Cold & Flu

Colds and flu are caused by a virus and have a broad list of symptoms, which pretty much encompasses any sickness with one or more of the following symptoms: fever, sore throat, lung and nasal congestion and dripping, aches and pains, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and feeling just horrible. These symptoms are the way the body removes toxins so another cause could be an over abundance of toxins in your body. Either way the following remedies are to help boost the immune system to aid the body in healing. The body is what heals you from these conditions, God designed our bodies to take care of invaders and toxins and remedies are only aids to support the body in that natural function of healing.  

These remedies are for general cold and flu, you will also want to support specific systems that may be affected such as the respiratory and digestive systems.

You can use these remedies and measures for prevention as well as healing. I suggest diffusing one or more of the essential oils listed below during the cold and flu season to boost the immune system of everyone in the home that inhales it. You also have a better chance of avoiding illness if you are eating whole foods and staying away from processed foods and sugar as addressed in Nutrition & The Body.

• At the first sign of illness cut out all meat, dairy and sugar until the patient is 100% once again. Meat is heavy on the system and the energy put into digestion could go toward healing. Dairy congests the body by producing more mucus that could clog the lymph and respiratory system and sugar is a strain on the immune system, preventing it from doing its job at healing the body.  

• Support the Immune System so it can work optimally.

• Echinacea taken every hour for 24 hours, continue another 24 hours if needed.

• Massage one of the essential oils, herbal oils or salves below on the bottoms of the feet and along the spine.

• Diffuse an essential oil throughout the home for the duration of the illness.  Thieves is a great immune boosting and antibacterial blend, you could also choose one from below.

• Add more garlic, onions, cinnamon, ginger and herbs to your meals. Black pepper drains chronic sinus and dissolves mucus.

• Administer plenty of fluids, including herbal teas, smoothies, fresh juice, broth and probiotic drinks, such as rejuvalec. Stay away from processed drinks and juices that are high in sugar, artificial colors, and other not so great ingredients - fresh is always best!

• Hot beverages - drinking any type of hot beverage or broth will help open up the pathways in the body; draining mucus, expelling waste and promoting blood, lymph and urine flow. My favorite is Ginger/Lemon Tea!

• Rest, rest, then rest some more. As you rest the body can put all its energy into expelling pathogens, disposing of waste, and over all healing. Rest is the key to quicker healing. 

• Herbal Detox Formula - take at the first sign of illness until symptoms subside - very powerful!

• Bone broth

• Hot Honey and Lemon

• Herbal honey

• Elderberry syrup

• Garlic oil - apply to bottoms of feet, along the spine, rub in beginning behind the ears and down around the jaw following the lymph path all the way to the throat area; use in meals and apply to chest if respiratory issues are a concern.

• Hot herbal baths - use any of the herbs below. Once familiar with the herbs I love to go into my herbal storage and just start adding herbs into my French Press letting the spirit guide. Some of my favorites for an herbal bath are yarrow, thyme, sage, oregano and bee balm - though each bath will be different depending on the person and the symptoms. This is one of my favorite remedies for any illness and a powerful one!

• Ginger Bath

• Ginger Lemon Tea

• Heal All blend (Sick Syrup) - another go to favorite of mine. I give 2 dropperfuls of glycerite every hour until symptoms subside.

• Immune Booster Tea

• Cold Kicker Blend

• Golden Goodness Mix

• Dr. Christopher's Plague Remedy

• Four Thieves

• Onion remedies

• Herbal C

• Autumn Spice tea

• Blood Purifying blend

• Cold Sheet Treatment for severe and stubborn cases

Use these herbs in any way you like. Incorporate into foods, make a warm herbal tea, herbal baths, foot soaks, steams, extracts, oils, etc. The severity of the cold/flu may determine what type of herbs to use and how often. Sometimes you need to be as aggressive as the virus. Use the spirit to guide!

• Antiviral herbs

• I'll incorporate antimicrobial herbs for stubborn cases

• Basil

• Bee balm

• Cinnamon (all the spices are going to be helpful)

• Cayenne

• Garlic

• Ginger

• Hyssop

• Lavender

• Mint family

• Pine

• Raspberry leaf

• Thyme

• Oregano

Diffuse, place on a tissue and sniff; use in a tub or shower; place on forehead, temples, back of neck, chest and throat and wherever there may be aches and pains.  Apply immune boosting oils along the spine and bottoms of the feet.

You can use pretty much any essential oil to aid the body's immune system during a cold or the flu.  This list is more specific for supporting the body systems that seem to be affected during cold and flu season, such as the immune, digestive, respiratory and sinus.

• Immunity blend (I like REVIVE Immunity Boost)

• Eucalyptus

• Frankincense

• Lavender

• Lemon

• Melaleuca

• Melissa

• Oregano

• Peppermint

• Rosemary

• Ravintsara

• Thyme

• Angelica

• Cypress

• Cinnamon

• Clove

• Copaiba

• Ginger

• Ledum

• Myrtle

• Orange

• Pine, fir or spruce oils