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Fighting the Flu with Essential Oils

© Marie A. Miczak

At one time, it seemed like no big deal to have a cold or the case of the sniffles. Of course this wasn’t the case prior to the turn of the century. Such conditions could turn deadly, especially in the young. Just as then the fear of becoming deathly ill looms in the minds of many today. This is due to a number of serious, communicable conditions that have cropped up in recent years. Many of which have symptoms mimicking a simple cold (aches and pains, chills, fever, respatury problems etc.). Some of the most deadly include SARS and various strains of the flu which may not be available in vaccine form.

The most at risk are those with compromised immune symptoms, the very young and the very old. When one is brought to the hospital and diagnosed with an infectious condition such as the flu for example, you will see paper masks handed out to the patient and many times these masks are also worn by the physicians. How can we forget the news coverage of people in Asia and Canada wearing these same masks at airports and others areas effected by the SARS outbreak? In reality who knows if these masks did anything to protect one. Any orifice can be susceptible to infectious condition contamination including the tear ducts of the eyes and ear canals which are not covered by masks. In renaissance times people would try to protect themselves from the plague by wearing a beak like mask filled with herbs and perfumes. Those who worked constantly in the perfume industry were found not to have the death rates as normal citizens. It likely would make paper masks much more useful to infuse them with an essential oil that can purify the air with each breath. This can include lavender, cinnamon and tea tree oil.

Something simple as washing your hands and keeping them completely away from your face is another key way of staving off disease. In the olden days people would sent their gloves and wore these gloves quite frequently. Now gloves are worn mostly if it is cold outside. They still can be infused with essential oils as well to act as more of a protection. When applying hand lotion, why not add a few drops of essential oil for added benefit of disinfection. The same can be done to anti-bacterial soaps. Some claim that the use of essential oils in general, on a regular bases raises a persons immune system.

The most beneficial advice given by health experts has been to avoid crowds, shun being

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