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August and September mark back to school in most of North America. And, with school comes germs and illness.
Keeping my family a little healthier is what led me to essential oils and diffusion in the first place. So, now is a good time to check your cabinets and stock up on your back to school first aid kit. Here’s whats in mine:
An antimicrobial blend
Depending on the age of your kids, one good antimicrobial blend is my go-to when someone gets sick, or we’ve been around someone sick.
There are many blends based around the legends of plague resistant grave robbers, most famously the Thieves Blend™.
Many companies offer similar blends, even though they can’t call it that (due to trademark). I like Pirates Blend by the Essential Oil Company. It has a soft, warm, cinnamon scent and contains Clove Bud, Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Lavender and Cedarwood.
Another alternative is Plant Therapy’s popular Germ Fighter. It has Lemon, Clove Bud, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus and Rosemary.
Some of the oils in these blends are pretty powerful and shouldn’t be used routinely. They also are not recommended for younger children. For kids ages 2-10, Plant Therapy’s Germ Destroyer is a good alternative.
Shop:Germ Fighter Synergy Blend Essential Oil at Plant Therapy
(affiliate link)
Read more: Make your own four thieves blend
A rotation of gentle everyday oils for diffusion
It is not necessary to diffuse every day to keep your family healthier, but if you do, a nice rotation of oils that are safe but effective can be used. My top three choices would be Lavender, Lemon, and Tea Tree.
I often mix two together, but Lemon and Lavender can easily be diffused on their own. Tea Tree is more medicinal smelling so is better in a blend.
You can also blend in other oils for variety:
Lavender blends well with bergamot, citrus oils, cedarwood, clary sage, geranium, rosemary, pine, and patchouli.
Lemon blends well with lavender, neroli, ylang ylang, sandalwood, chamomile, eucalyptus, juniper, geranium, other citrus, and elemi.
Tea Tree blends well with rosemary, lemon, lavender, peppermint, and eucalyptus.
Most essential oils offer some antimicrobial benefit so don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to these three oils. I chose them because they have few safety precautions and serve our purposes of reducing germs in the air, and helping our body resist any germs we may have been exposed to.
Lavender is good for, well, almost everything!
Lemon is great for refreshing the air.
Tea Tree is a good anti-microbial oil.
One more oil you can add to a rotation of everyday oils is Immune Boom. The oils in this KidSafe blend (ages 2-10) are designed to work synergistically to promote a healthy immune system.
To keep things mixed up, here is a sample weekly rotation:
Day 1: Lemon
Day 2: Lemon + Tea Tree
Day 3: Immune Boom
Day 4: Lavender + Lemon
Day 5: Lavender + Tea Tree
Day 6: Immune Boom
Day 7: Lavender
While you can diffuse a couple times a day for 30 minutes, it is not necessary and sometimes less is more. I diffuse once a day when the kids come home from school. I also take days off from diffusing altogether.
Read more: Diffusing around children
Shop:Prepare for the Fall Sniffles With the KidSafe Wellness Sampler Set at Plant Therapy! (affiliate link) This kit contains Germ Destroyer, Immune Boom and a Sniffle Stopper Blend.
A First Aid Kit for Symptoms
Finally, when illness sets in, I like to have a few oils on hand for some of the most common symptoms of the winter ickies.
Peppermint is good for congestion, headaches, and nausea.
Eucalyptus is great for congestion and cold symptoms.
Ginger is good for nausea.
If your child is older than 3, according to safety expert Robert Tisserand it is okay to diffuse peppermint and eucalyptus. Please see his complete recommendations here
Read More: Essential Oils for the Flu
Read More: Essential Oils for Nausea
The Whole First Aid Kit
Putting this all together, my go-to kit has:
Pirates Blend/Germ Fighter/Germ Destroyer or a similar anti-microbial
Lavender
Lemon
Tea Tree
Peppermint
Eucalyptus
Ginger
A few blend suggestions using these oils:
Nausea: Lavender + Peppermint
Lavender + Ginger
Congestion: Eucalyptus + Peppermint
Eucalyptus + Lemon
Coughs: Eucalyptus + Tea Tree + Lavender
Eucalyptus + Peppermint + Lavender
Headaches: Peppermint + Lavender
Colds (general): Eucalyptus + Peppermint
Lemon + Lavender + Peppermint
What else can you do?
Sometimes we get a little caught up in trying to find an oil for everything, but I think it is important to remember that the #1 thing you can do to stay healthy is free. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. This is especially important before eating.
In addition, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth as much as possible.
I recommend avoiding overuse of hand sanitizers. I keep some in my car for when I don’t have access to handwashing, but otherwise I try to wash my hands when possible. Hand sanitizers may not be effective at killing all types of germs, notably norovirus (stomach bug).
Read more about this at the CDC website: Show me the Science-When and how to use Hand Sanitizer
It doesn’t take a huge arsenal of oils to keep your family healthier this school season. What’s in your oily first aid kit?
