Spring Springing

Homeopathic allergy oil

Well, here's a little deja vu for you. We are in February and it's been so warm I got a sunburn standing in front of Walmart at my daughter's Girl Scout cookie booth and flowers are popping up all over. The sunburn was probably a result of the Slique Essence oil and Grapefruit essential oil I've been taking before meals. I've been losing weight and gaining energy like crazy, but I forgot citrus oils make you sensitive to sun. So, if you're on the Young Living weight loss trio or the Slique program don't forget to wear your sunscreen or cover up, even in February. Luckily, my anti-itch soothing salve knocked that sunburn right out. The recipe for that is here.

Flowers are blooming in our yard.

True to our usual pattern, even though the daffodils and crocuses are blooming and my blueberry bushes are covered in buds, we have an Arctic blast coming tomorrow with temperatures in the 20s forecast. So, I'm going to have to really fight to save the berry harvest. Last year this happened when our apples were blooming and even though I bagged the blooms and covered them with blankets we lost every apple. I am really beginning to wonder why I even bother with the garden! After the cold sweeps through I'm sure we will be right back to warm days, and that's when hay fever begins. Most of you longtime readers know, I am severely allergic to all kinds of things, everything they've ever tested in fact, and I have allergies year 'round. They do get worse in Spring and Fall, though. The only time I'm ever really free of them is when I'm right on the beach, where I am not lucky enough to live or even visit frequently. Last year, through a Herculean effort of changing my diet and lifestyle I managed to get off daily allergy medicine in favor of homeopathic pills I only take occasionally. I do still have some issues, though, including a persistent cough, so I turned to the ladies in my online oils group and Pinterest to see if there's something I can add to my treatment. I found a roll-on and started on it today. I will let you know how it goes.

And incidentally, don't forget, these posts are not meant to replace medical treatment and are not evaluated by the FDA. Recently the FDA sent letters to essential oils makers, including Young Living, as well as farmers' groups such as walnut growers warning them not to make health claims since the FDA hasn't checked those. It's so good to know the FDA allows cigarettes to be sold but wants to regulate WALNUTS. So anyway, use your brain, and if something is serious go to the doctor. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Recently I read a comment stating since Young Living oils are so pure someone allergic to lemons could use the lemon oil. Umm...NO! If anything, the essential oil is so concentrated it would probably cause a much worse reaction. So remember, any idiot can post stuff on Facebook and blogs (even me!). Educate yourself with books and articles written by real doctors and scientists. If you can find a holistic health practitioner or complementary physician they can help you work natural preventions and cures into your health care regimen.

Homeopathic Hay Fever Roll-On

20 drops each Young Living Copaiba, Lavender, Peppermint, and Lemon essential oils

15 ml Grapeseed Oil

Add essential oils to a 15 ml bottle, top off with grapeseed oil, and place a roller ball fitment on the bottle. Shake to blend. Apply daily to the back of the neck, under the nose, to the soles of the feet, and on any rashes (don't apply to open sores).

The lavender, peppermint, and lemon are referred to as the "allergy trio" in essential oils circles. I think they might as well be called the "everything trio" because it seems like they're in everything from cleaning recipes to cosmetic preparations. Copaiba is believed to be a powerful anti-inflammatory agent and also contains compounds that make things on the surface of your skin sink deeper into your pores, so it enhances the efficacy of other oils.

The reason oil people are always advising you to put stuff on the soles of your feet is due to a belief in the practice of Reflexology, where each area of your foot is supposed to correspond to a part of your body or organ. I'm not sure whether I believe in that or not. I think it's good to put stuff on the soles of your feet before bed because that's the least likely place it will get rubbed off and can sit and soak in over several hours. But, I always keep in mind Eastern medicine is thousands of years older than Western medicine and is practiced by many millions more people to this day. We got some amazing herbal preparation in China that quickly healed our daughter's chest infection which Western antibiotics hadn't touched.

This oil makes your skin cold and numb, due to the menthol in the peppermint oil, so it's great for itchy rashes from allergies. I swear, we go through peppermint oil like water around here! I use it for everything. I need to get someone to make me a still so I can distill my own! Even with my Young Living wholesale discount we are spending a ridiculous amount on peppermint oil.

I will tell you what, this has been some day! I wish Young Living made wine. My daughter got off the school bus with a red swollen eye and I was really worried we'd sent her to school with pink eye. My son has gotten in trouble two days in a row at school, so I sent him to bed when they arrived. I called the doctor and was told at 3:30 to be in the office by 3:45. Naturally my son had just fallen asleep, so I had to roust him out of bed and floor it to the doctor's office with him still in his pajamas. It's a good thing I did; my daughter has a corneal abrasion, not pink eye. So then we sat around at the pharmacy waiting for her prescription. We hope a trip to the opthamologist won't be necessary but have to watch her until Friday to see. I'm going to be glad when this week is over!

Hay Fever roll-on