Don't let the blooming flowers and trees keep you down. Try a few of these essential oils to combat those allergies!
Spring comes not just with warmer air and longer days, but a world of incredible scents and fragrances thanks to the bursting blooms and blossoms. Their fragrances can be so unbelievably beautiful that you may find yourself thinking they must be artificial. And, of course, you may also find yourself unable to smell them at all—stuffed up and irritated by those poorly timed seasonal allergies. But some fragrances can help!
Plants are amazing healers and can provide a little bit of the hair of the dog type remedy in treating hay fever and allergies. While it can certainly help to have some of these plants in your garden, the concentrated potency of essential oils is by far the more effective choice.
Essential Oils for Hay Fever
To use essential oils in treating hay fever, you have a few options. One that can be particularly beneficial is adding a few (like 3–5 max!) drops to steaming water for a sinus steam. Fill a large pot halfway with boiling water. Add in a few drops of eucalyptus or rosemary and lavender and then cover your head and the pot with a towel so it creates a tent-like environment, trapping the steam. Breathe as deeply as you can through the nose. The oils will help open up the passages and reduce inflammation.
You can also dab a few drops on your chest (this works best at night), so that you're breathing in the vapors while you sleep. Same principle as the steam but less potent.
Oil diffusers can disperse the oils throughout your home for several hours, which can be helpful at night as well. But during the gorgeous spring days it may not be the most useful if you're outside!
Bringing along a bottle or two of essential oils when you're venturing out into allergy-prone areas can help ease an attack. But be careful of irritating sensitive noses and eyes. Straight oils can be irritating to the mucous membranes, even if you're just taking a whiff, especially when you're stuffed up and having a hard time smelling in the first place!
At night, try dropping the stopper in the bathtub and adding a few drops of oils into the tub while you shower. The steam from the shower will enhance the oils and help you breathe better just before bed, which can be the worst time for many allergy sufferers.
So, what oils to choose?
I've already mentioned eucalyptus, rosemary, and lavender. Eucalyptus and rosemary can open the respiratory systems and reduce inflammation. Lavender can help to calm and soothe irritated nasal passages and even irritated eyes.
Other oils have helpful benefits as well:
Clove Oil is anti-inflammatory and can help to relieve allergy symptoms.
Peppermint can open nasal passages and reduce headaches, which can affect some allergy sufferers, especially after a sneezing attack.
Lemon soothes respiratory inflammation and can reduce stuffiness.
Roman Chamomile is very relaxing and eases inflammation. But, if you have a ragweed allergy, steer clear of chamomile as they're close cousins and it can actually make your symptoms worse! (This goes for drinking chamomile tea, too.)
