Reese has croup!

It started yesterday at 3:30am. I awoke to a barking baby seal in my room. I knew it was Reeseand I knew the sound of croup! I immediately put RAVENSARA on her chest, back and feet. Then I went to one of my big Aromatherapy books and found the recipe for a CROUP BLEND. I am not going to give the recipe here, because it calls for very particular oils and I don't want someone to think they can substitute an oil that sounds similar. I will say that it has 2 different eucalyptus oils, one to help cool the airway and one to reduce inflammation. There are 3 other oils added to this blend. I then took 6 drops of this blend and added them to 10ml of grapeseed oil. I massaged the diluted amount on her chest, back and feet. I also added 10 drops of the original blend to my Ultra-sonic diffuser, to get the oils in the air, so that she can breath them in. I also rubbed LAVENDER diluted, on her chest, back, feet and behind her ears down to her collar bone. I have applied the oils about every four hours. I also tried to give her a little FREQUENSEA, but she only took a small sip- she still prefers mom's milk. She has been in good spirits and Ben laughed at her silly 4 year old brother. Later, almost 10:00pm, my husband and I drove her over to her grandpas house so that her dad and grandpa could give her a blessing. She had a rough night that included a few trips to the front porch to breath in the cold-night air. She is finally asleep, but it's hard for me to sleep, when I can hear how tight and labored her breathing is! With the Lords help and the help of the Essential Oils, I know she will get over this, I just might not sleep much until then!

My foster dog has heart worms!

Jasper was diagnosed with heart worms on 11-10-11

Here is what I am doing for him.

November 11 - November 17

2 drops GINGER on a piece of cheese, morning and night.

1 drop SPICE of LIFE mixed in olive oil on pads of all four feet, At night only.

1 drop RAVENSARA mixed in olive oil rubbed on chest, At night only.

November 19

1 1/2 oz GUINNESS beer - the kind in the picture- (given every 2 weeks. As a preventative give to your dog once a month 1 oz per 25lbs body weight).

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_beer_kill_heartworms

I gave it to him at night and he kept us up barking. Next time he will get the beer in the morning!

November 18-24

Break time, from EO's!

November 26-December 2

Gave Jasper Ginger EO on cheese 1-2 a day.

Stopped putting Diatomaceous Earth in food, because he was passing very dry chunks in his stool.

December 4

Gave both Jasper and our other dog Ben, the Guinness Beer. For Ben it is a Preventative.

December 3-11 (forgot to start on the 10th)

Break time from EO's!

December 12-18 (last week of EO's)

1 drop Ginger EO on a piece of cheese.

Diatomaceous Earth in food. 1/2 tsp each meal.

December 19

1 1/2 oz Guinness Beer.

December 19-25

Break from oil!

December 26

EO regiment is officially over!

January 1, 16, 30, February 13, 27.

1 1/2 oz Guinness Beer.

February 27 was the last of the every two weeks for 3 months.

April 1st
Gave Jasper his monthly maintenance 1 1/2 beer.

May 1st

Maintenance 1 1/2 oz.

May 22
Jasper went to live with his new foster family.

July 12th- I just received an update that he was the HW test came back negative! HW- ! I am so excited. The vet is going to retest him in a month and if it is still negative Jasper will be going to a new home back East! Hooray!

Staying healthy during cold and flu season.

How do you stay healthy during cold and flu season? ...Flu shot? That seems to be what many people think will help them avoid the flu. What you may not know is that flu vaccine manufacturers are guessing which flu Virus will be the most common for the upcoming season. Flu vaccines also contain other additives and preservatives that injected directly into you body can be very harmful! Which is why I stay away from flu shots. So what can you do?

I will keep it short for today and just mention what I do...

For nausea, vomiting, diarrhea- I use either DILL oil or EASE oil blend. I mix a drop with a carrier oil and rub in a clockwise direction around the belly button. Inhaling or rubbing the oil on the feet can help, as well.

For fever, I put EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS oil in some DEA SEA SALTS and mix in a quart of water. I then use a wash cloth to apply it to the forehead, neck or even the whole body, depending on how bad it is. (When applying to the body only expose the part of the body you are applying it to, wrap up in a blanket or towel to avoid getting to cold- once oils are on put clothing back on try to keep warm, but not hot!)

For body aches, I usually go to FYSICAL THERA P blend first, then FRANKINCENSE, MARJORAM, PEPPERMINT or BASIL oils.

For sore throats, I do the "TEA TREE lick trick" - which is done by putting 1 drop of TEA TREE oil on the back of your hand and then lick it off. It is done this way to avoid getting to much dropped directly in the mouth and so that the oil isn't rubbed from a finger into an itchy eye.

Do the lick trick every 5 minutes, 5 times.

In addition to the lick trick, I also put 2 drops of KIDS WELLNESS blend on my throat. I put one drop of the blend behind each ear, in the little dent, and drag down to the collar bone. I only do this every few hours, as needed. Starting at the ear will help protect the ear from infection. Many times, it seems, that infection will spread or move this helps protect the ears. If the ear is infected, this is the same thing I would do to get rid of the infection.

I completely avoid sugar, until my throat feels better. Sugar feeds the bacteria and puts your immune system to sleep, making it very hard for your body to fight infection!

A warm cup of water with a drop of PEPPERMINT oil can sooth a sore throat!

TAP oil blends are amazing!

I received my Target Oil pack and I have already used it to ease my back pain. My friend's neck and her mom's back have less pain! I put the Kinnex blend on my husband's sore wrists last night and this morning his wrists have no pain! If you have not tried these oils yet, I highly recommend you do! Contact me if you need help ordering your own Target Pack!

Scarlet Fever

Not so long ago my cutie pie girl came home from school complaining that she had a sore throat (not surprising since the school sent home a note saying that someone in the classroom had been diagnosed with strep). In our house a sore throat is immediately dealt with by partaking in the disgusting ritual called... "The Tea Tree Lick"... she practiced this ritual about 4 times the first and second day (I kept her home from school on the second day). At this point I was wiping my brow, because in only two days she seemed to be doing great. The third day, which happened to be Valentine's Day, she went back to school and enjoy the class party consuming much junk food. Sugar is a very powerful sedative. What? That can't be? Well, before bedtime Valentine's night, her immune system had gone to sleep and it was clear that it had been out cold for a few hours, because although her throat was no longer sore, she had a fever and she was covered in pink dots on her tummy and back. I figured out pretty quickly that this was not a gift from cupid and called the wonderful Mother Nurse to find out what the pink dots were. She said, "that sounds like scarlet fever." Wow, scarlet fever, I've never seen that before, but it does sound a bit romantic. It's not. It's itchy and it lasted about a week.

To make this non-romantic, very un-valentine's, fever go away a few oils were called to action.

The first three days she got; SPICE OF LIFE (diluted in Olive oil) on her feet, a couple drops each THYME LINALOOL and JOJOBA rubbed on her back (in a manner similar to an A.I.R. Spinal Reflexology Application), a drop each of ROSE, NEROLI, LAVENDER and PATCHOULI oils mixed with about four drops of JOJOBA oil massaged on her tummy and back - to help her skin not feel itchy (she didn't complain of itching until about 5 days into the rash), two Transfer factor AIM capsules 2 times a day, an ounce of Frequensea, one capsule 2x a day containing ROSEMARY, CINNAMON, THYME LINALOOL, and and at night she got a bath that had ROSEMARY, LAVENDER and EUCALYPTUS RADIATE mixed in DEAD SEA SALTS (she really enjoyed her baths).

The fourth and fifth days she got the Transfer factor AIM, Frequensea,and it was on this day that I read about putting a drop of SANDALWOOD in 1/2 a teaspoon of honey to help the body get rid of strep at the onset. So she did this for two days, I took it with her on the second day, to see what it tasted like...wow...it took awhile to over-ride the gag reflex. The TEA TREE LICK now tastes magically delicious. I reminded both of us that this is like medicine- it's not supposed to taste good - at least it lives up to the reputation! At this time I also switched the SPICE OF LIFE for a very diluted OREGANO. I took a 10ml bottle and filled it about halfway with GRAPE SEED OIL and to it added two (2) drops of OREGANO. OREGANO works great in small doses. I rubbed this mixture on her feet and then blended it with a couple drops of LAVENDER and rubbed it on her back and tummy (my thinking for this is that if any of the infection was in the rash that this would help attack it from this avenue). She also got straight LAVENDER on the itchy spots (which were mostly around her shoulders and neck).

The sixth and seventh day the rash was almost gone as was her itching, we still used a little LAVENDER. She still got Frequensea and Transfer factor AIM and she still requested LAVENDER and DEAD SEA SALT baths.

By day eight the rash was barely noticeable and she felt great!
I know it may sound weird, but it feels like a huge victory for essential oils and immune boosting products that help the body heal, instead of treating this the normal route- which would have been antibiotics (a route I was unhappily willing to use...as a last resort- thankfully it was not needed!)

Tea Tree

(Melaleuca Alternatfolia)
Antiviral. Antibacterial. Antifungal.

History:
TRUessence Tea Tree oil comes from Australia. It was used by the indigenous Bundjalung people of eastern Australia long before their was scientific evidence to prove it's health benefits.
It was first distilled in the 1920's by Arther Penfold. The demand for this oil declined after the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940's. The interest in Tea Tree was revived in the 1970's when there general renaissance of interest in natural products.

Uses:
It is great at helping the body heal from infections.

Dilute in a carrier oil (I use grape seed Message oil from TRUessence) 50/50 (1 drop of tea tree and 1 drop of message) and place on or near a wound. It will help to get rid of infection as well as keep infection away.

Mix 10 drops in a bottle of shampoo, it will help keep your hair from falling out, but helping the body get rid of any infection that is in the hair.
Mix 10 drops in your kids shampoo and it will keep lice from taking up residence in your kids hair.

For Sore Throat:
The Tea Tree Lick- (this should only be done with with premium grade EO's. A non-premium oils can be toxic when swallowed.) Put a drop of tea tree oil on the back of your hand, lick it off and then swallow. Do this once a minute for 5 minutes - your sore throat should disappear. You can also apply a drop of the oil on skin on the throat area and a drop on the feet. Make sure to drink lots of water and avoid all foods containing sugar.

I use only TRUessence premium grade Essential Oils! Each oil is batch tested (using gas chromatography) and a lot number is placed on each bottle, so I feel confident that I am getting the quality that I am paying for and not a cheap substitute.

Welcome to my new blog!

I will be posting information on how you can use nature's pharmacy to help your family stay healthy. You are welcome to ask questions, too. Thanks for checking out this blog! Liz