Brushing My Teeth

OnGuard essential oil is now my favorite oil; let me tell you why...

* I've been using it to brush my teeth (2 drops with baking soda and enough water to form a paste) and it has made a huge difference in my dental health. I am one of those people who has bad dental ju-ju.  I can brush and floss until the cows come home and I still have cavities, toothaches and sensitivity. I brush with this homemade paste and then I floss and then I follow-up with my regular hippy toothpaste and my teeth are noticeably cleaner, whiter and my gums are looking much healthier, too.  *BIG smile* I'm hoping it just gets better and I don't have to visit the dentist ever again (unless it's my brother, then I'd go)!

We also love OnGuard for cleaning, disinfecting, sanitizing our hands, diffusing into the air, ingesting for sore throats and coughs and inhaling to help cleanse internally.

But, really...I'm most excited about brushing my teeth with it. :)

Essential Cleaning

Essential oils are wonderful for making all natural, safe and very effective household cleaning solutions. Here are some ideas:

Amazing

A fellow doTERRA user, here where I live, has experienced amazing healing results from using doTERRA's Helichrysum and On Guard blend essential oils on her husband's diabetic ulcer, which formed on his foot. Below is what happened after he began using the oils!

"He has an injury from his time in the airforce that caused the bumps on his foot in the arch and on the top of his foot. Than the complications of diabetes cause an ulcer to start in April of 2012. They fought with antibiotics for 4 months. She got her oils from doTERRA in September of 2012 and in 3 weeks came this MIRACLE that has everyone dropping their jaw. It was a blessing to see him up and walking. :)

The ulcer was a result of a blister he got the last Saturday in April. The first weekend in June, the blister burst and the ulcer was the result. When we came back from vacation, his podiatrist put him on the knee dolly and said he would not be able to walk on it until February 2013. Once we received the oils he began using them. The 3rd photo is the 10 day mark, and it was fully healed after 3 weeks. I was concerned he would lose the rest of his foot after this; however, he is now walking better than I have seen him walk in years. This is the same foot he lost two toes and part of the foot on (the outer side of the foot). "~ Dawn Hansen

Dawn's husband put the two oils directly on the ulcer (neat, no dilution) twice daily.

Absolutely amazing is all I have to say!

The Power of Diffusing

Many teachers I know diffuse essential oils in their classrooms. Many homes I know do as well, but I think it's even more important in a classroom setting. So many different germs and sicknesses floating around, not to mention odor issues. Popular and affective oils to use are Wild Orange, Lemon, grapefruit and On Guard. These will all purify the air of contaminants and germs, while leaving behind a fresh, clean and uplifting scent. These oils can also be used as a disinfectant spray. On Guard, especially, can be added to water in a spray bottle and sprayed over hard surfaces. Purify is another doTERRA blend that is used to clean the air.

Lavender is also used in diffusers to help calm nerves and promote focus. I use lavender often for this purpose, especially at night when my creatures need to settle down and sleep soundly. Works like a charm.

I also use the blend Breathe or eucalyptus, rosemary and lavender when my littles' have a cold or allergy/sinus issues. Works wonderfully to help clear their nasal passages and chests.

There are LOTS of diffusers out there, here are a couple popular ones:

Lotus Diffuser

Aroma-Ace Diffuser






*Another low-cost option is taping a cotton ball, that has a drop or two of EOs, to a fan. Turn it on and it will diffuse. One thing you do not want to do is use heat when diffusing. It affects the properties of the oils and makes them less affective.

Officially Winter in the Arctic

It's officially Winter where I live. Not because of massive amounts of snow or cold, but because today is daylight savings "fall back". That is when it's official. When the sun doesn't rise until 9am and then 10am and then 10:30am and sets at 6pm, and then 5pm and then 4pm....you get the point. Personally, I see it as a time of hibernation and an opportunity to get much needed rest, unless you have a newborn....which I do not:)
 
We are homeschoolers, so I have the luxury of letting my children and myself sleep in past the darkness, not rushing around the house- breakfast, book bags, coats, snow boots, mittens and balaclavas flying while we try and catch the big yellow bus! We don't mind the dark or the cold, most days. But, what I do mind is the sickness that inevitably comes with it. That I could do without.

We have pertussis going around the local schools and even though my creatures are not attending public school, they are still at risk.

There are specific essential oils that are proven to be highly effective at killing bacteria and pathogens, as well as disinfect and purify.

Here are some ideas and applications to help ward off the bugs this season:

* Don't kill off the body's friendly bacteria, which is the first line of defense, with conventional hand sanitizers. They do kill bad bacteria, but also the good ones, as well. By using essential oils your utilizing the body's knowledge of which bacteria to get rid of.

~doTERRA's oil blend OnGuard in distilled water, put into a mini-spritzer bottle is a natural alternative as a hand sanitizer.

~Also, just a drop of OnGuard onto the hands, after they have been washed, is effective. After rubbing into hands, inhaling the oil is beneficial to cleanse the nasal passages and lungs.

~Applying OnGuard to the soles of the feet, on reflex points and breathing it in by diffusing it into the air is also very important in cleansing the air from bacteria and pathogens. Since so many diseases are airborne, inhaling antibacterial oils is essential. OnGuard is proven in lab tests to kill bacteria. Lemon essential oil is also purifying. Either of these oils can clean the air in a room in about 20 minutes. Investing in a quality EOs diffuser is an ideal way to purify the air you and your family breathe.


*If you've already contracted a bad cold with cough, etc., you can try the following regimen to help shorten the illness and keep from sharing it with others:

~Rub OnGuard on the soles of feet every 20 minutes for the first hour, then every half hour for the next hour and every hour and every two hours, etc., throughout the day. Use the Breathe oil blend to help soothe a cough as well as inhaling melaleuca. Other single oil options that help with coughs, congestion, etc. are eucalyptus and rosemary. Diluting these oils with a carrier oil and rubbing on the chest, neck and back, as well as inhaling them, are wonderfully effective. These symptoms will not start to improve until the bacteria are under control, however.

~Blessings

This Week in Pathogens....

This week has been a busy one, pathogen-wise. Since we have SO MANY children, Fall...Winter...and... Spring are all testy on the sickness home front. Some weeks we are all healthy, all at the same time and other weeks we are all sick, all at the same time. Then there are weeks where everyone shares their wealth of germs, in stages and we are sick for what seems like forever. I hate those weeks. The battle has been against several bugs this week, including (but, not limited to) double conjunctivitis (aka. pink eye), two ear infections and a nasty cold. Oh, and I pulled my neck/back out of place yesterday. That was the highlight of my week. Try putting your game face on for Arctic trick-or-treating when you can barely move your neck and upper back! Ughhhh...

In the spirit of being positive, I decided to get my oils out and see what, and who, we could slather up. My youngest, who is sixteen months old, woke-up with two very gooey, yellow, watery, red eyes a few days ago, as well as a runny nose and overall feeling like the cruds. Extremely irritable and not interested in eating or drinking his precious goat milk (which he loves more than life). So, I knew he was seriously coming down with something nasty. I looked in my EOs guide and found that lavender treats pink eye. An experienced-in-EOs friend confirmed that treatment option and I began using lavender around both of his eyes, 3 times a day, careful not to actually get it into his eyes (which is much harder than you think!). I did not have to dilute it as it can be applied 'neat' (aka. undiluted). I also rubbed melaleuca and lavender oil, diluted in a few drops of grapeseed oil, and On Guard oil blend into the soles of his feet, several times a day. Since he also had symptoms of a viral cold (runny-stuffy nose/congestion, etc.) I also diluted some eucalyptus oil and rosemary oil with grapeseed oil and rubbed that onto his chest and neck, several times a day and especially at night before I laid him down to sleep. Success!! We are on day 3 and his eyes are completely cleared up and his cold is also on the mend. Most notable is he feels much better and is back to his happy self. Nothing worse than an unhappy babe.

 Hopefully, the virus will have worked it's way through by the end of the week.  And, he has smelled wonderfully with all those delicious oils on him the last few days! I have to say how much I love the lavender and eucalyptus oils, especially when used together. So soothing and therapeutic. The last time I dealt with pink eye, I ran to my doctor's office and got scripts for eye drops and an antibiotic. Of course, I'm not 100% sure if his case was bacterial, viral or allergy related, but I'm guessing viral. I would use the same approach, however, if I suspected a bacterial infection...which is usually coupled with a fever, which he never had. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to use natural oils to treat sickness and not have to run into town, which is 20+ miles away, with all my SIX children in tow, every time we get sick. Not that I refuse to ever see a doctor, but it is a last resort.

My 3rd oldest son (7) and his little sister (3) both had ear infections this week, as well. Lavender and melaleuca on a cotton ball and inserted into the ear (at night, after they have fallen asleep), and massaged around the ear and in the outer ear opening several times a day have done wonders. I also used Mullein drops compound (from the Naturopath doctor) several times a day. Again, I see huge improvements and there are no more complaints of earaches. One happy Momma here.

Two of my other kiddos have the cold that is being passed around and I am using the On Guard oil blend on the soles of the feet (mostly at night, before bed), and eucalyptus, rosemary and melaleuca oils, diluted in grapeseed oil (but, you can use any carrier oil) on their chests, necks and noses, especially before bed. If I had the oil blend Breathe, I would use that on their chests and so on, but I do not currently...so the other oils are working nicely.

And, last but not least, my neck and back. I have chronic back pain, mostly in the sites where I had epidurals with half of my births (the other half I realized that I could indeed birth, drug-free...without dieing). Plus, I suffer from mild to-moderate scoliosis and poor posture, constant lifting of children and being on my feet much of the day. My go-to oils for my back issues/pain are peppermint and lavender, diluted in a carrier oil. I also love the oil blend Deep Blue and sandalwood and frankincense oils are also very effective for back pain. That coupled with a hot pad or hydrotherapy and my back pain melts away. Now, I will admit I have prescription pain pills that I break out when I cannot function, (an in walk, get out of bed...you get the point). But, those are a last resort because of the side effects I experience including: extreme drowsiness, dizziness and a general feeling of fog.

That is our week in pathogens! Hoping next week brings a much needed break from the sicks and we can enjoy some predicted snowfall. :)

~Blessings