Your June Guide to Essential Oils - Health and Wellness Nashville

This month, Sheila Mcginnis takes a look at how Essential Oils can help if you have an allergic reaction or are bitten or stung by an insect.

Have you been bitten by a mosquito? Stung by a bee or wasp? What about the effects of poison ivy or poison oak? Well if you have you know the misery of the itchy and painful rash or welt it leaves behind. You could grab a steroid cream to relieve the inflammation and itch, but are you aware of the side effects of using steroid creams for long-term (over four weeks)? It can lead to skin thinning, bruising, increased hair growth where the cream is being applied, and of course a possible allergic reaction. Below are some natural alternatives:

First of all keep in mind for infants you would only use 1-2 drops of essential oils (EO) to 1 tbs of carrier oil, for children ages 3-5 use 1-3 drops of EO to 1-2 tsp of carrier oil, and for adults most oils are safe to be put directly on the spot and better to layer the oil or you could mix in a carrier oil to cover a larger area.

Oils and herbs to have on hand are: Lavender, Frankincense, Thyme, Peppermint, Roman Chamomile, Calendula, and Eucalyptus, Comfrey, and Plantain (not the fruit but the weed).

Having even just one or two of these oils, herbs, or weeds will be soothing and beneficial to a lot of the allergic reactions we could get from our spring and summer bites and rashes.

Let’s discuss the one thing I’ve listed that’s not an EO or a herb, but a weed! Plantain, also known as fleawort grows in just about any yard in the USA. It’s edible even. If you are at a park or in your yard and don’t have your “natural emergency kit” near you, just grab a leaf or two, chew to release its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory super-powers and place it on the sting and bites. You could even mix with a lotion or a bit of beeswax and coconut oil to apply to poison ivy.

For most rashes and itching, issues mix 1-2 drops of lavender, 1-2 drops of peppermint, and 2-3 drops of Roman Chamomile to 1 Tbs of coconut oil and apply to the location as needed.

For Wasps, Bees, and Hornet stings you will need to remove the stinger, apply a cold compress of 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar, 1 drop of thyme, 2-3 drops of Roman Chamomile, 2 drops of lavender, and 1-2 drops of peppermint. Apply this compress up to 3-4 times during the day. If you have Comfrey available you can lay the leaf on the area oreven make a poultice with all the above.

For Mosquitoes, you can use Lavender and/or Frankincense.

For Ticks, you will want to carefully get the tick out (put the tick in a jar and label it when you were bitten and where you were in case you have serious issues so that your doctor may be able to identify what you may possibly have). Use Lavender, 1-2 drops every five minutes for 30-45 minutes.

Another recipe I really like for rashes or bites, that has some swelling to it, is mixing EO with witch hazel for a simple relief spray. The other recipe I like is using these oils to prevent insect bites in the first place. There are a lot of different recipes online for bug repellents, but if you have peppermint, eucalyptus, a citrus (lemongrass or lemon), thyme, and/or lavender use up to 5 drops of all or even one or two of these oils in a small spray bottle with distilled water and spray before you go out and even take your diffuser outside on your deck.

There are so many more recipes as well as advice about using oils and herbs for allergic reactions, but I hope you can start with these recipes and see how they help. If you have a favorite recipe let me know at l_mcginnis@bellsouth.net!