During my organic beauty workshops, we always end up talking about how essential oils can help around the house. This includes all kinds of family and home situations. Eucalyptus is absolutely central to this and, after lavender, it is the essential oil I tell my attendees to go out and buy immediately. We always have a couple of bottles of eucalyptus on the go at home and use it regularly. Especially when it comes to Autumn and Winter and coughs and colds kick in.
So how does Eucalyptus work?
This magical oil is scientifically proven to enter the nose and chest and kill off the bacteria that cause colds and chest infections. It also reduces mucus production, both in the nose and the chest.
With coughs it actually helps mucus, which is attached to the lungs, to come loose. This enables you to cough it up. Coughing takes place when your lungs know something is obstructing them and they are trying to get it out. When the mucus is stuck, you will continue to cough and cough until it becomes loose. So by breathing in eucalyptus, and loosening it up, your cough becomes productive and will clear.
How to use it?
Exactly the way your granny told you. Sit down at a table with a bowl of hot water in front of you. Pour about 6 – 8 drops of eucalyptus onto the water and then put your face about 8-10cm above it. Put a towel over your head and breathe in and out gently for about 10 minutes.
Or you can put a few drops of good quality eucalyptus oil onto a tissue and sniff it.
I use it in the bath; just run a bath, mix a few drops of oil with a small cup of milk (cows or whatever type of milk you use) and add it to the bath once you are in, keep the bathroom door shut and take lots of long slow deep breaths.
Or if you are a shower person, flick drops of oil into the base of your shower, then have a really good, hot show, again, bathroom door shut, and as the hot water hits the oil, it will all evaporates upwards and go up your nose.
We make a fabulous little Colds & Flu Sniffy Stick which is perfect for carrying around at this time of year. I currently have this by me as I type, as I’m fighting off my first cold in 4 years (my own fault, I was too late taking my vitamin D supplements this year).
If you want to learn more about how to use essential oils around the home, just pop over to our workshop page and get yourself booked in – you will learn so much about how to safely and naturally deal with all kinds of common health issues.
Here’s more information on eucalyptus and why to works so well.
