When Status Quo Isn't Good Enough

Anyone who knows me, knows that my battle with allergies and upper respiratory crud are my arch-nemesis.  Allergies kick in, asthma kicks in, upper respiratory crud kicks in.  Well, in the past 2 years, my older two have been to the doctor for upper respiratory crud 3 times each.  They take zyrtec, sometimes it seems to help, sometimes it doesn't.  At our list visit, the pediatrician said that studies show that honey is more effective for coughs than a lot of pharmaceutical cough syrups.  So guess what we are using for cough syrup?  Honey, sometimes with lemon.

About a month ago, my sister in law introduced me to Essential Oils by doTerra.  My sister apparently was also introduced to them and has seen her friends' daughter's health improve drastically.  Sis calls them hippie oils.  And honestly, my first thought of them when I heard about them was the memory of patchouli wafting down the hall from certain students' rooms in the college dorm 17 years ago.  I couple of months ago, a friend that I met online also posted a picture of her stash of oils that she was packing in fer toiletry bag for her family's vacation to Disney World.  Come to find out they have not been on antibiotics in 18 months. She has been using them for 2 years.

Anyway, my point is that modern medicine is not working for my family.  My kids don't even get fevers often, they just get this really bad crud that takes 2 weeks to shake.  Like their mama.  Antibiotics kill good and bad bacteria.  And sometimes it takes 2 rounds for us to knock out the nasty cough.

There has got to be a better way.  Will essential oils be part of that better way?

When my introductory kit of lavender, peppermint, and lemon oils arrived, I decided to try the lemon in my water and the lavender on my daughter at bedtime.  Honestly, that first night I did not notice a difference.  She doesn't fall asleep easily, and that night was no different.  A couple of days later, she requested that I massage her feet with those oils again.  And again the next night.  Both of those nights, she did settle and stay asleep better.

My personal usage... well, I have simultaneously begun drinking more water and using coconut oil in my coffee, so who knows.  But the past 2 days, my mid-afternoon pick me up of lemon water and peppermint oil inhalation have certainly not hurt.  I didn't even feel like I needed a nap yesterday.  Coincidence?  I don't know. 

But status quo is not good enough, so in conjunction with trying to eat right and exercise, it's worth a shot.