Monday, April 22, 2013

Oregano - Nature's Antibiotic


Oregano - Nature's Antibiotic


ImageOregano is a doTERRA essential oil I will never be without.  I was reading this article on the Huffington Post about antibiotics and it got me thinking about how overused they are.  I know for many people they are sometimes not even effective.  I find that very scary.  Just thinking about taking my sick baby to a doctor, getting medicine to help and then getting medicine that does not work makes me very uneasy, out of control and even helpless.  Fortunately this has never happened to me but I know it has for others. I am also much more at ease now that I have found essential oils and I am empowered to care for my family when we get sick. So why do antibiotics sometimes not work?  There are a couple of reasons.  1 - Antibiotic resistance.  The bacteria evolved in a way that it is now resistant to that type of antibiotic.  This is what is causing super bugs, which are drug resistant and can cause illness to last longer and even cause death. 2- The wrong type of antibiotic for the type of bacteria.
What I love about plant based medicine is that it is far more complex than what can be manufactured and therefore much more effective at killing bacteria AND viruses.  What?  Viruses too?  Yup.   Essential oils can penetrate the cell wall and kill viruses and bacteria unlike what you pick up at the pharmacy.  So when you get the flu and the doctor says, "wait it out" and tells you how to manage your symptoms you could be rolling oregano on your feet 2-3 times a day or taking it an Imageveggie cap and significantly reduce the intensity and duration of the illness.  Oregano is antiviral, antibiotic, antiparasitic, antibacterial and an antiseptic.  That is some powerful stuff!
A few weeks ago Julie was out of town for nearly 2 weeks and I had both kids on my own for the first time.  On one of the first nights Maddox woke up about 3 am crying and saying he needed to go potty but it hurt.  He kept trying and nothing would come out.  He was crying really hard and kept running back and forth to the bathroom. He kept saying he was scared.  My poor sweet boy.  It killed me to see him so scared and in pain.  At first I thought he was a little dehydrated and had him drink some water and eat some blueberries.  He was not getting any better and kept trying to potty so I decided to get out the trusty ole Google.  I put in his symptoms and it said possible UTI.  Well, they run in the family so this was not surprising.  I headed over to everythingessential.me and the protocol listed oregano as an oil to use.  I rolled some on his feet and I swear to you he was asleep in 5 minutes.  He slept all night (even though I woke up and put more oregano on his feet) and the next morning he woke up and pottied like normal.  I kept the oregano on him 2-3 time a day for the next few days and he only complained of it bothering him maybe one other time.  So it was stinky oregano to the rescue! Maddox named it "stinky oregano" and before he had this issue he would not let me put it on him because the smell was so strong.  What does it smell like?  Dang strong oregano!  Not nearly as yummy smelling as some of the other oils so I would definitely stick to the feet or internally with this one.  But this time when he was in pain in the middle of the night and I told him it was stinky but it would help him, he let me put it on him.  Now he is fine with it, I guess he knows that the smell is worth it, we just joke about his stinky feet!
There is lots more info on uses for oregano oil, if you search, you will find it.  The only brand that I trust to put on my family is doTERRA and this is one oil that even though we don't use every day, I would never be without because when someone is sick, you need it now.
Oh, and in case you didn't know, oregano is considered a "hot" oil and should not be used unless diluted with a carrier oil like fractionated coconut oil, almond, jojoba or olive oil.  Also you should not take it internally for more than 2 weeks without a break.
If you have questions, feel free to ask them!  I love to help.
Be healthy!
Jen
More info on oregano
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