Sneezes, red eyes, and a general feeling of “ugh” can come with the changes of the seasons, even on Maui. Here are a couple of natural ways to get rid of those spring-time respiratory challenges.
Enter the Awesome, and Popular, Essential Oils
Used for thousands of years, essential oils can help with so many things, including nasal and chest woes.
Lemon, peppermint, and lavender essential oils have been known to help manage sniffles and a clogged head so that people can enjoy the outdoors annoyance-free. Just make sure the essential oils you use are pure and that their labels list them as ok to ingest (if you choose to ingest them, see below).
NOTE: Most store-bought oils are not good for ingestion, so be sure to read the labels.
There are three ways to use the lemon, lavender and peppermint combination of oils:
- Make a veggie capsule and take internally. You can buy veggie capsules at the health food store. Take your therapeutic-grade essential oils and place a few drops of lavender, lemon, and peppermint in the capsule, add a carrier oil, such as coconut oil and close the capsule up. Take with plenty of water and swallow it down. You could also put them in a glass of water and enjoy them that way.
- Diffuse lemon, lavender and peppermint in a diffuser. If you don’t have a diffuser you can also add the essential oils to a steamy hot pot of water, then place your face over it with a towel over your head. For the kids, you can place a few drop of each oil into your hands, rub them together then cup your child’s face and have them take in some deep breaths.
- Use the lavender, lemon, and peppermint combination topically, or on your skin. Add the three oils to your hand along with a carrier oil such as coconut oil or even olive oil. Rub your hands together and then rub on the back of your neck, temples and forearms.
Good to know! Lemon can make your skin sensitive to the sun and cause your skin to burn where to put it on. So be sure to wait 24 hours before heading out to enjoy some rays if you use the topical method.
Another wonderful, natural, and easy way to help managed a stuffed nose is using a neti pot.
The neti pot, which you can get at the drugstore, can help flush out the allergens from your nasal passages and offer relief from seasonal crud. Most neti pots will come with a saline solution that you mix with distilled water.
You simple pour it down one side of your nose and it then cleans out your nasal passages. Follow all the instruction that come with your neti pot and be sure to clean it between uses. Best bet is to use one per family member so that you don’t share germs.
