Essential Oils for Preparedness:

These past few months I’ve gotten more and more into essential oils. I want to be more in control of my healthcare and the healthcare of my family. I want to take back my healthcare from the mainstream big pharmaceutical companies! That’s another blog for another time. I want to be able to better serve my family and not have that include tons of doctor’s appointments, co-pays, premiums, and prescriptions etc!

Over these past few months of doing research, I’ve learned how amazing, beneficial and helpful essential oils can be! I started with one oil first; peppermint. Peppermint works well for headaches and migraines which I struggle with often. I used one drop every day for several months. Although my headaches didn’t go away completely they were much less severe and I didn’t have a migraine for 4 months! For those who have migraines you know, that’s quite an improvement!

 

The focus of this blog with covers the essential oils for a survival situation. I’m not talking about the people on doomsday preppers with the gas mask. I’m talking about a situation with natural disasters. Living in Colorado we have lots of snow. If we get dumped on and the roads are inaccessible it means that our tiny clinic here in town would probably close until the roads cleared up. So what happens if we get sick? What if our little guy gets the flu or an ear infection? Both of those things, I need medication from the doctor for! Remember storm sandy or the tornado in Joplin, Mo? What if your hometown flooded while you were away on vacation and can’t get home for a while. In situations where finding a hospital that could get you what you needed in a timely manner was difficult, an alternative medicine would be helpful. If leaving your house is dangerous you’ll need a way to maintain the health of your family. I believe these oils are a great alternative.

 

Have you ever heard of a bug-out-bag? Most haven’t, but it’s really something that you need to look into preparing. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest about what to include in your bug out bag. In our bag we have enough food and water for 3 people for 72 hours (3 days), medical kit (band-aids, Neosporin, Vaseline, Tylenol etc), fire starter (lighters, matches, old dryer lint stuffed inside an old toilet paper roll works best- and it’s FREE!), multi-tool (like a Leatherman), camping knife, rope, defensive weapon of some sort and a tent or a tarp. You can use one of the old army duffle bags with the shoulder straps to make it easier to carry. Look for an army surplus store to see more portable, quality options. A change of clothes for each person also not a bad idea! The idea behind a bug out bag is to be able to grab that and go. You’d leave everything else behind until it is safe to come back or just leave it behind period! Depending on the situation, you might not be able to make it back. I highly recommend doing some research into the reasons why a bug-out-bag is something that should be in every home.

 

Also, what about the rising cost of healthcare? Not only are we paying higher premiums now but just to go see the doc for a checkup or get a refill is astronomical anymore. So what if there was a substitute that could handle most ailments in a natural, safe and beneficial way that didn’t require you to leave your house? If you had to “shelter-in-place” for a few days due to weather or even civil unrest, you could care for your family without having to brave the elements.

 

Here are the oils that I highly recommend to have on hand in case of a bug out or shelter in an emergency:

1. Peppermint
2. Melaleuca
3. Lemon
4. Lavender
5. DiGize
6. Oregano
7. Frankincense
8. Thieves (immunity blend)
9. R.C. (respiratory blend)
10. Panaway (pain blend)

Now, here’s why these are the bare minimum you’ll need:

 

1. Peppermint: This oil is great for headaches, migraines, vomiting, allergies, anti-bacterial, chronic fatigue, constipation, fever, flu, fainting, diarrhea, congestion and is a great antioxidant. Can you imagine camping in a tent in the woods, waiting for the civil unrest to die down (or any scenario where you can’t get to a store or home. Imagine you slide your car into a ditch in -20 weather and had to shelter in overnight) and you had any one of these symptoms? One drop of peppermint can fix any of these!

 

2. Melaleuca: Also known as tea tree. This is great for an antibacterial, antifungal, cavities, coughs, ear infections, inflammation, pink eye, rashes, sore throat, sunburn, and strep throat. Obviously, because it’s an antibacterial and antifungal it’s great for cleaning wounds without conventional medicine. I dare say that it’s a healthier substitute to conventional medicine also.

 

3. Lemon: Lemon is great for cleaning, colds, constipation, depression, heartburn, parasites, laundry, water purification (hello! How helpful would that be if you’re camping; much better than bleach!) Disinfection, dysentery, and even stress.

 

4. Lavender: This oil is great for blisters, burns, diaper rash, gas, insect repellant, itching, mosquito bites, poison ivy/poison oak, sedative, insomnia, sunburn, teething pain, wounds, vertigo.

 

5. DiGize (digestion blend): This blend is the YL brand; this is the brand that I use. I’ve heard wonderful things about many different brands, but I trust YL’s purity. This blend is great for congestion, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, indigestion, motion sickness, nausea and upset stomachs. It’s just an all around great oil blend to have if you have to be on the move and/or eating MRE’s.

 

6. Oregano. I love this one. If I’m feeling the slightest bit stuffy or if my throat hurts I will put ONE DROP in a big pot of boiling water and stand over it and just inhale. It works awesome. I swear by it. It’s also antifungal, helps respiratory infections, parasites, pneumonia, ringworm, warts, whooping cough and muscle aches.

 

7. Frankincense: Frankincense is used for asthma, carpal tunnel, concussion, coughs, depression, infection, inflammation, moles, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, tumors, warts, ulcers, and wrinkles.

 

 

8. Thieves (Protective/Immunity Blend): This blend helps treat bacteria, mold, and viruses and is a topical disinfectant and an immune system support. This is great to put a drop or two in your humidifier and have it running. You get the perks of not having to remember to put it on every few hours or try to put it on your kiddos. You just put a drop or two in and let it run. It helps any cuts or scraps you might get also. Put a drop on the pad of the band-aid and put it on the wound and let it do its job.

 

9. R.C. (Respiratory Blend): Although some might not see this as a vital oil to have in an emergency situation, I still believe that it’s a good one to have around for non-trauma situations. It helps with asthma (what if your inhaler runs out and you don’t have access to a pharmacy?), bronchitis, respiratory stress, cold, and flu etc. It’s good to have as a “just in case” basis.

 

10. Panaway (Pain Blend): This special blend of oils helps with bruises, arthritic pain, headaches, inflammation, joint pain, migraines, muscle pain, sprains etc. Can you imagine how handy this would be if you didn’t have access to Tylenol, ben-gay, icy-hot etc?

 

www.youngliving.com has a wide variety of information on other oils that could be helpful during a catastrophic situation.

 

I love oils. I find myself doing more and more research into how I can better serve my families health from home with natural, botanical and safe. Did you read that? Not only do they prevent anything harmful from further happening, they actually go one step further to be helpful and healing. There’s so much to the science of essential oils! I can’t say that I fully understand it all, but I do know that oils help clear the receptor sites in our body’s cells to help them function properly and much better! Does your antibiotic do that? What about your pain reliever?

 

So my reasoning for having these in your medicine cabinet and your bug out bag is this. First, they’re safe. They don’t do further damage to your body with crazy chemicals. Second, they’re multi-functional. Each bottle of essential oil has many purposes that take the place of several different medications. This means that the amount of medicine that you have to have on hand is much more compact! Those 9 bottles can basically take the place of your whole medicine cabinet. Third, they last an incredibly long time. One drop is all you need in most cases! These bottles come in 15ML bottles and at one drop a day will easily last for 3-6 months. Now, you won’t use each bottle each day.

 

As I said before I use and love the Young Living brand of essential oils. I’ve had so many close friends, and family, tell me so many good things about that company and their purity and quality; it just seemed like an easy choice. Although I have used other brands, several in fact, I still like this one better. If you have any questions about this brand or these particular oils or how you can add them to your medicine cabinet and/or bug-out-bag (a future blog post I promise) leave a comment for me!

Click here for more info on essential oils.

Cheers!
Nila

 

p.s. To comply with the “powers that be” I must say that essential oils were not intended to cure or prevent any diseases…