Essential Oil Strategy to Fight Colds and Flu

We are constantly breathing or swallowing pollutants which are a constant threat to the cells of our body. It's an ongoing battle just to maintain a good state of health. When an infection arrives at your "door," you want to be prepared with the appropriate weapons and munitions, along with the correct strategy and tactics to beat it before it takes over. For example when a flu virus enters the respiratory system, it multiplies very rapidly, so your response must exceed the momentum of the attack. The body's natural response is to call up the army of defenders. Essential oils provide ammunition to the defenders in the form of millions of aromatic molecules. The quantity of concentrated essential oils used has a direct affect on the body's ability to fight back, so it must correspond to the intensity of the situation.

The first defensive attack must be decisively furious, and pressure against the enemy must be maintained until improvement is accomplished. Those with sensitive skin may need to apply the oils in different locations and cycle around the application areas as needed. The soles of the feet offer the least risk of irritation and can typically withstand repeated application.

The Strategy - for adults (adjust as seems appropriate for a child)
1. Choose a good respiratory blend such as Respiratory Relief or Dr. Hull's Breathe Rite.
Respiratory Relief
Dr. Hull's Breathe Rite

2. Warm the bottoms of feet before applying the essential oil. Apply one drop at a time, up to ten drops, on the bottoms of each foot every twenty minutes for the first hour (3 times in the first hour). This doesn't need to be a massage; just work the oil into the pad area of the feet. The goal is to get good penetration, therefore we apply a drop or two at a time, rub in and then apply more.

3. Drink plenty of water, or better yet, a tea noted to help with respiratory
issues. As the virus dies, you need to flush the *bad guys* out quickly, or the die-off will cause it's own unpleasant symptoms.
Aromatic Honey (Dr. Daniel Penoel's recipe)
2 drops respiratory essential oil/blend
3 TB local raw honey
Use 1 tsp of this mixture in each cup of herbal tea

4. During the next two hours, apply the respiratory blend every half hour. As you begin to feel better, adjust your strategy. The application of the essential oil becomes less frequent.

Before going to bed:
Put five drops of the respiratory blend on two cotton pads (five drops on each pad), and use a "cling film" (such as Coban self-adherent wrap) to hold the pad on the bottoms of both feet between the pads of the foot. Put on socks to hold this in place and to keep the feet warm for better penetration of the essential oils.

If possible, diffuse your respiratory or infection fighting blend. Otherwise or additionally, add a few drops either to the skin on chest/back. If your skin is sensitive, be sure to dilute it.
[for information about diffusers, click here]

Treatment should be kept up until the symptoms diminish. As the symptoms diminish, so will the treatment frequency. Dr. Peneol writes: "By using repeated aromatic penetration, the chances of a quick and total healing and cleaning of the body are maximized. This will lead, once the battle is won, to a feeling of purification and a strength much different from the feeble state in which the body is left by conventional treatments."

Maintenace Routine
For maintenance of health when susceptible, Dr. Peneol suggests a morning / evening routine using this "Morning Invigoration" essential oil blend we call Invigorate:
Cajeput, Tea Tree, Rosemary and Black Spruce

For your morning invigoration after a warm shower, damp dry, and then place about 5 drops into the palm and spread them quickly onto the chest and extremities. If you have skin sensitivities, then this can instead be applied to the arches of the feet. Inhale deeply several times from the palms of your hands.

Evening Peace
After the evening shower, massage a diluted, soothing blend of essential oils behind the ears, over the back of the neck and shoulders. It may also be beneficial to apply over the solar plexus and the abdomen. Inhale deeply from the palms of your hands. We have several of our popular soothing blends formulated into moisturizing sprays. Some favorites are:
Balance
Evening Peace
Flower Garden
Heaven's Scent
Peaceful
Sleepy Time

During a battle, we also consider our diets and eliminate sugars, which, besides the obvious sugars such as fruit, maple syrup and honey (except in a cup or two of herbal tea), includes, grains, potatoes, carrots, cured or processed meats, dairy (yogurt, butter and kefir are okay) and so on. Infection feeds on sugars, so we starve the *bad guys* by avoiding sugar. During this brief, intense battle, we eat vegetables, yogurt, kefir, grass-fed beef and free-range chicken. Bone broth soup with veggies is an excellent choice. If we need a sweetener, we use Stevia. We try to get plenty of rest and be consistent with our use of essential oils.

May the Lord use His wonderful oils to bring you health and healing,
Linda