This brief diary is inspired by Puddytat who along with other intrepid Wisconsinites have been fighting for truth and justice.
Alas! Puddytat has a terrible flu, just on the eve of game day! So, I dedicate this diary to her getting better.
Since I am not close to rush over and bring her some home remedies, I am sharing this recipe with all of you. It works wonderfully for me. The original base of the recipe was given by a doctor. I have been studying essential oils and to a lesser extent, herbs, for years and try to make as many of my own home preparations as possible. For common aliments, this approach can be very effective and far less costly that going the BigPharma route. And I like the independence that this knowledge provides.
This is a miracle recipe that does wonders for me. Perhaps it will help you. I hope it does.
Baths are an ancient way of healing. When you think about it, our skin is the largest organ in our body, so immersing in a bath that has medicinal ingredients in it, can help the medicine get to your body quickly. It depends what you put in the bath.
This bath recipe is especially good for colds, flus, aches and pains. It is a great purifier.
An Epsom Salt/ Baking Soda/ Essential Oil Bath:
Take this bath clean; i.e. take a quick shower first if you need one. Do not use anything else in the bath except what you have put in.
1. Fill tub with warm water (as warm, not hot. as you can tolerate with your fever) add:
Epsom Salts (large box from supermarket) : 1-2 cups when sick, (for reg use, use 1 cup)
Baking Soda (large box from supermarket) : 1-2 cups when sick (for reg use, use 1 cup)
2. If you are fortunate enough to have any essential oils or have friends that can go to a health food shop/market get Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Lavender Oil and ? Orange Oil. Try to get organic, worth the dough. (Once you make the investment in these oils, there are many recipes for health that you can make, e.g. toothpowder.)
Reserve ~ 2/3 cup of Epsom salts in a saucer and dribble over the salts the following oils:
Add: Tea Tree Oil : (this is a must) (anti: bacterial, fungal & viral) ~6 drops
Eucalyptus Oil: (chest congestion and fighting flu) - 4 drops
Lavender Oil: (the mother of all herbs) - 6 drops (relaxes and purifies)
(the above are musts, try to get organic; you will get a lot of use from these.)
I also like to add: Orange oil- 3-4 drops..... liquid sunshine and helps your mood
(do not use Orange Oil if you are going out in the SUN for about 6 hours after. If it is not really sunny, should be ok. I use orange oil for a nighttime bath.)
Once the essential oils are mixed into Epsom salts on the saucer stir them around until all the oil is absorbed into the salts. Then once the bath is prepared and the original Epsom Salts and Baking Soda are well mixed in and just before you get into the tub, pour the contents of the saucer into the tub, and be sure to mix it in very, very well. (You are mixing the Essential Oils into the epsom salts to dissolve them in the water. Otherwise the essential OILS would float on top of the water, possibly burning you.)
Step into tub and be sure to soak for at least 20 mins. As much as you can stand. (If you feel any burning - rarely happens, then step out.... the amounts given shouldn't cause that.) If you find that this helps and you like it, you can slightly increase amounts the next time you take a bath. I put the minimum amount.
As I said, this recipe is my old standby miracle worker.
There are many books that can be a great resource for this type of self sufficiency. A brief introduction would be:
Rosemary Gladstar: herbology
Roberta Wilson, Claire Maxwell, Kurt Schnaubelt: essential oils
Stay well, everyone! Hope that this helps someone.
Good Luck Wisconsin. You are already winners! The Koch money can't buy your intrepid patriotism!
6:34 PM PT: UPDATE:
A really good online source to learn more about the properties of herbs and essential oils, so that you can use them safely and according to your sensitivities is
Mountain Rose Herbs
They maintain extensive descriptions of each herb and essential oil so you can learn about the benefits and cautions and how to enjoy them. They are also a very reliable resource if you should choose to use them.
This is really a wonderful 'hobby' to add to your life. You will save money and have much more control over unwanted chemicals, etc. And besides its fun.
7:30 PM PT: UPDATE 2:
If you go to MountainRoseHerbs, check out their Blog as well. (Go to bottom of home page on left and you will see icon for Blog.)
They feature new products as well as scores of recipes for all sorts of things that you can make yourself. I just checked it out and it has some homemade recipes 'for dad.' Other recipes are for food, drinks, all sorts of medicinal preps, body care, etc, etc. A fun read, if you become interested.