Top 5 Essential Oils for Respiratory Season
Respiratory season has always been a big season for our family. To help with this, I have started incorporating my Top 5 Essential Oils for Respiratory Season. My first job as an APRN was working in the family setting focused mainly on pediatrics. That first respiratory season I caught everything — including the flu. Then I discovered the wonderful world of essential oils as a supplement to other things – like vitamins, hydration and nasal saline. Each one of these helped bring my wellness into balance.
It should be noted that this post, like all posts on this website are not intended to assess, diagnose or treat…anything. If you have medical concerns and or symptoms, please see a healthcare provider for guidance. Additional disclosures can be found here.
We still get out and about during respiratory season. Even now with COVID-19. My three little kiddies go to school (In person thankfully! Read more about my first jump into distance learning while quarantining here.) And, we still have some extra curricular activities. My husband and I are both in fields where exposures happen. However, it is my goal to keep my kids as healthy as possible (translate that into going to in-person school as long as possible). Because my three little kiddies in school = a wellness balance for me. I love them. I also work full time and mommy needs her babies in school. These Top 5 Oils for Respiratory Season add to our practices of social distancing, masking and handwashing.
Oils at Home
We diffuse oils in our house quite a bit. I am a fan of Young Living Essential Oils mainly because of their Seed to Seal and purity. Quality of oils is important, and it does make a difference. Like other things in life “All Natural” and “100% Organic” comes to mind… those labels do not actually mean all natural and 100% organic. It just means a minimum standard was reached to allow the use of that label. And often the “other” oils have a certain amount of “runoff” oils that Young Living will not include in their quality standards. I trust this brand and I use it.
The diffuser that we use in our kitchen is from Amazon. I like it because it works well, has a large tank, a Bluetooth speaker, and is simple operation. Also, it’s not big money. And that makes me happy. And very recently, my handsome hunky hubby showed me that you can actually take it apart to give it a deep clean. Sometimes I need help with the simple things…
My Top 5 Essential Oils for Respiratory Season
- Nose Wipe
Not technically an oil, this utilitarianly named DIY mixture is a combination of Rose Ointment and equal number drops of Egyptian Gold and Exodus II. I scoop the ointment out of the tub it comes in and work it with a spoon to soften it, mix the oils in with the same spoon, and keep it in a little screw top container. I keep this essential oil mixture in my purse, in each vehicle, and on my kitchen counter. To use this, I have my kids dip a (hopefully clean) finger into the ointment, and coat the inside of their nose with it (like they are picking a boogie). I do the same application process. Why?
- Helps balance the moisture of skin
- Cleansing properties of oils
- Thought to have some antimicrobial properties
- Thought to have some antibacterial properties
- Creates a barrier
We will also use normal saline morning and night – one squirt in each nostril during allergy and respiratory season. Basic nasal saline that you get in the pharmacy of the big box store, the stuff our grandmas used. Noses are an entry point for our bodies, and if we don’t put out a welcome mat for invaders, literally flushing them out or keeping them from traveling further, we help increase wellness balance.
- R.C.
This oil goes in the diffuser daily in our home. We call it Respiratory Comfort and it is one of our favorite comforting smells. Olfactory pleasantries alone would make this a favorite oil. Included in this mixture are cypress, spruce, and eucalyptus of different types. This is a warm, comforting oil that helps with the sensation of open nasal passages. We do not burn candles or have wall plug ins or other scentifiers. We diffuse oils. They smell good, and have additional properties that help us in our wellness journey. We even use this on our feet or on our chest for the invigorating feeling of breathing normally. On our spine we use layers of olive oil (from the kitchen), Thieves (highlighted later on), lavender and top off with peppermint.
- Thieves Fruit and Veggie Spray
Sore throats accompany respiratory draining in my home. When I start to feel scratchy, I open wide and spray some Thieves Fruit and Veggie Spray into the back of my throat. This stuff is sour, of course that means my three little kiddies love it. They even ask for it now when they start to get stuffy or have a scratchy throat because it is soothing to them. Diluted and balanced lime, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus and rosemary oil play together nicely in this spray that was originally designed for cleaning your fruits and veggies on the go. For us, this has been a game changer in our wellness balance.
- Thieves Chest Rub
This is a new one for our family. We use this as an all natural chest rub. This gives my family the sensation of opening nasal passages and is comforting for us. The balanced components in this mixture include cinnamon bark, clove, eucalyptus radiata, rosemary and lemon. Spicy, warm and rich, there is a soothing component to this rub for us and we love to put it on at night before going to bed. Yes, we could DIY this compound… but we can also buy it already made. Keep it simple, I say.
- Thieves Hand Sanitizer
At school (and elsewhere) my kids use soap and running water and/or hand sanitizer. Both of which can be drying. My oldest deals with this especially, and will have rough, red, scaly skin and significant drying. So he will put the nose wipe on in the car on the way to school and rub that into his hands if they are very dry, and at night, he will apply Ceravae (R) before bed. Usually this clears up the skin in a matter of days.
Back to the hand sanitizer: Thieves Hand Sanitizer has an alcohol content of 65% as well as some peppermint and aloe with the Thieves oil. It smells amazing and is silky smooth! I usually buy the big bottle to refill my little bottles with the flip tops. A little goes a long way and because of the way this glides on and is not drying, my three little kiddies use this without a fight. Which definitely helps my wellness balance. Killing germs (99.99%, according to the manufacturer’s website) and compliance with sanitization. Love it.
These are my family’s Top 5 Essential Oils for Respiratory Season that help us with our wellness balance.
It is important to create balance to ensure hydration, nutrition, vitamins, self care and preventative practices into practice at all times – including respiratory season.
What are some ways you work toward wellness balance in your family?
