Essential oils for colds

Why not, instead of taking pills – for fever, headache, sneezing, runny nose, which are symptoms of acute respiratory infection – try using natural remedies with healing properties, which essential oils have for colds or flu.

This treatment is considered alternative, but its benefits are obvious, and possible side effects occur much less frequently than with synthetic drugs.

What can you use to "grease" a cold?

When we feel a cold, first of all, we use various cold teas. Well-known folk remedies will come to the rescue with a runny nose, as well as if there is a sore throat or a cough begins. Milk with butter for a cold or milk with honey and butter for a cold with a cough help many people cope with these symptoms quite quickly.

By the way, in this case it is better to add cocoa butter to milk instead of regular butter when you have a cold. Due to the methylxanthine alkaloid theobromine it contains, you can ease the cough, avoiding complications such as bronchitis.

But sea buckthorn oil, which contains antioxidant vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids, will not help with a cold – in the form of inhalations – but will not help with a cough: it is recommended to use it in the treatment of tonsillitis or pharyngitis.

The main indications for the use of sea buckthorn oil are: burns, frostbite, bedsores, cervical erosion, skin damage caused by ionizing radiation, and it is also used in the complex therapy of gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers.

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Using Essential Oils for Colds

All essential oils are of plant origin and are based on esters, the molecules of which contain hydrocarbon radicals and oxygen. These are derivatives of carboxylic acids and phenol, aliphatic alcohols, aldehydes and ketones, as well as a large class of isoprene compounds in the form of terpenes and terpenoids, which contain carbon atoms and fragments of isoprene - a phytogenic unsaturated diene hydrocarbon secreted by plants, which protects plants from negative environmental factors.

The use of essential oils for colds is due to the fact that most of these substances have pronounced medicinal properties. It would take a long time to list these substances, because there are so many of them, for example, tea tree or peppermint essential oil contains almost a hundred components. However, the pharmacodynamics of biologically active components, as well as their pharmacodynamics, are not described, but only their inherent properties are indicated, including: antibacterial and antiviral, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, vasoconstrictor and antispasmodic.

The most commonly used essential oils for colds are eucalyptus, fir, juniper, rosemary; tea tree oil; oregano, thyme, peppermint and lemon balm oils; camphor oil.

Thus, the antiseptic and bronchodilator effect, due to which eucalyptus oil is widely used in the form of steam inhalations for colds with cough, is provided by the monocyclic terpene cineole (it accounts for about 72% of the composition), the monoterpene pinene and such a terpene ketone as piperitone (which increases the formation of sputum in the lower respiratory tract). And the anti-inflammatory effect of this essential oil is provided by the terpene alcohol citronellol, cyclic monoterpenes (phellandrenes) and aldehyde citral. For more details, see the publication - Eucalyptus oil, which describes in detail how you can treat a cold with this oil and how to do inhalations correctly.

Tea tree essential oil (which, like eucalyptus, is a member of the botanical family Myrtaceae) also contains cineole; it also contains a mixture of many monoterpenes with antiseptic and analgesic properties and the sesquiterpene lactone caryophyllene, a strong antimicrobial and antiviral substance. The caryophyllene content explains the strong antibacterial effect that fir oil has on colds and acute respiratory viral infections.

It has long been known that many essential oils for colds exhibit their medicinal properties due to the presence of phenolic derivatives (monoterpene phenols). For example, thyme and oregano oils are rich in thymol and carvacrol. And camphor oil - in addition to carvacrol - contains the terpene ketone camphor; terpenes (camphene, pinenes, limonene); alpha-terpineol; terpene alcohols-antiseptics bisabolol and borneol. Bornel is present in sufficient quantities in fir, thyme and oregano oils.

Menthol, also a monoterpene alcohol, is one of the main components of peppermint oil (menthol oil); it acts as a local anesthetic (by irritating skin thermoreceptors) and constricts skin capillaries. In addition, phellandrenes and pinenes, piperitone and menthyl acetate are present in peppermint oil.

Despite its varied composition, caraway oil is rarely used for colds: it is used mainly for digestive problems and increased gas formation in the intestines, to relieve spasms in the gastrointestinal tract.

Oils for colds in children

It should be borne in mind that there are certain age restrictions on essential oils for children with colds: menthol and camphor oils should not be used until the age of two; eucalyptus and tea tree oils should not be used until the age of six; oregano oil should not be used until the child reaches early adolescence.

However, menthol and eucalyptus oil are included in some external remedies recommended for colds in children. More information can be found in the article - Ointment for colds in children: to rub or not to rub?

How to Use Essential Oils for Colds

There are several methods of using essential oils for colds and acute respiratory viral infections: in the form of aromatherapy, steam and spray inhalations, rinsing, rubbing and taking baths.

While the evaporation of essential oils of tea tree, juniper or rosemary indoors is more suitable for preventing the spread of rhinoviruses, the inhalation method is aimed at combating many symptoms of acute respiratory diseases.

Eucalyptus oil for colds is most often used for steam inhalations for coughs - a maximum of 7 drops per 200-250 ml of hot water, and also for gargling - three to four drops per half a glass of water.

Dosage of oils for inhalation (per procedure): fir oil – three drops; tea tree or thyme – two drops; oil with menthol (peppermint) – three to four drops; oregano – no more than two to three drops.

By the way, menthol oil helps to cope with a headache when you have a cold; all you need to do is rub one drop into your temples.

It is recommended to make a mixture of essential oils for colds (for inhalation), for example, two drops of eucalyptus and tea tree oils, or three drops of eucalyptus and peppermint oils, or five drops of eucalyptus oil and one drop of thyme (or oregano) oil.

A bath with oils can also help improve the condition when you have a cold, but it can only be taken at a normal body temperature. For baths, take, for example, tea tree oil and mix it with a tablespoon of refined vegetable oil in the following proportion: one drop of essential oil for every 12 drops of vegetable oil. You can mix essential oil (8-10 drops) with several tablespoons of milk or a saline solution, and then add it to the bath.

Use during pregnancy

Tea tree oil, peppermint and thyme oil, as well as camphor oil, cannot be used during the entire pregnancy. And menthol oil for colds - also during lactation.

In the first and second trimesters, essential oils of oregano and fir are prohibited.

Contraindications for use

Any essential oil should not be used in the treatment of colds and other diseases in the presence of individual hypersensitivity, which in some may reach complete intolerance.

Contraindications to the use of eucalyptus and fir oils include arterial hypertension, epilepsy and severe renal failure. In addition, fir oil should not be used in cases of angina pectoris and a history of myocardial infarction.

Tea tree oil is contraindicated for low blood pressure and vascular dystonia.

Menthol and peppermint oil itself are not recommended for those who suffer from insomnia, as well as for bronchial spasms and hay fever.

In the presence of epilepsy and habitual convulsions, it is unsafe to use camphor oil, and cardiological problems, in particular, arrhythmia and cardiac ischemia, impose a strict ban on the use of essential oils of thyme and oregano.

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Side effects

As a rule, the side effects of the listed essential oils are manifested by allergies and irritation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. And camphor oil, in addition, can lead to hyperemia of the skin, bronchospasm and tachycardia.

Overdose

Taking too much of any essential oil may increase side effects and lead to nausea.

Interactions with other drugs

Information regarding the interaction of essential oils with other drugs is limited, but the general recommendation concerns their ability to reduce the therapeutic effect of homeopathic remedies.

Storage conditions

Optimal storage conditions for essential oils: away from light sources, at room temperature.

Best before date

The packaging of essential oils indicates their expiration date, which usually does not exceed two to three years (from the date of their production).

Maholda oils for colds: what is it

Makhold's pharmacy oils for colds are a mixture of essential oils for inhalation (respiratory tract, nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses) using a special Makhold inhaler.

The oil blend includes essential oils of eucalyptus, cedar, rosemary, mint and tea tree. It is indicated that this blend cannot be used to treat pregnant women and children under 12 years of age.

Using essential oils for colds and flu, as reviews show, can not only alleviate the symptoms of the disease in a completely natural way, but also stimulate the immune system, and prevent respiratory viruses from lingering in your home.