Steam your head to relieve congestion

My husband succumbed to a cold yesterday. He called from work to say he’d be home early to go to bed. Poor guy. Colds are so dreadful; I’m always surprised when I get one and feel so miserable. “How can this just be a cold?! It must be something much worse!” is what I think as my nose drips, my throat is sore and my head is stuffed up; terrible.

He did a steam treatment before bed and that’s what I wanted to tell you about today.

This is a classic treatment for colds, congestion and coughs. Boil a medium sized pan of water, put it on a trivet on a table that’s comfortable to sit at. (Do not spill the boiling water on your yourself. Be careful with kids or those muddled by cold medicine and stuffy heads!) Pour just a couple drops of essential oil into the water. Lean your head over the pan, cover your head with a towel and breathe deeply. That’s it. It works wonders. Stay under there for a while (10-20 minutes), until the steam peters out. You can add more water if it cools down and stops steaming. You can poke your head out for breaks if you get overheated or if it’s too hot, leave a little outlet in the tent until it cools down a bit.

It is calming and meditative to be under the towel, the steam is warm and soothing and the essential oils are inhaled and can go to work immediately.  When essential oils are breathed in they not only go right to the brain through your sense of smell to shift your mood but they also fight germs and break down mucus. And they smell nice.

Just put a few drops in at a time in the steamy water to see how much you can tolerate, don’t overdue the oils because they are so volatile they can irritate your eyes and skin if you pour a capful into the water. Instead use just a few drops and when those have dispersed; use a few more.  Have some tissues near-by because it can really loosen congestion and get things flowing, which is great to avoid the mucus stagnating and creating a place for more bacteria to grow. Yuck. So keep it moving!

You can use many different oils for this but Eucalyptus is classic because of it’s germ fighting and congestion-loosening properties (it is a major ingredient in Vicks Vapo-Rub)

There are many different types of Eucalyptus (I used Peppermint Eucalyptus(Eucalyptus dives) and Eucalyptus Gully Gum (Eucalyptus smithii) yesterday – any variety works well.) My favorite is Spike Lavender (Lavandula latifolia). It is a type of lavender that smells like a mix between a classic lavender and a Eucalyptus.because of the camphor in its chemical make up. It smells so good. I use it in the shower if I’ve got a cold, steam with it, put it in my diffuser and my humidifier. I highly recommend having some around.

You can also use Frankincense (Boswellia frereana) which is very calming and helps you to breathe deeply, breaking up congestion and soothing coughs.

Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) is another great oil to use for congestion and to help fight off germs.

Some people with asthma are irritated by steaming so they shouldn’t do it, but for everyone else if the water is handled carefully and you just use a few drops of oil at a time this is a safe and enjoyable part of your cold, congestion and cough treatment plan.

My husband went to bed after his steam and got up and went to work today. He said he still had a cold and he looked much better. He’ll steam again tonight before bed and hopefully it will help move the cold along quicker and make the symptoms easier to manage.

(And Appalachian Valley (below) is still having a sale with free shipping on orders over 35$. And a 5% off sale until Dec 7th.)