Month: October 2021

Benefits Of Eucalyptus Oil

Eileen Burns aromatherapy, alternative medicine, Medicine, natural medicine , , , 1 Comment
Health Benefits of Eucalyptus Oil in treatment of cold, flu, pain, inflammation, dental issues

Health Benefits Of Eucalyptus Oil

Some of the main health benefits of Eucalyptus Oil in modern medicine and holistic medicine. The history of eucalyptus oil, its use in medicine, and how to use eucalyptus at home as a natural home remedy.

Eucalyptus is widely used in medicine and pharmacology, especially in the treatment of respiratory conditions, coughs, colds, and influenza. It is also used in pain relief and as an anti-inflammatory including being anti-bacterial, antimicrobial, anti-viral and antiseptic.

That is why I recommend you have eucalyptus at home in your natural medicine cabinet. Although it has to be used with certain cautions, not used on infants, eucalyptus is very versatile.

 

What Is Eucalyptus Oil?

Eucalyptus Oil comes from the Eucalyptus tree which is native to Australia and surrounding areas.  There are actually over 400 species of eucalyptus but most eucalyptus oil is extracted from the Eucalyptus Globulus tree.

The eucalyptus oil is obtained by extracting oil from the leaves through steam distillation.

When extracted the main chemical properties of Eucalyptus Globulus are ” Eucalyptol (51.62%), α-pinene (23.62%), p-cymene (10%), β-myrcene (8.74%), Terpinen-4-ol (2.74%) and γ-terpinene (2.59%) were the major compounds for E. globulus.” Chemical Composition of Essential Oils from Eucalyptus Globulus and Eucalyptus Maculuta grown in Tanzania

 

 

History Of Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus oil has been used in medicine for thousands of years, by the aborigines, in Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine, as well as different types of European and Greek Medicine.

Eucalyptus trees first arrived in the UK as seeds in 1774. In 1778 two Doctors in Australia Dennis Codden and John White started to treat colic and different chest issues with distilled Eucalyptus Piperita. 

But it wasn’t until botanist Baron Ferdinand von Muller’s writings about different Eucalyptus species in approx 1860 did Eucalyptus start to come to the forefront first as antiseptic.

During the first World War 1, Eucalyptus was used to help put an end to a serious occurrence of meningitis in the midst of the influenza epidemic.

It would be later used in the treatment of different respiratory conditions and other ailments. And used in very tiny drops it would be used in dental products, such as toothpaste, mouthwash, chewing gum as well as cough drops and sweets.

Benefits Of Eucalyptus Oil For Health and Wellbeing

Medical Health Benefits Of Eucalyptus

Some of the medical health benefits of eucalyptus used in pharmacology, holistic and modern medicine.

CONTRAINDICATIONS: Do not use eucalyptus on infants, always use sparingly as it is highly potent, caution on sensitive skin.

Eucalyptus In Dental Products

Eucalyptus is widely used in mouthwash and toothpaste due to its reputation for fighting off infections, bacteria, and tooth decay. It also helps eliminate bad breath and alleviates symptoms of herpes simplex 1 (cold sores). Some dentists also suggest eucalyptus in mouthwash can help reduce the risk of receding gums.

Eucalyptus For Respiratory Infections

Eucalyptus is widely used in aromatherapy and medicine to help treat asthma, bronchitis, catarrh, coughs, colds, throat infections, and flu. I take these Eucalyptus Pastilles during the winter months.

In just one medical research paper we see how a herbal emulsion of eucalyptus oil can help treat influenza. “Oil-in-water emulsion formulated with eucalyptus leaves extract inhibit influenza virus binding and replication in vitro”

Another clinical study shows the Antibacterial effects of Eucalyptus globulus leaf extract on pathogenic bacteria isolated from specimens of patients with respiratory tract disorders. 

In aromatherapy, we recommend steam inhalation of eucalyptus oil for many respiratory infections, colds, flu, asthma, and bronchitis. As well as or a hot compress, see bottom of the page for instructions.

 

Eucalyptus For Pain Relief And In Treatment Of Inflammation

Eucalyptus oil has been used to reduce nerve-type pain such as neuralgiaand skin rash of shingles. One randomized clinical study demonstrated the benefits of eucalyptus inhalation on pain and inflammation. Known as a useful muscle relaxation and anti-rheumatic popular in many muscular balms, creams, and analgesics. 

Eucalyptus can be used in compresses for deep muscular pain and tension.  See below for hot compress instructions. This is a great Eucalyptus Balm For the muscles from NYR Organics.

 

Eucalyptus As An Insect Repellant

Eucalyptus has been officially registered as an insecticide and miticide, especially for the elimination of mites and ticks for over 70 years.

Clinical research in India found Eucalyptus Globulus to be a natural treatment against houseflies.

One way to use eucalyptus oil at home as an insect repellant is to diffuse essential oil through a diffuser. Another way is to add a few drops of eucalyptus to a spray bottle and use it to disinfect work surfaces, floors, and cupboards. Or add it with a few other oils such as tea-tree, thyme to spray bottle.

Eucalyptus Oil - Pure Eucalyptus Essential Oil

 

The Safe And Effective Use Of Essential Oils

 

Most people underestimate the power, properties, and potency of essential oils. Even though essential oils are extracts of nature every essential oil is uniquely made up of different volatile compounds.

 

Each essential oil tends to have a long list of therapeutic properties but some also have potentially toxic and harmful properties when not used in a safe and effective way.

 

So it is important that you choose the right essential oil for your and your family’s need and use that oil in the most appropriate safe and effective way for each person. That includes checking for contraindications, safety use guidelines, and buying good high-quality essential oils. That is why I choose NYR Organics and have my own online shop.

 

WARNING: EUCALYPTUS is highly potent it should not be used on infants. Use essential oils with care, especially when applying essential oil blends on children, the elderly, those with certain health challenges or medical conditions. Always check with your doctor and a qualified aromatherapist to see if essential oils are suitable for any chronic or rare medical condition.

 

Steam Inhalation Instructions:

Recommended oils for inhalation include eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, tea-tree.

 

How To Inhale Steam

You’ll need the following materials:

  • a large basin or bowl
  • water
  • a pot or kettle
  • towel

 

Steps To Inhale Safely And Effectively

  • Boil the water.
  • Carefully pour the hot water into the bowl.
  • Then drape the towel over the back of your head.
  • Turn on a timer.
  • Close your eyes and then slowly lower your head toward the bowl until you’re about 8 to 12 inches away from the water. Be extremely careful to avoid making direct contact with the water.
  • Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose for at least two to five minutes.

 

 

Aromatherapy Diffusing

Aromatherapy diffusers are a great way to diffuse essential oils out in the home. Many essential oils diffused can help eliminate or reduce viruses, boost the immune system. They can also help produce happy hormones, help you unwind and relax. Most diffusers will come with instructions on how many drops of essential oil to use to add to water tank.

 

Hot Compress Instructions

You’ll need the following materials:

  • a small bowl
  • water
  • a pot or kettle
  • small flannel or towel

For a hot eucalyptus compress, add one drop of eucalyptus oil to a small bowl of hot water. Then dip the cotton flannel into the water and apply directly to the skin.

 

Aromatherapy Bath Instructions

The best way to add essential oils to the bath is to add the oils to a base oil that will easily disperse in the bath such as avocado, coconut oil, olive oil.

 

Adult Recommendations:

Run bathwater.

Then add 5 ml of your eucalyptus essential oil blend ( a mixture of carrier oil such as coconut oil with essential oils)

Or add 5 drops of Pure Essential Oils to bathwater.

Then thoroughly disperse in water before entering the bathwater.

Relax in the bath for a minimum of 10-15 minutes to get the full benefit.

 

Natural Health Solutions For Your Families Health

 

 

 

 

 

Trauma and the Physical Body

Dr Melanie Salmon Pain, Chronic Conditions, healthy body, Pain Management, Trauma , , , , , 2 Comments
Trauma And Physical Pain. Why Chronic Pain Can Be our Physical Response To A Traumatic Event

Trauma and the Physical Body by Dr Melanie Salmon

Chronic pain is not always the result of physical injury, it may be the body’s response to a traumatic event

Not only damaging to our mental health, trauma can also have an incredible impact on our physical body. Some chronic pain complaints, for example, can be attributed to residual trauma, our body responding to past events through muscle tensing.

So, what is chronic pain? What types of chronic pain are psychological? And how can past trauma affect our current physical state? 

What is chronic pain?

In the UK, around 28 million adults are affected by some type of chronic pain (42% of the population) and globally, more than 1.5 billion (American Academy of Pain Medicine). That’s 18% of the world’s population. 

Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts for at least 12 weeks, although it may in fact last for several years. It can limit your mobility and reduce your flexibility, strength, and endurance, making it challenging to get through daily tasks and activities. 

 

Collectively, we can categorise chronic pain as somatogenic pain (the cause is found within the structure of the body, the ‘soma’) and psychogenic pain, with the most common types of pain (across both categories) including headache; post-physical trauma pain; lower back pain; arthritis pain; neurogenic pain (pain caused by nerve damage); and psychogenic pain. The latter describes pain that isn’t caused by disease or nerve damage, the cause is thought to be in the mind. 

Trauma and the physical body: psychogenic pain

Psychogenic pain is chronic, disabling pain that is primarily caused by psychological factors. Factors such as beliefs, emotions, fears, or mental illness – like depression or anxiety – can trigger, exacerbate, or maintain pain that started in an innocuous way, such as an accident or fall.

Dr Robert Scaer (amongst others) has shown that chronic stress and trauma has a profound impact on the entire mind-body system, resulting in disease, sometimes decades later. 

Scaer studied the ‘diseases of the freeze’ – those diseases originating from a dysregulated autonomic nervous system – as a result of trauma. This includes chronic psychogenic pain. 

He showed that the majority of what we consider to be ‘arthritis’ of the neck and back is in fact myofascial pain associated with stress and trauma. An MRI scan shows no relationship with pathology. 

Trauma and The Physical Body by Dr Melanie Salmon. Trauma and the Physical Body by Dr Melanie Salmon Chronic pain is not always the result of physical injury, it may be the body’s response to a traumatic event Not only damaging to our mental health, trauma can also have an incredible impact on our physical body. Some chronic pain complaints, for example, can be attributed to residual trauma, our body responding to past events through muscle tensing. So, what is chronic pain? What types of chronic pain are psychological? And how can past trauma affect our current physical state? 

Trauma and the physical body: myofascial pain syndrome 

Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a description of muscle pain: pain and inflammation in the body’s soft tissues. A chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles), it may involve either a single muscle or a muscle group. 

Myofascial and related chronic pain is often traceable to complex childhood trauma and is always distributed through the back. This can be explained by understanding the back’s role in protecting us from physical trauma or threat.

When threatened with violence, the back will step in to protect the body; the muscles of the core are intensely activated, pulling the body into a contracted foetal position for self-defence. 

Picture a five-year-old child who waits for her father to come home. A bully, her father often threatens to beat the children when they’re naughty and walks through the door shouting. Immediately her body reacts by moving into a defensive position. 

If she’s safe enough to do so, she’ll curl up into a foetal position to get the best protection she can. However, if she is unable, she will form an incomplete foetal position. Her body will still want to contract but can’t. This incomplete foetal position will be stored in her muscle memory: tense and trying to contract without being able to. 

The emotional memory of this event is stored in the muscle groups involved in the defence forever afterwards; the emotional memory of trying to defend. The neural pathways are set, and in later life when the body experiences chronic stress – any stress – all these muscles will contract as they always did before, pulling tight into the same type of protective response. Instead of pulling the body into a foetal position, however, the muscles of the back and neck ache with widespread myofascial pain. 

This type of pain is uniquely stress-related.

Neglect and the physical body: example case study

Trauma may lead to a life of low-grade sustained vigilance, sensitive to environmental as well as internal triggers. 

If you can imagine a child that was repeatedly bullied from the age of six years old, while trying to find their place in the world and connect with society, they are rejected and lack social bonding. At home, parents are absent because they work all the time and therefore don’t offer sufficient care-giver support.

The child grows up with low self-esteem, feeling unworthy and unsafe in the world; trust in them and others is diminished. They may develop an inability to express themselves and repress their emotions for fear of punishment, judgement, or rejection. 

When confronted with a difficult situation, they bottle their emotions and feel internal anguish, repeatedly releasing toxic stress chemicals into the body. 

Their immune system is compromised, making them more susceptible to illness. Over time, they develop chronic pain. 

 

Healing trauma: body and mind

What has emerged from pioneers in the field of epigenetics and neuroscience, is an understanding of the importance of healing past trauma – and doing so by working with the subconscious mind.

While we cannot go back in time and ‘un-experience’ a traumatic event, our history is imprinted within us, crystallizing as our core beliefs or “truths”. To effectively heal from our past we must bypass the rational mind and access the source of our belief systems. 

 

Using the QEC method, we are able to change the belief systems and conditioning that no longer serve us. The neuroplasticity of the brain allows us to ‘rewire’ our neural pathways, freeing us from the limitations of our past.

In this way, we can fundamentally change the way we feel about ourselves and the world around us.

Most commonly used for working with trauma, depression, grief and loss, stress, health and relationships, you can learn more about QEC here. 

 

Organic Remedies – Main Difference Between Natural Remedies

Eileen Burns alternative medicine, aromatherapy, holistic, natural medicine , , , , 1 Comment
Organic Remedies - The Main Difference Between Organic Remedies And Natural Remedies

Organic Remedies

What is the Main Difference Between Organic Remedies and Natural Remedies?

Are organic remedies and natural remedies the same or different?

What about organic medicine and natural medicine?

Should I choose organic over more natural remedies to support my family’s health and wellbeing.

Well first of all it’s important to explore what Organic And Natural means:

What is Organic?

Anything that is Organic means it is entire growth and production is free from chemicals and toxins, for example, free from anything that is not a natural fertilizer, pesticide, or preservative.

 

Difference Between Natural Remedies and Organic Remedies

Organic And Natural – What is the difference?

The biggest difference between an organic remedy and a natural remedy is both are made by the extraction or blend of ingredients from nature. For example a plant; vegetable, fruit, or tree.

In the cultivation, the plant or plants from see to end production must be completely free of anything inorganic or manmade.

 

Certification Of Organic Products

Anyone who manufactures an organic product needs to pass what is regarded as organic certification. For example, we recommend a lot of NYR Organic Products because we use them ourselves.

Neal Yard Remedies sell a variety of natural remedies, some are organic natural remedies, and some are organic essential oils. Anything that is clearly organic has to be clearly labeled.

The biggest difference between an organic remedy and a natural remedy is that both may be extracted from nature. For example a plant, vegetable, fruit, or tree. In the cultivation and growth of the plant, the plant/plants must be completely free of anything inorganic or manmade.

 

Natural Medicine

This means that natural medicine although medicine from nature isn’t necessarily organic medicine, neither is a natural remedy automatically organic remedy it is important to check the ingredients and or label of the product.

We have included some of our favourite natural and organic remedies and organic essential oils below:

Organic Remedies To Support Immune System

 

Organic Defence Aromatherapy Blend

is a perfect blend of organic aromatherapy essential oils that can help support and defend the human immune system.

It includes Organic Thyme Essential Oil, purifying Niaouli and the refreshing zing of lemongrass.

As an aromatherapist Thyme Essential Oil is one of those oils I would add to a spray bottle or blend to help fight against certain bacteria and viruses at winter. Especially to clean surfaces and the environment.

A great non-toxic product if you want to avoid chemical nasties.

 

Organic Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Pure organic eucalyptus oil is another powerful essential oil used in organic medicine and natural medicine.  It is particularly used in a lot of cold and flu natural remedies for the chest or used for inhalation. Eucalyptus oil is also great to diffuse at home during cold, flu or virus seasons.

Eucalyptus is one of my favourite winter essential oils to add to my diffuser Learn More

 

Organic Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry syrup is one of the oldest well known natural remedies, organic remedies used in the winter months here in the UK. The elderberry tree grows wild in Europe and North America.

Elderberries are known for their high antioxidants and vitamins. Other than being used as a cough syrup it can be a great boost to be added to your cereals, porridge, or fresh juice.

Organic Honey And Thyme Syrup

this is one of the natural organic remedies that your family should have in their home first aid box this winter.

It is made of honey, marshmallow extract, thyme flower extract, aniseed fruit extract, and vitamin C LEARN MORE

 

Natural Health Solutions For Your Families Health

Organic Remedies To Treat  Insomnia, and Sleep Issues

Organic Vetivert Essential Oil

Organic vetivert (Vetiveria zizanoides) is a deeply sedating, grounding organic essential oil. Vetiveria it is also said to be useful as a nerve tonic and said to repel ticks.

Vetivert oil can be a great oil to support a deep quality sleep, suffer from insomnia. A great sleep aid for those whose sleep cycle is compromised e.g. work night shift, or back shift.

Caution: Don’t apply directly to skin, add a few drops to a bath or well-diluted in a massage blend. Use sparingly don’t continue to use daily as Vetivert stays in the bloodstream for more than a few days.

 

 

Organic Remedies For Babies And Children

With an increase in toxic products, many parents are consciously choosing organic natural baby remedies and natural skin care products for their babies and children’s well-being.

These natural products for infants and kids that are well-reputed to be more safe, effective and far healthier for our children’s health and our environment.

 

Natural Skincare Products For Babies

Natural Baby Organic Collection

A collection of Natural and Organic Baby Products. Organic Baby Balm, Pure Baby Oil, and Organic Baby Bath and Shampoo with lovely organic cotton flannel.

This is perfect gift to nurture that newborn baby or infant without any toxic nasties. Learn More

 

 

Natural Health Solutions For Your Families Health

Check out some of our Related Blogs

Why Choose Homeopathy For Children

Household Toxins – How Toxic Is Your Home