This time of the year always seems to sneak up on us: Flu Season. And if you have school aged children (or work in a school yourself) it just seems like an inevitable process. You sit back and wait for disaster to strike… but it doesn’t have to be this way!
Last flu season was one of the worsts seen in our area. We were getting calls left and right from the schools, letters were going home in backpacks, and the news was even reporting on the crazy outbreak. It seemed like it was just hitting everyone’s home, house-by-house. Taking over your lives with sickness, doctors appointments, and medicine.
I was dreading the day one of us woke up with those gut wrenching symptoms, but it never came…
Flu season passed and our house seemed to escape the wreckage. How did this happen? Did I pre-load my family with medicine just to be on the safe side? Nope (and I will never do that, read my post about medicines here and you will see why). Did I hire a witch doctor? No, well, maybe. I did pray a lot over our house, but I certainly wouldn’t classify God as a witch doctor.
So what did I do?
I went into my handy-dandy, all natural medicine cabinet and whipped out my secret weapons: lavender and an oil blend called “germ fighter”. Â You read that right, I used oils. And it was so simple.
Every night, I would either diffuse lavender or the oil blend in each of our rooms. Normally, I just stuck to the oil blend, because germ fighter just sounds like a kickbutt flu fighter- but I did use lavender every few days to change things up a bit. And that’s it.
(I buy my oils in bulk from Plant Therapy, so I pay $5 per bottle instead of about $15 when they are bought individually. However, the $5 bottles are smaller (10 ml vs. 30 ml). Even $15 is a STEAL for a bottle that large when compared to other brands! & They’re 100% Pure– click to read on why that is so important)
I diffused the oils, but still a bit skeptical, I sat back and waited for that awful three letter word to hit our house- but it never did! Of course, me being me, I would forget a few nights here and there. And half the time, I only remembered because my elephant brained 4 year old (I swear she has the brain of an elephant, she NEVER forgets anything!) would remind me. Â And it was still okay! The oils we did use were already doing their job and working for us, even with my forgetful mind.
Don’t know if your kids will like the smell of the oils at night? Well, I will tell you how it works at our house. First of all, depending on the amount of drops you use, the smell is not that overpowering. It’s generally a light scent that you can smell.
And I can’t guarantee your kids will, but my kids LOVE when I use the oils in their rooms at night! They often ask for it. I think it has become something soothing for them. I place it close to their beds- and remind them NOT to mess with the diffuser. It’s not a big deal if they do; I just don’t want to wake up the next morning to a tipped over diffuser and wasted oils. And most diffusers, Â like the ones I use in the kid’s rooms, have LED lights, so it doubles as an extra night light for them.
I didn’t have trouble convincing my kids to use the oils, but my husband on the other hand… he is a bit, let me think of a nice way to put this, opinionated… However, after weeks of using the oils at night, and seeing the results we were having, it didn’t “bother” him anymore. Which was a huge win in my book!
So how can you fight the flu without medicines? Use 100% all natural essential oils!! I promise, you wont regret it.
My oil cabinet is probably one of my favorite places in my house. Whenever anyone is sick- cough, sniffle, upset tummy- that’s the first place I run to. And 9/10 it works right away! Anything to keep unneeded toxins (like the things that are used in so many of the products we use today- yes, even medicines) away from my family, I love!! And it works! That’s the best part.
When our town was hit with the flu armageddon, we were one of the very few left standing and I contribute it all to the use of essential oils!
Have you ever used essential oils before? Especially to combat illnesses? If so, how did it work out for you and what did you use? If you have any recommendations on any other oils that are helpful during these situations (which I know there are MANY), I’d love to hear about them!
*This post contains affiliate links. By clicking on those links (bold & blue) you will be redirected to Amazon and I will receive a small commission on any purchase made.
Love this! I’ve been thinking about joining the oil craze. My 6 Year old coughs a lot at night in the winter. I think its cold induced. Would love an alternative to vicks vapor rub since I’m sure there is some icky stuff in there but it’s The only thing I’ve tried that slightly helps. Thanks for the great post!
We used to get a lot of those coughs too! And I used to be a firm believer in the Vicks on the bottom of the feet at night – it helps, but like you said, who knows what’s in that thing! The amazing thing is, the eucalyptus oil smells exactly like Vicks (& works better too!). You should definitely given them a try (: