Natural Remedies for the Cold and Flu

You're trucking along in your work out schedule, hitting the gym regularly, extra rest at night... and then one of the kids comes down sick. You're in the clear - so far! - and want to stay that way. What can a body try using to keep the fuzzy head, queazy stomach, fevers, etc away even while taking care of the sick kid(s)? And what might help the children recover a little faster? 

Well, in our house, we use natural means over chemicals whenever we can. Late in 2012, we discovered Young Living Essential Oils to help us overhaul our medicine cabinet. My "Crunchy Skeptic" husband was not so sure of their use or that they would really work at first. So we kept the cold medicines, "sniff-sprays", cough drops, Theraflu, Vapo-Rub, and so on in our cabinet for the first couple of months.

Then one day in late January, the Crunchy Skeptic woke up with a sore throat, headache and a desire for nothing but Cloraseptic (Bless his heart.) Well, since he was stuck in bed, I'm afraid I took advantage of his misery and brought him a cup of tea with one drop of Young Living Thieves oil blend in it. The flavor was okay because Thieves is primarily clove oil. About 15 minutes later, he had finished his cup of tea, and I asked him how he felt. 

"A little better... I'll have another cup of tea, though, if you don't mind?"

By evening the fog was gone and he was feeling well enough to be up and around a bit; by the following morning all of the crud was gone and he was okay to go to church. The Cloraseptic disappeared the next day, too. 

There are many OTC meds that can be replaced with eleven Essential Oils

Thieves became my not-so-secret, first-line-of-defense weapon for immune system support. 

As time went on, we continued with the Thieves for overall immune system support, and began to add in other oils for specific cold-related issues. Upon opening our medicine box now, you will find:

• Peppermint oil - helps with fevers, body aches, headaches, muscle pain, sore throats, congestion, post-nasal drip, nausea, allergy symptoms as well… Peppermint is one of my favorite oils (can you tell??)
• RC - when put on the chest or back, RC can help open up the airways and make breathing easier when congested
• Di-Gize - put on the bottom of the feet, or rubbed on the stomach, Di-Gize helps with gas, digestive pain or issues, and nausea 
• Rosemary - Put over the cheekbones (carefully - avoid the eyes!) Rosemary can help open up clogged sinus cavities and break up mucous.
• ImmuPower - another one that helps boost the immune system and Curb the Cold a little faster
• Lemon - Put a drop or two of lemon in water to help cleanse the liver and kidneys and to help drink more water at a time when you are more likely to become dehydrated
• Cinnamon or Clove Oil - Clove is one of the top ingredients in the Thieves blend, but these two oils have been shown in studies (link below) to be extremely effective in killing various strains of bacteria that have shown resistance to antibiotics. I keep them around partly because I like the taste of Cinnamon in my water, partly because they are good for booting out the Yuck. 

The end result is that over the course of a year, with seven - and then eight (as the baby was born in late December) people in the house, we can count on one hand the number of times someone came down with an illness that lasted more than a day. 

Want more information? Feel free to drop me an e-mail, or head over to my Young Living page or Follow me on FaceBook page E-Scents of Peace.

Want to read some of the science? 

Click here to link to a study that was done on 13 Essential Oils and tested them against 65 bacteria that have varying sensitivity to antibiotics. The final verdict? 

"Conclusions: Cinnamomum verum bark had the highest antimicrobial activity, particularly against resistant strains."

This paper is specific to Young Living oils - including Thieves, and the individual oils that make up Thieves - and how those oils affect Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis (commonly called a "Staph infection" and found on the skin), Streptococcus pneumonia (commonly seen with pneumonia). Final verdict in this paper?

"CONCLUSION:

These oils show antibacterial properties and further research should be considered to explore them as viable alternatives to topical antibiotics for common infections such as bacterial dermatitis, folliculitis, and impetigo." 

Disclaimer: For my time and money, we only use Young Living Essential Oils, because that is where my research has led me, so please do not take my words here and apply them to any other company. And I don't have fancy certificates on my wall or letters after my name, so this post is just based on what has worked for me and my family or friends. (In other words: I'm not a doctor and cannot make diagnoses or advise treatment to cure ailments or issues you may be experiencing.)