A cough combined with chest and nasal congestion can be utterly annoying. This is typically accompanied with common cold and flu. Who enjoys a runny nose, overnight chest congestion, and coughing throughout an important meeting?
The solution: we all start to resort to antibiotics and cough syrups. Yeah, they do manage to help us and cure us for that specific period of time, but their side effects are countless and they leave a life long impact.
So, how about resorting to natural remedies and natural antibiotics instead? The easiest and the most impactful solution to any health care need – the essential oils. You may read this article to learn more about what essential oils are and why should you use them.
Let’s face it, a nasal congestion can be extremely irritating and takes its own time to heal. The body tends to slow down, there is mucus everywhere and it gets difficult to focus. All we want is to rest and recover, don’t we?
The best factor that accompanies the use of essential oils for chest congestion is their power of holistic healing. And one such most widely and most popularly used essential oil for chest congestion is the essential oil of eucalyptus plant.
How does chest congestion occur?
In simple words, chest congestion occurs when too much mucus is produced and too less is excreted out from the body. To understand this better, let us take a look at the following process. Flu and common cold affect and body. In turn, you suffer from a runny nose, throat infection, mild headache, watery eyes, and phlegm. All this is a body’s way of cleansing itself. However, in order to function properly, the body needs to intake necessary nutrients and antibiotics in order to fight back with microbes. In the same process, mucus is produced to cleanse the bacteria and virus from the internal linings and walls of the lungs, the windpipe, and the throat. If this mucus fails to wash away the infection and does not clear up, chest congestion starts.
Chest congestion is only uncomfortable in the early stages, however, it may turn painful if not treated at the right time.
If you face difficulty in curing the problem of chest congestion naturally or via over the counter medicines, it is advised that you seek medical help immediately. Chest congestion for a prolonged period of time can cause a serious lung or heart problem like pneumonia, tuberculosis, bronchitis or more and may require urgent medical treatment.
What are the symptoms of chest congestion?
The typical symptoms of chest congestion include discomfort, pain, tenderness, difficulty in breathing, and coughing.
Why do we need eucalyptus essential oil for chest congestion?
For over thousands of years, the oil of eucalyptus has been used to cure cold, cough, and chest congestion. And for reasons too many.
The essential oil of eucalyptus tree leaves is a strong expectorant and decongestant. It is known to be composed of biochemicals that kill various types of viruses and bacteria. Moreover, these enzymes help in loosening the mucus stuck in the lungs and the respiratory tracts. Studies have proven that by the use of two percent of eucalyptus oil in a diffuser you can kill 70% of the airborne staphylococcus bacteria – the disease and throat infection causing microbe. In fact, a majority of cough drops, over the counter cold treatments, and nasal inhalers consist of chemicals that are either found in or are similar the eucalyptus essential oil. Moreover, the oil is responsible for reducing respiratory inflammations and for improving respiratory air circulations.Thus, the eucalyptus oil is ideal to treat chest congestion.
How to use eucalyptus essential oil for treating chest congestion?
There are many ways of using the essential oil of eucalyptus for chest congestion. One can either ingest the oil or inhale its strong fumes. Below is the list of the best ways to use eucalyptus oil for chest congestion along with remedies to use it in the right quantity and process.
1. Eucalyptus tea
It is not recommended that one ingests the essential oil of eucalyptus until and unless the user manual and the bottle clearly mentions that it is cold pressed and can be consumed.
The ideal way to drink eucalyptus tea is to prepare it using the leaves of the eucalyptus plant. Just boil the water in a pan and pour it in a glass. Add the leaves of eucalyptus plant to it and cover with a lid for about 5 minutes. Finally, remove the leaves and drink the herbal concoction.
2. Therapeutic eucalyptus steam
This process of using eucalyptus oil is known and revered all across the world. It is the most impactful treatment one can resort for a quick relief.
Method 1: To create a therapeutic steam of eucalyptus oil, take a steamer and add two glasses of water to it. Let the water start to boil. Now, add about 4 to 5 drops of eucalyptus oil to the steamer. Cover the lid and place a towel on your head covering the steamer. Sit in a position such that you are able to inhale steam comfortably. Inhale the minty fumes and let them open your wind passage.
Method 2: You can also use a pan to heat the water and add the oil directly to the hot water in the pan to inhale fumes in the absence of a steamer.
Method 3: If you are suffering from a mild case of chest congestion, then this method is ideal for you. Take a diffuser / humidifier and add the oil of eucalyptus to it. Let the aroma of the oil spread across the entire room refreshing you and unclogging your nasal pathways and bronchioles.
Note: Do not forget to close your eyes while inhaling the steam. The oil of eucalyptus can irritate the sensitive linings of the eye.
3. The pillow, tissue, handkerchief therapy
How do you breathe comfortable when you are on the move or sitting for hours and hours at a stretch in a meeting? Or more so, how do you sleep comfortably at night after a long day at work due to the annoying cold and cough?
The answer is simple and quite effective. All you need is a few tissues or a handkerchief. Just spritz a few drops directly on your tissue and inhale the fumes every now and then, or whenever needed for a comfortable journey and a meeting.
To sleep peacefully at night, spray a few drops of eucalyptus oil on your pillow. You would automatically have access to inhaling the fumes and unblocked nasal pathways will make it easier to breathe.
4. Do not let the germs spread to others in the house
We hope you do know that cold, cough, and flu are airborne diseases. You might catch them when you are outside partying with friends or chilling in a cafe or from your family members within the closed premises of your own house.
To avoid being infected by the ever occurring cold-flu problems, just prepare a spray of water and eucalyptus oil and spray it all around the house and on yourself when you step out. To prepare the spray you would need to dilute 2 drops of eucalyptus oil in every 1 glass of water.
5. Make your own vapor balm
Gone are the days when you were a child and your mom would caress you with a mild balm on your chest when you would fall sick. Now it is time that you put those mommy’s secrets to action and cure yourself of the irritating problem. Here’s how.
Take either half a cup of coconut oil or half a cup of shea butter. Mix the primary ingredient with about 2 teaspoons of almond oil and 10 drops of eucalyptus oil. Massage this on your chest, on your neck, temples, and behind the neck for instant relief. If needed, you can add a few more drops of eucalyptus oil to ensure the consistency is in sync with the amount of ingredients used. Always cover yourself after applying a balm.
6. Massage oil
No time to waste and need a quick remedy? Take 2 tablespoons of pure almond oil or olive oil and mix 4 to 5 drops of eucalyptus essential oil to it. Rub this blend on your throat, check, neck, back and temples to relieve congestion. Cover yourself up with a t-shirt after applying the massage oil for best results.
7. Eucalyptus bath
Just add a few drops of the essential oil of eucalyptus to your lukewarm bathing water and let it work magic on you. The moist air you would inhale will heal your chest congestion, loosen the mucus, unblock the nasal pathways and cleanse the body of microbes.
Who should not use the essential oil of eucalyptus for treating chest congestion?
Young children, pregnant and nursing mothers are advised to never indulge in the use of essential oils for treating any ailment. These oils contain strong chemicals that can cause permanent disability or health problems. As per the American health association, it is safe to use the essential oils after a child reaches the age of 6 years, however, many experts advise that it is best to put the essential oil of eucalyptus into practice only after the child turns 10 years or more.
Precautions you must take while using eucalyptus essential oil for chest congestion:
- Never ingest the oil of eucalyptus directly nor should you apply the oil on your skin without diluting it. The oil has strong biochemicals that can damage the inner linings of the respiratory tract and epidermis.
- Always consult a medical practitioner before indulging in the use of eucalyptus essential oil. And more so when you are prone to low blood pressure, kidney or liver disease or seizures.
- Like any other essential oil, eucalyptus oil is also toxic if consumed in high quantities.
- Adults should exercise special care while using the oil of eucalyptus for oral care – whether on themselves or on children (above the age of 10 years).
From where can you buy eucalyptus essential oil?
The simplest and the easiest way to buy eucalyptus oil is to order it online. You can purchase a 100% pure therapeutic grade eucalyptus essential oil from amazon.com or walmart.com. Alternatively, you can purchase eucalyptus oil from a local departmental store nearby or large format outlets like Walmart.
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Do share how you treat your common cold and chest congestion problems naturally. Do you use any other essential oil or have some remedies that our readers could benefit from? Share your hacks in the comments section below, we are waiting!
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