Essential oil uses in the flu season

With recent events, there has been an uproar on how to be healthy, get healthy or stay healthy. I am not here to make any claims on what will do this but I will give you some ideas on what you can do to maybe prevent a flu or make it easier once you have it. I will talk about which essential oils are beneficial in this period of time and in what ways you can use them.

Essential oils for flu season
Now I will split this up into a few categories. Oils that are known to be antiviral, oils that relieve the respiratory system, oils that support the immune system. These informations are taken from the books Der neue Duftführer by Fred and Inge Wollner and The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils by Julia Lawless. I will sum up the lists to focus on the oils that some people might already have or are at least widely available. Before buying an essential oil though, make sure to read my post on them here.

Antiviral essential oils
- Bergamot
- Bergamot mint
- Cajeput
- Eucalyptus (globulus, citriodora and radiata)
- Lavender
- Lemongrass
- Marjory
- Niaouli
- Oregano
- Palmarosa
- Ravintsa
- Rosmary
- Sage
- Tea Tree
- Thyme
- Cinnamon
- Lemon

Oils that relieve the respiratory system, coughs, sore throat, etc
- Cajeput
- Cedarwood
- Eucalyptus globulus
- Ginger
- Marjory
- Myrrh
- Niaouli
- Pine
- Rose
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Spruce
- Tea Tree

Oils that help with colds and flu
- Bergamot
- Cajeput
- Camphor
- Cinnamon leaf
- Citronella
- Clove
- Eucalyptus globulus
- Fir
- Frankincense
- Ginger
- Grapefruit
- Immortelle
- Juniper
- Lemon
- Lime
- Marjory
- Mint
- Niaouli
- Orange
- Pine
- Rosemary
- Tea Tree
- Thyme

Oils that support the immune system
- Basil
- bergamot
- Bergamot mint
- Bitter orange
- Fir
- Fir needles
- Grapefruit
- Ginger
- Spruce
- Lavandin
- Lavender
- Lemongrass
- Lime
- Mandarin
- Manuka
- Niaouli
- Orange
- Oregano
- Palmarosa
- Patchouli
- Peppermint
- Ravintsara
- Rose
- Rose geranium
- Sandalwood
- Tea Tree
- Thyme
- Frankincense
- Ylang Ylang
- Lemon

How to use essential oils in the flu season
There are different ways you can use these oils that I just listed. All of them can be diffused. You can come up with your own blend if you like, or you can use the oils alone, ravintsara is a good one for that. Put 5 to 10 drops of essential oil into your diffuser and let it run all day long. The evaporated water will also help keep your throat a bit more humidified.
You can use essential oils for inhalation. Bring a kettle of water to a boil, prepare a bowl and a towel (or if you have an inhalator, use that). Pour about half a litre to a litre of water into your container, be it a bowl or the inhalator, and add 1 to 3 drops of essential oil of your choice. Inhale for 10 minutes and repeat 2 to 3 times during the day. ( If you don‘t really know how steam inhalation works, you can look it up on Google.)
You can also create your own chest rub. This can be as simple as mixing a few drops of essential oil into a carrier oil (make sure to follow usage rates!!). Or you can create a cream by mixing butters, waxes and oils with essential oil. If you are interested in a recipe, please let me know and I will share one or more with you.
You can create a sauna blend. 4 to 8 drops of essential oil can be used for one laddle of water.
You can take a bath with essential oils too. The effect will be similar to inhalation and it will also calm you down and refresh you. As essential oils and water don‘t mix you should always add an emulsifier. Salt or milk/cream are best for this. For salt mix 4 tablespoons with 10 to 15 drops of essential oil, for milk use 1 cup of milk with 10 to 15 drops essential oil and for cream use 1 to 2 tablespoons of cream with 10 to 15 drops of essential oil.

Other tips on how to protect yourself and others from the flu
- Wash your hands with soap, for at least 30 seconds and following the recommended scrubbing methods. Soap naturally kills viruses and is therefore the best way to keep them at bay. Wash your hands often.
- Sanitize your phone daily. That thing is a real taxi for viruses, bacteria and co. You should make this a routine anyway as a dirty phone can be the cause of skin issues also.
- Sneeze or cough into your elbow, might be weird at first, but believe me, you get used to it quickly. I did anyway, as it‘s part of my job to not sneeze at people while using my hands on them ;)
- Don‘t touch your face with your hands if they haven‘t been thoroughly washed before, especially if you‘ve been out and about. Would you rub your face on that pole you held in the bus? No, right? Then why touch your face with the unwashed hands that held it ;)
- If you are sick, stay at home. If someone you know is sick, leave them alone or at least stay a few meters away from them. I know this sounds harsh but contact is the best way to attract any disease so you should minimize it. This also includes shaking hands, ditch that.
- As always, drink enough and eat a healthy balanced diet. A healthy body will be much better at protecting you from disease than an already weakened one. The same goes for excessive stress, it weakens the body and makes it prone to catching a flu. Relax honey!

So that‘s it my friends. Stay safe and healthy! Until very soon,

Your Soul Traveler Inès