Before I get into what I am going to share, I want to say a couple of things:
1. I am searching for answers. I am not saying anything about essential oils or any oil company one way or another. But I did dedicate this blog for journaling an honest journey as I look for health answers for myself and my family. As a favorite pastor of mine says, chew the meat and spit out the bones.
2. Well, I guess I just wanted to say one thing, because I can't remember what the second thing was that I was going to say lol!
Onto the blog: :)
If you had told me one week ago today, I would spend over an hour online researching essential oils, their effects on the body, and the effects of NSAID prescriptions on the kidney's and the liver, I would have called you crazy. Yep down right crazy. I mean, who takes the time to look stuff like that up? Apparently, I do.....Maybe I'm the crazy one.
It started for me yesterday. The questions. Wednesday night Kara, my youngest, was almost in tears from a pounding headache and she was complaining about a sore throat. And since I am on this journey to see if essential oils are a medical answer for our family, I decided I was going to have to use them to figure that out for myself. So, I oiled her up with what I am now referring to as The Headache Buster, which I referred to in a previous post: 1 drop Frankincense, 1 drop Peppermint, and Past Tense administered to the forehead, neck, and shoulders respectively. I sent her to bed where she fell asleep almost instantly. The next morning she woke up and said she felt better, but still had a sore throat and upset tummy. So once again, I went to the oils...how am I going to know if I don't try them out. One drop of Peppermint in warm water for her upset belly which seemed to clear up within minutes AND (I'm shaking my head that I did this and am actually admitting to it) On Guard administered to her chest and throat area and on her piggy toes and bottoms of her feet per reflex points. I sent her to school. And I got a phone call 3 hours later.
"Kara has a fever and sore throat. We need you to come pick her up."
Groan. I guess it doesn't work. But I did remember hearing at one of the classes, low dose, high frequency of application. Alright. I'm not going to throw it to the wind yet. Let's try again. I picked up my darling Kara and brought her home. Re-administered the Headache Buster and the Piggy Toe treatment , applied Peppermint to the bottoms of her feet (I had heard it helps with fevers), fed her a Lunchable (Don't judge me. I realize that is a bit hypocritical when one is trying to put only natural and healthy things into their children!) and put her to bed. She slept for 2 hours and said she felt better. Hmmmm....maybe it does work? As the evening wore on, she would seem to start feeling bad again. Each time I did the same oil treatment. Each time she said she felt better. This morning, her fever was gone though she mentioned her throat still hurt a tad bit and her tummy was a bit upset. I put more on her Piggy's and left her tummy alone. She didn't think it felt bad enough to take more Peppermint (or maybe she was sucking it up cause she didn't want more Peppermint lol!) I thought again, maybe this stuff is working?! Just to be sure, I made my older two put on some On Guard....to see if they stay well.
Why do I tell you all this? Because it started a line of questions for me. Why am I turning to oils? Is it cost effective? Is it healthier for my family? Is it better than taking over the counter pain and fever reducing medications?
So, I spent time this morning researching a bit. I am already growing weary of how long this post is getting. I have other things I want to do today ;), so I will try to sum up quickly what I found.
Over the counter pain meds, as in ibuprofen and acetaminophen, do not tend to cause liver problems, however; with extended use and overdose can cause severe kidney issues. We do not use it for extended periods of time, but when I have a bad headache, I take 800 mg....which is over the suggested amount. I found this information on two separate web pages. I made a point of only looking at websites that were not tied to any Essential Oil company so I could have an unbiased opinion. One being a blog written by a Dr Sharon Orrange MD MPH and the other from the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. I also found another web page that I thought was very interesting. It had more information on it then I could quickly convey, so I will post it here for you to take a look at if you would like to.
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/mdmama/2013/01/did_you_know_ibuprofen_can_cause_kidney_damage.html
To be fair, I had to also look up the effects of essential oils on the body. Due to the products of essential oils not being regulated, many sites that I found said that under no uncertain terms should anyone consume oils, without first consulting a physician who has been trained in these areas. Keeping in mind, the oils they mentioned that should never be used because of their toxicity are NOT sold by doTerra. HOWEVER, I also found other websites saying that it is really hard to say one way or another about oils because no clear study has been done, but the testimonials are that Essential Oils have been successful for many people. The last website I looked at for this side of things, my favorite one that I found, was NIH or National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. You could type in an essential oil and it would tell you all about it. For instance, one I found, (sorry I can't remember the name for it, but it is NOT sold by doTerra, so no worries there) said it was toxic and should never be used. So, I looked up Peppermint and Peppermint seemed to be ok. Insert sigh of relief because it has helped so much with my tummy and Kara's tummy.
I also was curious, not only about the physical cost of using essential oils, but also the financial cost. Lets be honest. It isn't cheap, though, at least with doTerra, when you become a member, much like becoming a member of SAMS Club, there are perks and you do receive points, comparable to rebates, in which you can order free oils....which of course, brings your overall cost done. While I can't say I compared apples to apples necessarily (because I am not a money or math person), I was curious how the cost of treating my daughters symptoms over the last couple of days with ibuprofen and tylonal would compare with treating her with oils. I found that the over the counter drugs are cheaper for headaches, but not cheaper for treating fever.
So, I guess, in all of my research this morning which I realize was time consuming, but not exhaustive, I would conclude with this:
In my own experience, I am finding some oils to be very beneficial to our family. In the case of myself and my children, the Head Ache Buster works miracles. It is external use and doesn't take the chance of stressing the kidneys. It costs a bit more, but when weighing out financial cost and physical cost, I would personally prefer to pay a bit more for something that I know is natural, effective, and doesn't have the chance of stressing the body. The same seems to be true for On Guard. I used it externally and it actually seems more effective then this skeptic thought. Again, the physical cost out weights the financial cost.
Over all, the answer I am coming to is this. I believe essential oils are beneficial. I believe modern medicine is also beneficial. I personally prefer to go as natural as possible and if essential oils can provide that for my family, then I am willing to continue to pursue this. So far, they have. I also believe that one must use common sense about how to best use them. Do your research. But then, that is the truth about everything in life, right? Use your God given common sense and search things out.
I believe the cost, physically and financially, is proving to be worth it for us with essential oils. And while I still don't have all the answers and am finding that some oils work for me and others do not (that is a separate blog and I believe all of us might have a list of oils that really work for us and others that don't work, but might work for someone else), I am willing to continue searching for oils that might benefit the Wilson household.
I hope this is not just mere rambling on my part and proves to be helpful to you :)
Continuing to Pursue Oils,
Melody
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