With allergy season rapidly approaching (or already here for some of you) I thought I would share how we deal with allergies in this house. The little guy and I both have allergies. His manifests with dark circles under his eyes and he looks "strung out". Since he is only 4 I know the circles are not from any undesirable activities. :)
He was taking kids Claritin every day to manage it but dang, that stuff is expensive!
I never had allergies till I was 25, then boom, like a light switch on my 25th birthday I suddenly had them. Mine showed up in the form of full body itchiness and of course accompanied by sinus infections. After going to an allergy doctor I think she said it was dust mites, something or other in the air, and maybe a few other things. This was a while back and obviously I was not paying great attention, I just wanted it to go away. So Zyrtec D is what I was given. I took it for years, then halfway through my first pregnancy I was told maybe I should not be taking that. Oops. I was switched to the non D kind, then eventually to Clairinex. Blah, blah, blah. The point is, I was always on meds to keep the itching at bay.
Then I started using essential oils and found out about the amazing combination of lemon, lavender and peppermint. There are a few ways to take it but I like to mix it in equal parts with a carrier oil (fractionated coconut oil, olive, grapeseed, jojoba, almond) and roll it on our feet in a roller bottle. We do this in the morning and at night. You could also put 3 drops in an empty gel capsule and take 2-3x a day but since I already make the roller for Maddox we just do it together.
We have been doing this since October and we are both off our allergy meds completely. It took a few weeks of consistently using it to be totally off the meds but whoa it really works! When allergy season gets really bad and I feel a little itchy I just do an extra application or two. The key is consistency. At first we were not in the habit and we would forget and I would look at the boy and see his dark circles and remember. Now we always remember. It has become a part of our routine and we will never go back.
He was taking kids Claritin every day to manage it but dang, that stuff is expensive!
I never had allergies till I was 25, then boom, like a light switch on my 25th birthday I suddenly had them. Mine showed up in the form of full body itchiness and of course accompanied by sinus infections. After going to an allergy doctor I think she said it was dust mites, something or other in the air, and maybe a few other things. This was a while back and obviously I was not paying great attention, I just wanted it to go away. So Zyrtec D is what I was given. I took it for years, then halfway through my first pregnancy I was told maybe I should not be taking that. Oops. I was switched to the non D kind, then eventually to Clairinex. Blah, blah, blah. The point is, I was always on meds to keep the itching at bay.
Then I started using essential oils and found out about the amazing combination of lemon, lavender and peppermint. There are a few ways to take it but I like to mix it in equal parts with a carrier oil (fractionated coconut oil, olive, grapeseed, jojoba, almond) and roll it on our feet in a roller bottle. We do this in the morning and at night. You could also put 3 drops in an empty gel capsule and take 2-3x a day but since I already make the roller for Maddox we just do it together.
We have been doing this since October and we are both off our allergy meds completely. It took a few weeks of consistently using it to be totally off the meds but whoa it really works! When allergy season gets really bad and I feel a little itchy I just do an extra application or two. The key is consistency. At first we were not in the habit and we would forget and I would look at the boy and see his dark circles and remember. Now we always remember. It has become a part of our routine and we will never go back.
Here is another blog post from Rebecca at Camp Wander who explains it a little more in depth and gives another testimonial. She has a great blog and is very well versed in all things essential oils. I learn a lot from her, go check it out. http://campwander.com/2013/06/allergies-inflammation-power-of/
Need some oils? Here is a good place.
www.sparknaturals.com/?affiliates=157Use coupon code Crunchyurbanmom for 10%off
Here is what our little magic bottle looks like. Very simple, yet effective.
The recipe for LLP is easy. You can buy the LLP blend from Spark Naturals already blended then add equal parts carrier oil, or you can mix up equal part lemon, lavender and peppermint with carrier oil. Recipes would look like this:
In a roller bottle
30 drops LLP
30 drops carrier oil
or
In a roller bottle
10 drops lemon
10 drops lavender
10 drops peppermint
30 drops carrier oil
-Crunchy Urban Mom
