I know from experience that once I start having whooping cough, I’m really going to have problems. It took me months to get over bronchitis before, so I take every cough as a cue to act quickly with my essential oils and oil-based supplements.
Why is coughing such a serious matter? Two reasons: 1) it can cause serious and permanent damage to my lungs, bronchioles, and vocal cords; and 2) it produces a lot of chronic inflammation, irritation, and free radicals throughout my body, affecting my health over an extended period of time.
Not only can bronchitis develop into something more serious like pneumonia, but it can also leave me weak, exhausted and vulnerable to more serious degenerative disease over time. Bronchitis is not a temporary thing that ends when the cough stops and the antibiotic prescription runs out. It must heal quickly, deeply and completely. For me, that will take at least 10 days after all symptoms are over.
This is what I do when I have a cold that starts to turn into a cough.
I continue the steam treatments I started at the first sign of a cold, both in therapeutic hot baths each night with essential oils and Epsom salts, and steam showers with an essential oil diffuser in the same room for about 20 minutes each. tomorrow before I go. for work.
If I start coughing at work, I’ve found that a convenient cup of warm aromatic water will quickly soothe my cough. I fill a thermos with hot tap water and add a drop of Peppermint or Basil oil. These soothing anti-inflammatory oils are soothing and tasty too.
When I have had bronchitis, it has been common for a whooping cough to start soon after I go to sleep. When I was a kid, my mom would slather herself with Vicks VapoRub and put a cold cloth over the thymus gland area (just below where the collarbones meet). She now uses diluted peppermint oil on the area along with the cold washcloth and covers it with a dry towel. She stops coughing by cooling down the swollen bronchioles that tickle and trigger coughing. If I find that the cloth gets hot and the cough starts again before I can go to sleep, I simply wave the damp cloth in the air to cool it down and reapply.
These are not the only things I do when I catch a cold. I take a large amount of vitamin D3 for 3 days. I increased my intake of krill oil to control inflammation. I took many essential oil capsules over a period of almost a month. I have oils in all my drinking water and many recipes. I use a cool air essential oil diffuser at least twice a day. I do what’s called the “lick trick” with essential oils to help with throat infections and keep my sinuses clear at all costs. For me, the sinuses are where the infection starts, and if I can clear them quickly and keep them clear during any other symptoms, I can prevent ear infections, sinus headaches, and many other symptoms typically associated with a cold.
I also apply many oils topically, especially after showering and bathing, while my skin is moist and the oils are more easily absorbed.
Dr. Daniel Penoel, who trained me in the medical uses of essential oils, taught me that I needed to maintain all of my scent habits for at least 10 days after I felt completely well. That’s hard to do when I’m feeling great and back to normal. I also know from personal experience that if I don’t fully recover, the symptoms can come back with a vengeance.
