Cold and Flu Season

The season is upon us once again where sniffly noses, barking coughs, achy heads, and sore throats come to visit. 

Most unwelcome houseguests, I am sure you'll agree. 

This first combination of goodies is the WitchDoctor protocol for colds and flu. Here is the rundown.

Local raw honey is one of the best healing remedies in existence. It can heal mouth sores, and it does a great job of soothing a cough. It can also be used on pets when there is an irritation that they won't stop licking. They honey won't hurt them if they lick it off, but it will kill anything toxic and help it heal.

When you sprinkle a bit of ground cinnamon in that honey, you are giving yourself an extra boost that helps your body regain it's health.  Cinnamon encourages circulation, and helps shorten the life of a cold or the flu.

Raw lemon is also a super antioxidant that encourages alkalinity in the system and boosts immune response with vitamin C.  Lemon water is good, and so is a hot tea with raw honey, lemon, and cinnamon. Grate a few slivers of lemon zest into your cup; the essential oil of lemon is concentrated in the peel. Breathe deeply the steam coming from your cup. By doing this, you are utilizing aromatherapy while enjoying your tea.

Garlic is one of the oldest known and most effective natural antibiotics.

The trick here is, you must either eat it prepared raw, or cook it into soup with a bone broth if it is to be of much help cooked.

One excellent way of serving raw garlic is to use it in Hummus. Look for a page soon with recipes for Hummus and Healing Chicken Soup.

There is a lot of debate out there about whether or not alkaline water can help your health. What I will say, is that it is unlikely for most people to afford a large system priced in the thousands of dollars. There is a brand of water from Walgreens, called Pure and Delish Iceland Spring. This is amazing water. My experience with it is that it has kept us from getting sick when we could afford to drink it exclusively, that it literally kills warts and makes them die and fall off. At any point where my kids are starting a respiratory bug, I stock up on this water and let them drink as much of it as they will. It absolutely helps.

A very old remedy for a sore throat dating at least back to the American Colonists involves taking a couple small pieces of orange peel, roll them white side out into little tubes, and place them in your nostrils.The essential oil is in the orange part of the skin. This is also basic aromatherapy, as you are inhaling the orange essential oil. 

If you can do this the minute you feel a sore throat coming on, you can stop it pretty immediately. 

Just be forewarned that no one will be able to take you seriously or stop laughing for at least ten minutes, but it is very worth it to avoid a raw sore throat. 

The essential oil blend that I use for respiratory colds and flu is a combination that has worked successfully for my family for 25 years.

This is one that you can put a drop of each oil on one necklace diffuser or a crock pot full of warm water on low at your child's bedside.  The other option would be to make a blend that you will use the same way. 

Remember, always use pure essential oils from a trusted source.

WitchDoctor Respiratory Blend

Use equal parts of these essential oils:

Lavender

Chamomile

Rosemary

Eucalyptus

Hyssop

Orange

Frankincense

Necklace Diffusers made of absorbent, glaze free, fired clay

Another quick and cheap way to make necklace diffusers that dispel the oils just as well is to use a drink carrier like this:

Cut out hearts or triangles or whatever shape you like, poke a hole through it, and put your drops of essential oil right on it. it soaks up quickly and stays useable for hours. Just make sure you or your kiddos bring it close to your nose and smell it pretty frequently.

Some people believe in making a Doctor's appointment for every sneeze. 

I have been at this a very long time, and so I am very aware of the point at which you must recognize that your child should see a doctor immediately.  These include, but are not limited to:

*High fever over 104 degrees Fahrenheit*

(Sign your body is trying really hard to fight something off)

*Pain in the back*

(Symptom of pneumonia)

*Any cyanosis, which is blue coloring around the lips, sides of the nose, and under the eyes*

(The person is not getting enough oxygen)

*Coughing to the point of not being able to stop or breathe*

(Symptom of Pertussis, Asthma attack, RSV, Pneumonia)

ALWAYS TRUST YOUR INSTINCT!

If you feel you should take your child or yourself to the emergency room, then respect and listen to yourself and do it. 

First Aid

There are many situations that require first aid.  

When dealing with minor cuts, scrapes, and other minor skin injuries, it is important to have a good ointment to facilitate speedy healing and minimize the chance of infections. For burns, see the previous post on sunburn.

In this case, we are going to add to a well known OTC product that is wonderful by itself, but becomes miraculous when essential oils are added. The oils that I use in this preparation are selected for their individual characteristics. Synergetically, they come together as a powerful healing force.  

Always use pure essential oils, as fragrance oils are mostly synthetic. Essential oils are super concentrated oils derived by distillation. They can be expensive, but they are used only drops at a time so you can get away with getting smaller bottles. 

For this Any pharmacy or dollar store has their own brand of a popular brand name product, in this case, Neosporin.  What you want to look for is one that contains Bacitracin, Neomycin, and Polymyxin B.  This gives you a good, broad spectrum base to start with. 

Recipe for WitchDoctor First Aid Ointment

Start by emptying two .5 oz tubes of the antibacterial ointment mentioned above into a clean medicine bottle or other clean plastic or glass container with a tight fitting lid.  Remember you will need enough room to thoroughly mix the contents. To this, you will add:

1 tsp pure emu oil

30 drops lavender essential oil

20 drops rosemary essential oil

10 drops chamomile oil

5 drops balsam fir oil

5 drops tea tree oil

5 drops clove oil

Mix thoroughly with a butter knife or fork, until you cannot see any oils on the surface or the sides. Check the bottom too, because oils have a tendency to get trapped at the bottom during stirring. This is why it is helpful to use a bottle you can see through. 

Apply several times a day with or without a bandage, depending on the need for one. This can also be used for bug bites, and other itchy rashes.

This is safe to use on children over four, but younger than that I would only use Lavender, Chamomile, Emu, and Vitamin E oils. You can mix that combo for babies into diaper rash ointment as well.

As always, anything more than a minor injury should be seen by and treated by a medical doctor first.  

Ouch! A Bad Sunburn! How Would a WitchDoctor Treat It?

In the summer months, it is very easy to get sunburned. If you are a small child or a fair skinned person, you will definitely get the worst of it. 

In the absence of the forethought which would have suggested to you to bring the sunscreen, I have a rescue remedy that will heal even the worst sunburn. It is safe enough for all skin types, unless there is an allergy to any of the components. I use plain old Aloe Vera sunburn gel as a base. You definitely want the cheap gel that is actually gelatinous....the expensive pure aloe gel is too liquid to work in this recipe. You could also use creamy baby oil, or baby lotion, or any adult lotion that doesn't have a lot of dyes or fragrances, or alcohol. 

I like the gel because when you stir in essential oils, it turns into a light, creamy, easily-absorbed substance that stays pretty well emulsified. You can shake it before use to make sure, especially if it has sat unused since last summer! 

I usually use clean, empty medicine bottles to mix mine in, but you could use any plastic or glass container with a tight fitting lid that you can still fit a finger or swab in to retrieve the finished product. 

Recipe for WitchDoctor Miracle Sunburn/Burn Creamy Gel

To one half cup of aloe vera gel, add:

50 drops Pure Essential Oil of Lavender

1 tsp Pure Emu Oil

1 tsp Vitamin E Oil

Stir well. Use immediately and frequently to sunburned areas. If you can get this on sunburned skin a few times before bed, you will see a significant change by morning. Can be used on rug burns also. This is a good, gentle remedy for really bad diaper rash as well. 

For thermal burns caused by fire, hot grease spatters, etc., it is better to use straight lavender right from the bottle as soon as you can get it on there, and frequently. Lavender will not hurt you. It is safe for babies, seniors, and those with compromised immune systems.

Lavender heals skin cells expertly and quickly. So quickly, in fact, that if you have a deep cut which may be infected, it is possible for the lavender to heal the skin right over the infection causing an abcess.  In the case of a deep cut or subsurface infection, a medical professional will need to clean and sterilize it, and possibly stitch it. If you have any doubts, it's always a good idea to check with your doctor or nurse line. 

Another important thing to consider when you are dealing with sunburn, the condition alone is likely to cause symptoms including nausea, headache, diarrhea, and fever. If you have a sunburn that is blistering in a really short amount of time after exposure, and you are having any of those other symptoms, it is wise to call your doctor. The skin is the largest organ of the body, and widespread trauma to it can cause shock. 

I understand that there are a lot of folks out there that just can't afford to go to the doctor. Research is necessary for true understanding of your situation. Find out what you can, and don't be afraid to use that contact form up there if you need it.