Woman.ws   contact l privacy l partner sites
Home > Articles > Health & fitness
Articles

» Wine
» Shopping
» Romantic getaways
» Fashion & beauty
» Parenting
» Health & fitness
» Sex & self
» Relationships
» Entertainment
» House & home
» Dating & romance
» Family
» Miscellaneous
» Recipes
» Life & happiness
» Gardening
» Organizing
» Holidays
» Quit smoking
» Travel


Funny flash movies

» Miracle diet plan
» Good to be a woman!
» The mindbender
» My kids taught me

 

Complete list of health & fitness articles

Help beat winter cold & slu bugs with aromatherapy

'Tis the season alright. Flu bug, cold bug, sniffles, sneezes, stuffy heads, runny noses. Chances are you've already been hit by at least one of these symptoms. If you're like my family, you've been hit with them all.


Here's a few essential oils that may help alleviate some of the symptoms and make everyone feel just a little bit better.


Clear the Air

An easy way to make the air in your winter enclosed home feel fresher and help beat off the bugs is to diffuse oils into the air. You can do with with a diffuser, lamp, ring or simply by warming some water on the stove and adding a few drops of oil to that. Just watch that you don't let the pot go dry.


Some essential oils you can use: eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint, tea tree, ginger, orange, cinnamon, cypress, bergamot, frankincense, clary sage, pine, chamomile, lime, juniper, lavender.


Go Steam Your Head

When your head is stuffed and congested or you can't stop coughing then steam your head. Steaming is an age old treatment to let warm, moist air into your head and lungs. Often used with herbs and essential oils for penetrating power. The cough from a cold is usually made worse by the dry winter air.


Pour boiling water into a metal or glass bowl, then add your essential oil. Drape a towel over your head and position your face 10-12" above the bowl. Breath deeply.


Some essential oils you can use: cypress, eucalyptus, peppermint, tea tree, lavender, rosemary, frankincense.


Bathing Beauties

Got that sore, achy feeling all over? Nothing feels better than a nice warm bath. Add some bath salts to help draw some of the metabolic toxins out with your sweat. Add some essential oils to ease chest and nasal congestion.


Some essential oils you can use: cypress, eucalyptus, peppermint, tea tree, lavender, cedarwood, myrrh, rosemary.


You CAN Sleep with a Cold

Sleeping when you can't breathe means a long, tiring and restless night for you. Things you can do to help ease it a bit is to make sure you have a humidifier or vapourizer going in the room. The humid air helps keep your air passages moist.


Next add the same penetrating oils from the "Clear the Air" list. Whatever worked best for you in that list, use it here.


Make sure your vapourizer has the proper insert for adding essential oils. If it doesn't, a small ceramic dish beside the steam outlet (not over) will work nicely too. Close enough that the dish warms up from the steam, but does not block the steam's path. A couple of drops of the oil placed on a cloth close to your pillow will give an extra boost until the scented steam takes effect.


Why so many suggested oils?

Simply because some oils work better on one person than another. Some oils are easier to find than others and some people may have known reactions to certain oils. You need to play with the different oils and see which ones are most effective on you.


There are many more oils that can be used for these conditions. Pick up any aromatherapy book and you'll likely find more oils suggested. However some require advanced knowledge to utilize them safely, some aren't quite as effective as the ones listed here and some are wonderful but are just too costly for all but the most dedicated users.


The best thing you can do is try a few of the more common oils out and see how they affect you. As always, pick up some reputable books on aromatherapy and find out more about the oils you've chosen. You're on your way to a healthier, smelling-good kind of home.

About the author
Paula Polman, B.Sc. is the owner of Basic Scents & Supplies. She has been making natural care products for over six years and practising aromatherapy for more than eight years. She can be reached by email at paula@basicscentssupplies.com or visit http://www.BasicScentsSupplies.com for more information.

New articles

» How to choose a home coffee maker
There are two main considerations when buying a coffee maker for your home or small office: type of brewer and features.

» Remodeling your bathroom on a budget
When you want to give your bathroom a facelift, you may not have the available funds that you want to create the best space possible. If you are on a tight budget, there are some ways to update your bathrooms look and do it for less.

» Obesity and weight loss - Muscle and the importance of low body fat!
Today you have a good chance of getting diabetes or becoming obese or both. And if you do, then chances are you will be in for a long life filled with pain, discomfort and little quality in your life. However, it does not have to come to that.

» Student travel - Backpacking in Europe
For the fortunate few, life isn’t complete without a backpacking trip through Europe.

» Cambodian taxi chaos - a leaf, a radiator and a MacGyver moment
The roads in Cambodia are vicious, angry slabs of asphalt filled with potholes that would qualify as valleys in some countries.

» Alternative therapies for acid reflux disease
Acid Reflux Disease, or GERD, is a common disease which affects approximately 5-7% of the population.

» Smart kids: Use it or lose it this summer
The brain is like a muscle -- you use it or lose it. During summer vacation is your child "losing it"?

» Weight loss - The importance of low body fat
Most people will always have a love – hate relationship with the scale in their bathroom.

» Parents - Create an emotionally healthy connection with your child
Creating a loving emotional connection with your child starts when the mother becomes pregnant.

» Planning stress management
Deadlines at work, demanding bosses, bills to be paid at home, kids demanding for time and attention, changes in the environment, etc. AAARRRRGH.

» Infidelity discovered? 10 ways to calm your powerful feelings
When you find out about the affair, the first few hours, days and weeks can be emotionally wrenching to say the least.

» 5 reasons to organize your home today
Home organization isn't just for neat-nicks or those drawn toward organized living.

» The hidden truth about diets
Quick, what's the first thought that pops into your head when you hear the word "diet?" Probably that when you're on one, you feel like you're going to "d-i-e" right?!

» Exercising - How do you sustain momentum
The number one reason people say they do not exercise is lack of time.

» Survival China travel tips and tricks
These China Travel Tips, Survival Techniques, will help you get around and make your trip to China easier, so you will be able to experience the real China with a little less stress.

» Losing weight is not about numbers - It's about perspectives!
Any dietary plan on the market has some portion of it that works, but the basic principle of any good eating program, no matter how sugarcoated, centers around calories IN— calories OUT.

» The weight loss key to success - Are you a sell out?
The only way you will follow through on an exercise program is to be sold out.

» Weight loss, fitness, and a peace of mind for life!
I am Greg Ryan, a high profile fitness expert with 50,000 hours of paid personal training under my belt, and twenty years of consulting health clubs.

» Weight loss - The soft drink diet
In the early ninety’s doctors were beginning to see the growing trend in American’s waist lines.

» Parenting - Roots and wings
I’m sure many of you have heard that old Hallmark card adage that goes something like this: Parents give their children two great gifts---one is roots, the other is wings. This is what I address in this article.

» The wonderful benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean Diet is now recognized as one of the healthiest in the world consisting as it does of large amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, salads,nuts,seeds, omega-3 rich oily fish, olives and olive oil and being comparitively low in dairy products and red meats.

» The Costa del Sol - Europe's premier holidaty destination
Since the 1960's and the advent of package holidays the Costa del Sol has always been one of the premier holiday destinations in Europe, and with good reason.

» Get out and play: Top 7 outdoor exercises
Do you remember when our parents used to yell at us to go outside and play? They would get so tired of us running around the house munching junk food and fighting with our siblings that they would practically kick us out of the house!

» Spoiled rotten: The big 3 reasons for fitness failure
Read below to learn how this mistaken philosophy is applied on a frequent basis when people practice the 3 basic tools of fitness: Cardiovascular Training, Resistance Training, and Nutrition

» Backpacking trips - Ten essential items
I've had backpacking trips that included rain, snow, lightning, rockslides, altitude sickness, and twenty-mile days - all in a summer weekend. Wilderness trips can be dangerous, but you can make then less so, by having the following ten essentials in your backpack.

» Picky eater kid nutritional guidelines
Although many children are picky eaters at some stage in their lives, the experts say not to worry.

» Fitness goal secrets revealed here for the first time
Everybody finds it hard to arrange time to do various day to day chores or tasks, including your muscle and fitness training.

» Adult ear infection
Though adults are not affected as frequently as children, it is important for adults to be aware of how adult ear infection can affect them.

» Do you have an acid reflux problem?
Most people have digestive problems that create a variety of illnesses that we see as they age.

» Granada Spain - Glorious city of southern Spain
Situated at the foot of the southerly Sierra Nevada ski resort, Granada is one of the most splendid cities of eastern Andalucia.

» How to think clearly
Does your mind sometimes feel like a television station you can't quite tune in?

» How to remember things
What's the biggest problem with memory tricks?

» Relationship tips: 16 practical dramatic ways to know if he/she is really changing
Every relationship hits a snag, or worse, a major crisis (such as infidelity), that demands significant change if the relationship is to survive.

» Backpacking with sand, snow and coyotes
I was backpacking in the Sleeping Bear Dunes. It was March, so when I made it through the woods and over the dunes, I'd have miles of beach to myself.

» How to know if you are in the right career
Ever wonder if you are in the right career? If you are like most people you have.

» Arthritis - The pain and the reasons
Many fear the pain of arthritis as they age. But, it can attack anyone at any time.

» Easy steps to weight loss
It can be intimidating to follow a weight loss plan, right?

» How to save money on air fares
Unless you are a frequent business flyer and have your air fares paid for by a company you will need to consider how to save money on air fares.

» Treat your anexiety disorder effectively
If you find symptoms of anxiety disorder in any of your near and dear ones then the best way is to visit your physician as soon as possible.