Fighting Off A Cold Naturally ~ Homemade Vapor Rub

Recently I had 3 little ones that all had a cold. We handle colds (or any sickness) in our house a little differently than most.

First, we know that an occasional cold or flu is actually beneficial for our children. It helps their immune system to become stronger, leaning to fight off the bug.

Second, for the most part we let our bodies do the work of getting rid of the sickness, occasionally with the aid of herbs. For example, when anyone is running a fever we don't immediately reach for the Tylenol. We let our bodies ride out the fever, knowing that the fever is working in our body to rid itself of the sickness. If fevers do get to a very uncomfortable state we use yarrow tincture to bring it down temporarily.

We also try to avoid sugar and other foods that compromise our immune system as well.

So with the runny noses and coughs that our kids had, the first thing we started was a combo of homemade Elderberry tincture and Echinacea tincture. Then I made ginger tea out of grated ginger root, raw honey and lemon juice. (We actually like the tea so much we enjoy it even when we're not sick.)

 

And we rested. The kids took naps and resting breaks. While they rested they seemed so stuffy that I wanted to do something else for them. So, I made vapor rub.

This is an easy-peasy recipe and works wonderfully.

~Homemade Vapor Rub~

1/4 c coconut oil
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 oz of beeswax
35 drops of Eucalyptus EO (essential oil)
30 drops of Rosemanry EO
25 drops of Lavendar EO
20 drops of Peppermint EO

Directions:
In a double broiler, melt beeswax. Add olive and coconut oils and heat until melted.
Remove from heat and add essential oils.
Pour into containers.

Directions for use:
Rub over chest and neck area and onto the bottoms of feet as needed.

Let me say that you can tweak this recipe as you'd like. You could really use any kind of oil, sweet almond, olive, coconut, apricot kernel, etc. I just use the coconut and olive because I like their properties and non-greasy feel.

{Vapor rub}

 

Adjust the EOs as you'd like as well. If you're not partial to one of them, leave it out. This amount seemed perfect for my liking but you can adjust the drops to more or less to fit yours.

Also, after combining the wax and oil together, and before adding the EOs, I take a couple teaspoonfuls and place them on a plate and stick it in the freezer for a moment. This cools it off rapidly and I can decide if the consistency of the rub is to my liking. If it's too hard, you can always add more oil or if it's a sloppy mess, more wax. Then go ahead and add the essential oils.

I hope that this is a blessing to your family!

Disclosure:
I am not a medical professional and do not have any "professional" education in regards to medicine. Please use common sense when using any recipe found on the internet. Any advise given on this blog is simply a sharing of our family's experiences. Not everything works for everyone. If you have more questions, please contact your medical provider. (Or preferably an herbalist or alternative medicine provider.)