Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for a good smell, and all for using essential oils to enhance moods, help with emotional constraints, and being able make a room smell delish without using chemicals. They do an excellent job at this. However, what really makes my heart kick up its heels is using essential oils as herbal medicine for real-time physical needs.
Now, by calling them “medicines”, I’m NOT intimating that they are to be used in place of conventional drugs/doctors, nor am I saying that essential oils will ‘cure’ anything. It’s well known that essential oils are rarely stand alone medicines. They are assists to be used in conjunction with stronger and more powerful avenues for healing. But! that doesn’t mean they don’t pack a BIG health punch, and I use them with the mindset that they do indeed prosper and speed healing and can make a significant dent in one’s germ map and/or bodily ailments.
Having this happen is most easily accomplished by heading off an illness before it starts. That’s THE best way to use essential oils medicinally. We all know the feeling of when a cold is beginning. That foggy area where you feel a tiny scratch in your throat. Or a nagging, little cough now and then keeps after you—not too bad, but there and so you start wondering if you’re coming down with something. Or how about a big round of sneezing; like 6 or 7 “a-choo’s” in a row? Start strategically using oils at those first signs, and they will very often keep it from becoming full blown.
We all need to learn to better tune into our bodies and the signals they’re giving. I know I am as guilty as the next person of seeing/feeling the signs, even having a thought or two of ‘maybe I’m getting sick,’ and then we get busy, and we don’t pay attention. We shrug off the early warning signs and hope that it passes. And sometimes it does, but if we would seek to train ourselves right there, and to stop and take action right then, and start preventative measures with oils in that moment, we could save ourselves a lot of sickness, pain and hassle. (And yes, I’m talking to myself too. Lol).
Another good time to train yourself to use oils is when you know you’ve been exposed. Like someone with a cough at the office is in your space. Or the dog mom at the park with the sniffles sits next to you. Or your toddler has a waterfall of mucous dripping out of his nose. During lockdown we used essential oils on our mask, and in conjugation with diffuser jewelry (necklaces and earrings) as a force field of sorts to ward off the germies before they penetrated our airway perimeter. Was it 100% effective? No. But, for us, it was definite that we got sick much less than those around us and were quicker getting over it.
We still use essential oils as preventatives when we’re out in public places like going to the store or to the Market or church. Of course, we don’t use masks anymore, but we do still use diffuser jewelry, drops on the neckline of our shirts, or most often a swipe from a rollie behind the ears and over the throat and/or lungs. It REALLY does help.
Our go-to’s for colds and such would be our Grave Robber’s Blend (think: thieves’ oil), and Coughs and Colds Rollie. We also use Oregano and/or Thyme Oil alot.
What other physical needs have we used essential oils with? The list is numerous! (and the reason we have created a lot of the blends that we sell).
-fevers (peppermint rollie on the back of the neck. This also helps with hot flashes. ;),
-aches and pains (frankincense and copaiba)
-muscle tension (lemon grass and black pepper)
-cramps & hormone troubles (Happy Hormone Boost Rollie)
-toothache (try Grave Robbers rollie over the area of your face where the tooth is hurting)
-headaches (headache rollie)
-even things like too much appetite (grapefruit oil) or not enough (cypress)
-nasal congestion (lavender and eucalyptus)
-hair loss, hormonal (frankincense, tea tree, rosemary in shampoo)
and many more.
Again, same is still true in each of these physical maladies: EO’s are always best used BEFORE the problem gets too far along. For example, at the first twinge of your back going out– that’s the time to start a regimen of oils to help. If used properly, essential oils can be powerful little treasure troves of healing—not just emotionally, but for physical ailments as well.
Mary Beth Wine, CCAT, NHC
The purpose of Jordan’s Crossing Herbal Connections is to promote the sharing of information about healthy, natural products and dietary supplements. JCHC’s views and opinions are INFORMATIONAL ONLY and are not intended to constitute medical advice. If you are sick, injured or pregnant, please consult a licensed health care professional.