the $5 investment in a small bottle would be handy this fall.  Here was my chance to try it out.  At the last minute, I added a little cedarwood, frankincense and myrrh, because I love the scents and all have qualities that would help a congested cough.

So.  Into a 5ml bottle (about 100 drops), I placed:
3 drops respiratory blend
1 drop frankincense
1 drop myrrh
1 drop cedarwood
...and filled the rest with a carrier oil (jojoba, because it doesn't go bad or need to be refrigerated).  This is a blend of about 6% EOs to 94% carrier; still about twice as strong as several of those book authors would recommend.

I looked doubtfully at this little bottle.  So little essential oil in there!  And at 3 drops a rub, there's enough to use on Quinton's little chest 33 times.  How could this work?

You know the rest of the story, of course, because why would I be writing this otherwise?
Three drops of the diluted blend, rubbed into his little chest, with a little up onto his throat just in case that might be hurting him too.

The result?  NOT ONE MORE COUGH from that moment on.  I'm serious.  I put him to bed tonight still incredulous at how effective this seems to be.  Now, he may wake up with the cough in the morning again because I didn't continue the treatment-- I've had that problem myself with various things I've tried; once is often not quite enough to do the trick.  But it sure seems to have healed him, and I won't hesitate to use it several times tomorrow to finish it off if I need to.

It still blows my mind every time I get a result like this.  What a gift!

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whole-house diffusing

It's chilly outside, and all of Harrison's (consenting) public schoolchildren are infected with the h1n1 virus this weekend via a spray vaccination they received at school this week.

Seems like a good time to stay home, make some hot tea, and to put some antiviral* essential oils into the air we're breathing this weekend.  Even something as simple as a cotton ball next to your desk (or inside your pillowcase) with a few drops of EO on it can help your body fight invaders like bacteria and viruses.

If you don't have one of those fancy cold-air diffusers like we enjoyed at Darla and Hannah's each Sunday night, try this:

Put 6 or more drops of EO on a tissue.  (Like Kleenex.)

Find your house's air intake for the heating system.  Tape it onto the grate.  If you can, block about half of the grate with furniture or something (I used old suitcases that were nearby) so that more air has to be pulled through the tissue.

Turn your heat up a degree or two to get the heater going.

Now go across your house to a grate and put your face into the warm blowing air.  Inhale.

Nice trick, huh?  It's likely not enough to disinfect every room in your house, but every little bit helps.  And hey, it smells nice.
A few antiviral EOs:
Basil

Bergamot
Black pepper
Cinnamon leaf
Clove

Eucalyptus (globulus or radiata)
Fir
Grapefruit
Laurel leaf
Lavender
Lemon
Lemongrass
Lime
Oregano
Pine
Ravensara/Ravintsara
Rock Rose/Cistus
Sandalwood
Spike Lavender
Spruce
Tea Tree
Thyme (ct. thymol or linalool)

...and of course, the Thieves-type blend so much of us love works great for this purpose as well.

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inhalers for the multitudes

Hey, everybody.  Is the oilblog a dead horse that I should stop beating now that the study is over? 

If not, let me know by sharing something for your fellow readers... if you don't remember how to post, email it to me and I'll take care of it for you!  (kimvsmithATgmailDOTcom)

Anyway, about those inhalers.  Our source has changed, as I 've found an even better deal.  I've got a bookoo of inhalers headed to me via Ebay from... Hong Kong?  Something like that.  Far away, I know.  I've not bought anything internationally on Ebay before, so we'll see how this works out.

Anyway.  I wanted to let you all know that I can't possibly use them all, and you can buy some if you'd like for $.50 each.  Click here to read our previous post about what these are good for.

That is all.  Carry on, oilfolk!

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Sinus congestion (Eucalyptus, Oregano)

Whether it's a sinus infection or a cold or other virus, try one of these:

Place about 5 drops of Eucalyptus in a coffee cup of hot water.  Cover your head with a towel, CLOSE YOUR EYES, and sniff the vapor for a few minutes.  (You can also just cup your hands around the top of the mug and sniff through an opening in them.)

Or sniff (as above) or diffuse any of the Carvacol-rich oreganos and rosemary, cineole.  This combination won't just clear your sinuses; it will also kill the bacteria, etc. up in there that could be causing the trouble.  It may take 48-72 hours for the full effect to be felt.

Why yes, I did finally come down with my kids' virus, what made you ask?  :)  (Actually left the house this morning without trying any preventative measures, knowing I was getting the crud.  By 5pm I was running a temperature, so I headed home and took Ibuprofen and made my first attempt at using oregano to fight a virus.  So far, I'm impressed, but we'll see how I feel in the morning.

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Reusing glass bottles

Most of you know that glass bottles colored to shield the contents from light are best for the storage of essential oils; it helps to preserve their vitality.  It's best to have little dropper inserts inside the bottle's top, to keep you from spillling or dumping more than you intend onto your skin or into your blend.  And you need a tight-fitting cap to keep the oils from evaporating into the air.

(I hope that you also know that the nifty little eyedroppers with the rubber squeeze tops are a bad idea.  The reason is that the essential oils will eventually soften the rubber and turn it into goo, tainting your oils in the process.  Essential oils are POTENT, I tell you.)

Those bottles, even the littlest ones, can easily cost you at least $1.00 apiece when you factor in shipping.

So how do you keep your costs down as you start making blends for friends and family and every possible emotional and physical need in your own house?  You start trying to wash your emptied ones, that's how.

I can already hear you whining, 'cause I did too.

"I TRIED," you wail.  "THEY STILL SMELL LIKE WHAT USED TO BE INSIDE THEM."  I know.  The dishwasher doesn't help, handwashing doesn't help, multiples of both even don't completely take care of the smell.

That's because EOs are so potent, and so NON water soluble.  Washing is good, but it's not going to get it all out of there.  And sometimes you just don't want to mix a delicate sleep-inducing blend in a bottle that still reeks fairly strongly of cinnamon and clove, y'know?

I looked for a solution for quite a while, and finally stumbled upon a cleaning process recommended by Al and Penny at Birch Hill Happenings:

To clean the glassware: Soak in hot soapy water, rinse, rinse, rinse and then do a final rinse with alcohol such has vodka or a denatured alcohol. Don't use rubbing alcohol as it doesn't have a high enough alcohol content (look for 180 or 190 proof).  Let air dry.  Some essential oils can be very difficult to clean from bottles and you may need to soak them for several hours or days to remove the essential oil residue. Make sure not even a hint of oil remains or alcohol for that matter as this can ruin your new blends.

Hooray for reusing those pricey little bottles!

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Carrier oils: Jojoba, Rosehip seed, Hazelnut

What's a carrier oil?  It's a non-essential oil that can be used to dilute, extend, or preserve a more volatile, precious, or potentially irritating essential oil.  Carrier oils are used to dilute essential oils for massages, to make certain oils usable on children, or to keep overly strong oils from irritating the skin.  Several of them are scentless, and they are sometimes used by the unscrupulous to dilute and cheapen essential oils.  However, having some to use yourself is a good thing!

Jojoba oil  The only oil I've used so far is jojoba, which is actually a liquid wax extracted from the jojoba bean.  I selected it because it does not go rancid or need to be refrigerated, is apparently not allergenic, and because I read somewhere that its oil was similar to the structure of sebum (the oil in our skin), and so it made a good moisturizer. Using jojoba in a blend with other oils that tend to go rancid will extend their life, which is why you'll often see it sold in 10:1 dilutions with the most precious essential oils (like rose, helichrysum, and melissa).  Because of all these qualities, it is probably the most commonly used carrier oil.

Rosehip seed oil is a pricier carrier oil that comes from South America and apparently has some amazing skin-regenerative qualities.  It's uniquely good for wrinkle reduction, spot reduction, and healing of other kinds of skin damage. It's red in color, needs to be kept refrigerated, and will begin to go bad after about a year.  Its healing effects will be evident even if you dilute it to 10% in a solution, with 90% other (cheaper!) carrier oils.  Anandaapothecary has a well-written article if you want to learn more. 

Hazelnut oil is actually a bit astringent and therefore good for oily skins who still want to use essential oil blends.  It is well-tolerated by other skin types as well, though, and keeps the skin from feeling oily after application of oil blends that contain it.  It tones and tightens the skin, aids capillaries, and encourages cell regeneration.  I'm finding different opinions on how long it will keep, but it sounds like the refrigerator will extend its shelf life.

As you probably know, seeking out cold-pressed and organic oils will assure you the most natural and untainted product.

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teeny tiny little magic bottles...

Most of you are probably finding that you have suddenly developed a need for tiny bottles to hold your blends, dilution, and concoctions-- and for sharing oils with friends and family as they start asking questions about this weird new hobby of yours.

I'm almost out of my handful of 5ml bottles that I first ordered.  These littlest bottles seem to be the ones that I use the most.  Most EO dealers use amber glass bottles, which have been the traditional color in aromatherapy (and in medicine in general) for ages.

However, one EO source uses something I've not seen before-- a dark blue, indigo-colored (almost black) glass that apparently blocks the wavelengths of light that are harmful to essential oils (and other "living" substances) while permitting the beneficial ones to enter.

I'm no expert on this, but I think it's fascinating.  Here's the link he gives on why he uses this particular source of glass-- there is only one company worldwide producing this stuff.

And here's another page from a natural living website about the glass, with some pretty wild pictures and information about its ability to preserve fresh foods.  This is what made my jaw drop a bit...

I'm looking into what it would cost to buy these rather than the typical 5ml bottles.  Right now it looks like I'd have to buy them by the case of 224 to get some.  That's a bit more than I need!

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