Essential Oils for the Oncoming Cold

You know it when it's coming. It takes hold of all of us in different ways. Every person has their symptom-it might be a lingering headache, feelings of lethargy, or a sore throat. And when you get whatever your symptom is, you know an illness could be in your future. 

I was fortunate to have been blessed with a pretty stellar immune system. I typically get sick one to two times a year. When I do, the illness is usually pretty mild. My little ones immune systems are still developing, though. My oldest will get sick at least one time each fall. It typically comes between Thanksgiving and Christmas, or right after the first cold snap-whichever comes first. 

This year, our cold snap fell on Thanksgiving! Temperatures dropped into the low 40s, and even though we were prepared with jackets and sweaters, it seems as though this year’s sickness is coming right on schedule. Generally speaking, they get sick first, and then it gets passed to the rest of the house (even though I sanitize everything -_-). So as soon as I start feeling it, I know they are too. 

My symptom is a sore throat. This morning I woke up with one. I actually haven't had an upper respiratory infection in a while, so you could say I was due.  I also ran a 5k last night in 40-degree weather and rain, so that could be why I'm feeling lethargic. Either way, we are in full scale, DEFCON 1 sickness preparation mode. And this mama is pulling out all the... 

Wait for it... Essential oils! 

I could write a dissertation about how I got introduced to essential oils and their benefits (some day I will), but the bottom line is, they're fantastic. So here are my go to essential oils and my first line of defense against illnesses. 

Thieves. 

Thieves is a blend of essential oils exclusive to the Young Living brand, developed by four French thieves during the 15th century. While robbing the dead and dying, they coated themselves in this unique blend of oils that supported their immune and respiratory systems¹. These oils included clove, rosemary, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, and few others. 

My first line of defense against an impending cold is to diffuse this oil in the common areas of our home. This can help purify the air and also disperse the tiny particles that make up the oil into the air so they can be inhaled. 

I also put thieves on the bottom of all of our feet before bedtime and cover the kiddos feet in socks. My husband, who was totally against buying the oils in the beginning, now asks me to put thieves on him when he starts to feel sick. 

I also use Thieves household cleaner² and clean the common parts of the house that we all touch but often don’t get sanitized, including door handles, toilet handles, light switches, sink handles, refrigerator doors, cell phones, and remotes (this is what I will do later this afternoon, actually!). Sometimes I get a little crazy, but doing this makes me feel like I’m doing all I can to combat the spread of germs. 

R.C.

R.C. is another exclusive blend from Young Living that can support proper respiratory function³, and this one replaces how I used to use Vick's Vapor Rub. R.C. is a unique blend of Cypress, Spruce, and multiple genera of Eucalyptus. I (always) dilute R.C. in a 1:1 ratio with a carrier oil (coconut oil or jojoba are my two favorites) and rub it on my chest. I will also rub this on my kiddos backs if they have a cough or stuffy nose. I find that this blend really helps support my respiratory system, but doesn't come with the stickiness factor of the Vick's. In fact, after my skin absorbs the oil, it feels as if there was never anything there in the first place, and I often reapply! 

Lavender. 

Lavender is one of the most popular oils in clinical aromatherapy practice⁴. It's extremely versatile, and has been studied for years for its effectiveness. I find that it’s a terrific aid in helping me fall asleep! Sleep when you recovering from an illness is so important. While you are sleeping, the body's natural processes that fight infection are strongest⁵, so it really is vital for your recovery. Lavender provides a soothing, slightly floral aroma that has been proven to help people fall asleep⁶. Any time the babies are restless, they want to get in bed with us, and I find that when I diffuse lavender they usually go back to sleep easier. I also love to use lavender behind the kids’ ears if they start pulling on them or if my oldest complains of an ear infection (never use essential oils in the inner ear canal). I find that for viral ear infections these will soothe my babies just as well as acetaminophen, and I would much rather give them something that doesn’t have a laundry list of side effects (always see your physician to confirm the presence of a viral or bacterial infection). It's one of Young Living's most popular oils!⁷


So those are my go to oils for combating illness! Today I am diffusing Thieves in the great room and lavender in the bedrooms, cleaning with the Thieves Household Cleaner and rubbing R.C. on all of our chests and praying that we escape this one! My oldest starts swimming lessons tomorrow and in a few weeks it’ll be Christmas, so to say we are busy is an understatement.

If you are in need of some essential oils or would like to do some more research, feel free to visit the sites below.  I only use Young Living Essential Oils because of their Seed to Seal Guarantee, so it is for that reason I only recommend their brand⁸. If you are in need a sponsor to guide you, please feel free to email me or message me for my sponsor ID. I love sharing the benefits of these amazing oils with family and friends.

Hopefully everyone had a great Thanksgiving and can stay healthy through out these winter months. I will be in the kitchen cooking up some Sheppard’s Pie tonight, in an attempt to finally rid our refrigerator of leftovers!

Be well!
 -C

1. www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/essential-oils/blends/thieves-essential-oil  
2. www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/home/natural-cleaning/thieves-household-cleaner
3. www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/essential-oils/blends/rc-essential-oil  
4. www.decodedscience.org/lavender-essential-oil-chemistry-and-therapeutic-properties/21340  
5. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20398008
6. https://sleepfoundation.org/bedroom/smell.php  
7. www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/essential-oils/singles/lavender-essential-oil

8. https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/discover/seed-to-seal

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Young Living Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Mom Products I Can NOT Live Without

Hey y'all! So as a busy mom of two, I am constantly finding new ways to do things faster and easier. I am constantly trying to shave time off of meal planning, organizing, laundry, you name it. Sometimes, I feel like there isn't enough of me to go around. I know every mom says this, but I'm pretty sure both me and my husband would benefit from there being two of me! Ha!

But until then, here's a list of the products I simply can not live without!

1. Thirty-One Large Utility Tote

 If I had to bet my commission alone on our best selling product, I would place my chips in the LUT's corner. There is no reason for any mom not to own at least 5 of these things. From groceries to storage to trunk organizer to life saver, this thing does it all. Get one. That's all I can say.

2. Plum Paper Planner

I have been a planner girl ever since before I can remember. They used to pass them out to us when I was in grade school, and I think that's when my addiction started. I can not function without this thing. It has a section for everything-and what I love about PPP is that it can be customized to fit your needs. In 2015 I knew I was having a baby, so I ordered a baby tracking section in there. It's been great to have at little man's doctors appointments, I just jot down his stats and then I have them for my records to transfer into his baby book. I also added a "home" section, which has spots for projects and cleaning. There's also a section for my business, and a full 10 pages of contact information, so it's my address book all in one. I can not live without the thing, and would encourage you to try them as well!

3. Zipper Pouch

Just like the LUT, I probably have 10 Zipper Pouches stashed through out my house. There's one in my car with some random survivalist stuff in it like a box of matches and a flash light. Another one holds my range gear for my pistol. Another holds my baby's diapers and wipes. Another is for mail. You get the picture. I have a ton. Bottom line, they keep me organized, and I'm so glad they're only $15. Some of the earlier ones I have are still in perfect condition, and I'm super glad I discovered these.

4. Mason Jar with Lid & Straw

I made it a priority at the beginning of the year to drink more water and waste less plastic in 2015. Water is so, so, so good for you. Everyone knows that the body is made up of like 70% water-but it really is so vital to our organs in order for them to be able to do their jobs. Especially organs that filter, like the kidneys. It's obviously easier to drink water when you are carrying a jug of it with you. We recently went out and picked up some of these large mouth mason jars to fill a few areas in our life-for both drinking, AND canning salads. We bought the tall ones, but this picture shows the lid and the straw mechanism. With all of the talk about BPA and how many bottles of water American's consume in a year, I just decided to make the switch to glass. It's safer, easier to clean, and I can put my essential oils in it, which brings me to my final must have mama item.

5. Young Living Citrus Essential Oils

I used the term "citrus" to include any of those in the category-lemon, lime, grapefruit, citrus fresh, tangerine, and orange. Since I've been drinking a lot of water lately, I've been experimenting with adding a drop or two of these powerful EO's to my water. I can say, without a doubt, that they are having a profound affect on my body. Entering TMI zone. I refrained from ingesting YLEOs during my pregnancy, and I was subject to repeat UT and bladder infections.  These have to be treated with an antibiotic. I felt like I was on an antibiotic for my entire pregnancy-and what comes with antibiotics? Recurrent yeast infections. This made me miserable for almost the entire 9 months. Obviously under the care and direction of my midwife, when I finally popped out the little one, I asked her what my options were for treating these issues naturally. Everyone knows that using antibiotics repeatedly decreases their effectiveness. Recent studies have shown that they can also interfere and permanently damage good bacteria in the digestive tract. So I was ready to get off of antibiotics as soon as possible. I inquired about using essential oils as a way to treat them, by ingesting them internally. At first she was wary of me ingesting the oils-these things can and do enter the body in a way that a drug would, so it is of the utmost importance that anyone using them understands how they work. But after she did some research on them, she said I would be fine to put one to two drops in my water and to see what kind of affect it had on my bladder issues. During my pregnancy, I was coming back with a flora count of over 60,000, which indicated an infection of some type. After I started putting 1-2 drops of YLEO in my water, my counts were coming back less than 10,000. My midwife was astonished! She encouraged me to proceed with caution, but after I educated her on Young Living's Seed to Seal Guarantee, she felt confident in my ability to use them safely. So right next to my water jar, you will find an abundance of citrus oils. I encourage you to research essential oils before you start using them. Taking time to understand the chemistry can help you make the best decision on whether or not they are right for you! I do want to note that I do not have any experience with any other oils but Young Living, and I can not encourage you to ingest any other brand because I can not speak on their purity!

So that's it, mamas! What are your must have products right now? I've got lots of great things planned for the blog so please subscribe. As we move into fall, I plan to incorporate some giveaways. I would love to keep in touch with you!!

Be well.
-C