all the hype

Lately I've heard a lot of hype going around about Essential Oils. I've heard how amazing they are, how they are a natural alternative to conventional medication, and how they are Earth's natural remedy for...well, everything. I have to say I've been a skeptic though. In my experience, most of those "it's too good to be true" products...really are too good to be true.

Cue allergy season.

When we returned from the states in August, I was seemingly and suddenly allergic to everything. It was raining a lot more than our usual Augusts do, and the dust and pollen and humidity made for a pretty miserable time. Because I have so many food allergies, I'm unable to take allergy medication, and I had never been so disappointed in my lack of ability to use western meds than that month! My eyes got to the point where they were so red and painful that they look infected. I couldn't breathe and my throat always seemed to be half closed (or half open?).

I tried all the natural remedies the internet threw my way. I used cucumber on my eyes to take down the swelling. We got an air purifier. We cleaned everything. And still, there wasn't much of a difference. It was purely and simply miserable with no end in sight.

I finally put it out to my facebook friends and asked if any of them had some remedies I hadn't tried yet. Several of them suggested using essential oils, and by that time I was so desperate for any sort of relief that I decided to try them.

I began doing research and found that essential oils are not all created equal, and there are a variety of brands with a variety of ingredients, disclaimers, processing protocol, etc. ***While this post is not about one brand in particular (though I did narrow it down to only a few that would be safe and also work for what I needed them for) I suggest you do your research well if you choose to use EO's for any purpose in your own life. If you want to know which brand I chose, please shoot me a message and I'll let you know!***

After doing the research and saving up (these babies are expensive!) I finally received my lavender, lemon, and peppermint trio. I did more research on the best way to apply them for allergies, and tried out a few. Some of these methods included diffusing them, putting a drop of each on my pillow at night, and even making a homemade lotion that incorporated the three oils into it.

Even at this point, I was very skeptical that this would work.

Until it did.

I still am not at the point where I really understand why those particular oils together helped so much with my seasonal allergies, but I am grateful they did! I went from sneezing every minute or so to a few times a day, my eyes are no longer raw, and my throat is unclogged.

I'm not convinced that EO's are the end-all be-all for treating every ailment, but I'm definitely a lot more interested in seeing what they can do. I plan to use them in the future and report back with my findings!