Wouldn’t you know it? The day following an interview where I extolled the virtues of an essential oil blend aptly named the “cold and flu blend”, my husband came down with cold symptoms and I had a scratchy throat. Life is funny that way.
That same day, I went into high gear and began applications of this natural cold and flu medicine three times a day. In my case, two days was enough because I never developed any additional symptoms. My husband, however, had a lot of congestion so he has continued the protocol for almost a week. The good news is that both of us are now fine and had no need to resort to over the counter remedies. Our natural DIY cold and flu medicine worked. Of course, I knew it would!
It is my opinion that everyone should have this blend in their arsenal not only for now but for when and if the stuff hits the fan. It is a do it yourself recipe that you can make yourself. To the best of my knowledge, it is not available pre-blended.
Make Your Own Cold and Flu Bomb Using Essential Oils
Ingredients
30 drops Tea Tree Oil (also known as Melaleuca)
30 drops EO Protective Blend (see note below)
18 drops Oregano Oil
This will make enough to almost fill an empty 5ML essential oil bottle. It is easily cut in half or doubled.
Note: Protective blends go by many names and are available from many different companies (Thieves, Robbers, Germ Fighter, Shield). Or you can make your own using the recipe in this article Make Your Own Essential Oil Protective & Immunity Blend.
How to Use the Cold and Flu Bomb
There are many ways to use this blend but my favorites are in a rollerball supplemented by use in a diffuser.
Roller Ball Formula: Add 60 drops of the Cold and Flu Bomb to a 10ml rollerball. Top with FCO (fractionated coconut oil) or another liquid carrier. Apply to your chest and throat area and to the bottoms of your feet at least three times a day. For severe symptoms, bump that up to six times a day. This is a very potent 30% dilution.
In a Diffuser: Diffuse 6 to 8 drops in your favorite diffuser. I keep one running in the bedroom at night, in the bathroom while getting ready in the morning, and in the great room during the day. This blend has somewhat of a medicinal smell (or at least it does for me) but I put up with it.
Portable Hand Sanitizer: I use this blend to concoct a portable hand sanitizer that I keep with me at all times. This is another DIY that is made by adding 30 drops of the blend to a 1-ounce spray bottle (like this one). Top with alcohol-free witch hazel. Spray liberally on your hands after using public restrooms or whenever you are exposed to a germy environment. This is a 5% dilution.
Salve: Add 60 drops to 1 ounce of your base carrier salve. This is a 10% dilution.
You may have noticed that the dilutions used are far stronger than my usual recommendations. That is because we are calling out the heavy guns while fighting the creeping crud that is attacking our bodies. Try to rest and avoid excess physical activity. And, as with all things health-related, if your symptoms become dire, seek professional medical attention.
Interview with Todd Sepulveda, The Prepper Website
I recently did a Facebook Live interview with Todd Sepulveda, the editor of The Prepper Website. The topic was “Essential Oils for Now & When the SHTF!”. In case you missed it, you can watch it now. Note: Be aware that there is a 3 minute lead time before the video starts. You can advance the slider to speed things up.
If you prefer, you can jump on over and watch it on Facebook using this link.
A Word About My Favorite Essential Oils
Since the beginning of 2019, I have struggled with the fact that I have primarily been using essential oils from a single company. On many levels, it was time for a change.
Alas, this was easier said than done since I needed to assess the performance of various EOs in my tried and true salve and roller ball formulas. In addition, I wanted to find a budget-friendly company that offered 100% free shipping all of the time.
My first successful tests have been with essential oils from Plant Therapy. This was a logical choice since Plant Therapy has always been my preferred source for carrier oils such as Fractionated Coconut oil and Jojoba oil. They carry a huge variety of EOs and are available to purchase directly both on the Plant Therapy website and on Amazon. As a bonus, their web site posts test results individually by oil along with the corresponding batch number. This assures me that the oils are not fake.
While there are many excellent EO companies, I am happy with my choice and hope you will check them out. Wherever you decide to purchase your oils, let your nose guide you. If your essential oil smells like paint thinner, return it. Good oils smell nice.
Suggested reading: The Snarky and Surprising Truth About Essential Oil Companies
How to Make Base Salve
If you do not have any Base Salve ready to go, you can quickly make up a small batch or purchase some pre-made.
Ingredients
1/2 cup Virgin Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 1/2 Tablespoons Beeswax Pellets
Directions
Measure the coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and beeswax into a heatproof glass jar or measuring cup. Set in a pan of water on a low simmer until completely melted. You can help things along by giving it a quick stir from time to time with a knife. This may take some time, up to 30 minutes.
When everything is completely melted, remove from heat.
Carefully pour the warm oil into ointment jars or small mason jars, leaving some headroom at the top. Set aside to firm up. Depending on the temperature of your home, this can take up to 12 hours.
Yield
1 cup
The complete recipe for DIY base carrier salve can be found here: Base Carrier Salve for Essential Oils
Summing It All Up
Everyone needs to make their own decision relative to flu shots as well as remedies and drugs to combat colds and flu symptoms. By now you know that I have chosen a more natural path to wellness and as a result, I avoid both. As I say that, please understand that if my symptoms were dire, of course, I would seek more traditional medical attention.
Still, I cannot remember the last time I was sick. I like to think that by regularly using a protective blend in my diffuser, in my soaps, and in my cleaning products, I have an edge on wellness. Couple that with the cold and flu bomb when I am feeling symptoms, and so far I am golden.
If you do nothing else, make up a batch of the portable hand sanitizer keep it with you while you are out and about. It just might save the day.
Yours for a Joyful Life,
Gaye
Strategic Haul
Back in the day, I would end each article with a list of products related to the post. In all cases, these were products I purchased myself, used, and felt comfortable recommending. Many of the products I now use can be found on the Resources Page. In addition, here are today’s suggestions, aptly named the “Strategic Haul”.
1-Ounce Spray Bottles: These bottles are the bomb (no pun intended). Each holds 1 ounce or 30 ml. They are perfect for making up a natural hand sanitizer spray as well as for skincare toners and even DIY household cleaners. One thing I like about these small spray bottles is that I can put them in drawers around the house so they are handy. By now you know how much I hate cluttered counters; these are the perfect solution to that dilemma.
Alcohol-Free Witch Hazel: There are a number of good brands of witch hazel, including Thayers and Spark Naturals. Just be sure that what you are getting is alcohol-free and does not include fillers, parabens or propylene glycol. This is the one I prefer. I especially like that it does not smell medicinal.
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Do you have a transcription of the interview? Sound quality is very poor (like she is talking into a tin can…can’t understand her).
I do not have a transcription of the interview with Todd but did another interview with George Ure that I will be posting in the next week or two. In the meantime, you can read it on his site here: https://urbansurvival.com/armed-with-essential-oils/.
As far as the sound, I do apologize. My home office has tile floors and during sound tests, everything seemed okay. I will know better next time.
Thanks for this article. I purchased my first diffuser, along with Shield, to ward off Influenza this year! I contracted both H1N1 and H3N2 last year, and certainly don’t want to get the flu this year.
I am taking this upcoming ‘flu season’ very seriously, and the EOs will give me one more protective measure to ensure that I don’t get sick. I refuse to take ‘flu shots’, so I have been increasing my immunity. And I have planned to stay away from those sickly crowds of people!
By the way, ordering direct from Sparks was easy, and their shipping was quite fast. As I type this, I have my diffuser running and the scent is quite nice.
Thanks again!
If you have not done so already, be sure to make up some of the hand sanitizer I mentioned in the article. You can make it with either the Cold and Flu Bomb or just Shield. I keep a small bottle with me at all times. Although I use alcohol-free witch hazel in my recipe, you can also use an alcohol-based formula for an extra boost. I don’t because I feel it is too drying.
Here is to a flu-free winter!
PS: That is why I love Spark Naturals. Ordering is quick and easy, and shipping is fast. I love that they now offer free shipping on all US orders.
Hi Gaye, I’ve really learned a lot from you and have been using a cold/flu concoction for years now and it has really kept me from getting those bad bad colds, etc. Maybe a few sniffles here and there and those are probably allergies.
I also appreciate your input on CBD oil. My 80 yr old husband has terrible chronic back pain and now moving around with a walker. He’s been getting opioid meds for the last ten years and by now, of course, is very dependent on them. We don’t even know if he is in severe pain or the body wants more and more drugs. In trying to slowly get him off Fentanyl patches, the pain clinic ok’d using the THC free CBD oil and I’m AMAZED at the reduction in drug dependency on just the first week with only 20mg a night since he’s about 210lbs. He was changing a patch every other day and we’ve now got it to every three days and he’s not grabbing the Tylenol so much during the day. I’ve used 4mg at night and I’m SLEPPING THRU THE NIGHT unless I drink too much liquid in the evening. Yea!!
I’m really happy with Spark products but was kind of confused in your article. I’ll also look into the Plant Therapy products. It might be interesting to try their OOTM plan as the Spark plan is now giving me too many repeat ones that I don’t use as often.
Please FB Msg me if you want to respond privately.
Thanks for being my mentor in the oily world.
First of all, I want to let you know that I am thrilled that your husband is getting good results from CBD. As you may or may not know, my husband will be 80 in a few months. He no longer goes to the pain doctor for his back and coupled with the use of my miracle healing and wintergreen salves, has almost no lingering arthritis pain in his hands, left shoulder, and joints. And like you, both of us sleep through the night with an occasional bathroom break.
As far as Spark Naturals, I still believe they have a quality product but I felt compelled to change for two reasons. First of all, when they introduced CBD oil about a year ago, they made a number of outrageous (in my opinion) claims that may be true but at this point are not backed by peer-reviewed studies. Instead, they used studies on small groups of rats as the basis for these claims.
I have been with Spark since they were the new EO company on the block and yet when I questioned them, they failed to respond. This was as disconcerting.
Over the years I have been very loyal to Spark and indeed, have made commissions via affiliate referrals. Said another way, I helped build their customer base starting when they were a very small company. That said, overnight and without notice, they migrated to a new website and all of my links no longer worked. They then started marketing to my customers/followers directly and cut me out of the picture.
Transparency has always been important to me and this type of dishonesty, in terms of dubious medical claims for CBD and cheating (harsh yes, but that is my opinion) their loyal affiliates, did not settle well.
I spent many hours (and a lot of money) early in 2019 researching alternatives. This included using various oils in the DIY recipes I have shared on the website. I finally settled on Plant Therapy after considering price, availability (direct or via Amazon), quality of educational material and free shipping all of the time.
Whether I make a commission (a pittance via Amazon by the way) is immaterial. I would rather suggest a product that has a good, if not an excellent product, and provides complete transparency in their relationship with consumers and business partners.
Hope this answers your question and as always, feel free to reach out at any time.
Gaye