* coughs * Avoiding the Gag Response
When I was 18 I became vegan and was very, very interested in herbal this-and-that. That is, until the night I followed the directions in one of my herbals and it said to make Marjoram tea to settle an upset stomach.
I spewed like it was ipecac. Ew. Since then I've avoided Marjoram like the plague and even look at aromatherapy and perfume blends that use Marjoram with caution.
When I started into aromatherapy, a single drop of Oregano essential oil in a full cup of warm water was recommended to be sipped to strengthen one's immune system. Even that single drop diluted in probably more like 10 oz. instead of 8 oz. was so oily and so overwhelmingly OREGANO that I gagged at the first mouthful and had to spit it out. It took HOURS to get the taste out of my mouth! Further experiments with the oil, such as a single drop diluted in extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled LIGHTLY over a huge pizza was also much too overwhelming. I think Oregano oil is one of those "only apply with what little sticks to a toothpick!" oils.
So after three days of drippy sinuses from the weather my throat is beginning to feel raw...and I can't afford to get sick right now. I was likely exposed to someone sick at the Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, which was also alarming and put me in a situation where I could not remove myself from the room (but desperately wanted to do so). I cautiously pull out Julia Lawless' wonderful book on aromatherapy and hesitantly mix a BIG mug of warm water with two drops of Tea Tree oil and two drops of Clary Sage oil...and I gargle with it.
Thankfully, it was not a repeat of the Oregano Disaster. The taste was strange, but not repellent, nor did I want to projectile vomit. It left a "cool minty" feel in the back of my throat that was (also thankfully) compleatly free of "mint" taste. [I don't like to taste mint in much of ANYTHING because almost all medicines seem to have some form of Mint / Menthol (Peppermint Camphor) / Wintergreen in them to try to mask the taste of the meds and/or to give them a bit of painkilling ability. Most "mint" tastes are therefore immediately associated with wanting to throw up in my subconscious and WILL trigger my gag response.] So far, so good. I'll keep you updated on how it works out.
I've been using aromatherapy oils in knee massages for my sprained knee. It's a subtle kind of therapy that gently works its way through your skin and I think it has helped a lot. I blended two mixtures, one for 'sprains' and one for 'arthritis' (similar issues) and put the 'arthritis' one on in the morning under my knee brace and the 'sprains' one on at night. If anyone's interested, I'll insert the recipes for those in here.
Due to the sprain, I've lost pretty much the last six weeks. I have good days alternating with bad ones and I only have 'X' number of steps in me for any given day, so I've let a lot slide. One of the things I wanted to get done by now (and intend upon doing this weekend) is working on some antibacterial/antiviral essential oil blends for oil burners/vapourisers that will help kill any sicky germs in the air. My hope is that I can have several variations of these to scent the air and to make an invisible 'germ barrier' in the office to protect my compromised immune system from those who come in sick as a dog/while they are contagious without considering those of us who have no defenses from what THEY can throw off in a few days...and will represent WEEKS of illness and recovery for people like ME.
I will be posting about these as I do them/try them out. If any of you read of something that interests you [Leila?], just let me know. I'm likely going to make a few solid blends as well as have a set of single note bottles sitting nearby to 'tailor' the scents as they fumigate the air. (I would share the list of antivirals/antibacterials with you now, but I left my notebook downstairs and the idea of limping back down the flight of stairs is much too much...I'll do it later!)
Oh, and for those of you who know I've been experimenting with Ravensara oil--supposedly a good oil for anti-everything and very good for you in so many ways--I keep running into the problem of WHICH Ravensara. There are several oils out there, all totally different, being sold under the name 'Ravensara'. I really doubt they all work the same.
I want to kick the wall because I have a perfume scent I was in the middle of blending for someone...and it's on hold. I've been doing so much 'aromatic' blending to try to aid my recovery that I end up with Overwhelmed Nose Syndrome and cannot then smell the oils I'm blending for someone specific. Hopefully THAT will come together, too, but not until I get the sinuses cleared up.
Love you guys!
Grey :)
I spewed like it was ipecac. Ew. Since then I've avoided Marjoram like the plague and even look at aromatherapy and perfume blends that use Marjoram with caution.
When I started into aromatherapy, a single drop of Oregano essential oil in a full cup of warm water was recommended to be sipped to strengthen one's immune system. Even that single drop diluted in probably more like 10 oz. instead of 8 oz. was so oily and so overwhelmingly OREGANO that I gagged at the first mouthful and had to spit it out. It took HOURS to get the taste out of my mouth! Further experiments with the oil, such as a single drop diluted in extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled LIGHTLY over a huge pizza was also much too overwhelming. I think Oregano oil is one of those "only apply with what little sticks to a toothpick!" oils.
So after three days of drippy sinuses from the weather my throat is beginning to feel raw...and I can't afford to get sick right now. I was likely exposed to someone sick at the Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, which was also alarming and put me in a situation where I could not remove myself from the room (but desperately wanted to do so). I cautiously pull out Julia Lawless' wonderful book on aromatherapy and hesitantly mix a BIG mug of warm water with two drops of Tea Tree oil and two drops of Clary Sage oil...and I gargle with it.
Thankfully, it was not a repeat of the Oregano Disaster. The taste was strange, but not repellent, nor did I want to projectile vomit. It left a "cool minty" feel in the back of my throat that was (also thankfully) compleatly free of "mint" taste. [I don't like to taste mint in much of ANYTHING because almost all medicines seem to have some form of Mint / Menthol (Peppermint Camphor) / Wintergreen in them to try to mask the taste of the meds and/or to give them a bit of painkilling ability. Most "mint" tastes are therefore immediately associated with wanting to throw up in my subconscious and WILL trigger my gag response.] So far, so good. I'll keep you updated on how it works out.
I've been using aromatherapy oils in knee massages for my sprained knee. It's a subtle kind of therapy that gently works its way through your skin and I think it has helped a lot. I blended two mixtures, one for 'sprains' and one for 'arthritis' (similar issues) and put the 'arthritis' one on in the morning under my knee brace and the 'sprains' one on at night. If anyone's interested, I'll insert the recipes for those in here.
Due to the sprain, I've lost pretty much the last six weeks. I have good days alternating with bad ones and I only have 'X' number of steps in me for any given day, so I've let a lot slide. One of the things I wanted to get done by now (and intend upon doing this weekend) is working on some antibacterial/antiviral essential oil blends for oil burners/vapourisers that will help kill any sicky germs in the air. My hope is that I can have several variations of these to scent the air and to make an invisible 'germ barrier' in the office to protect my compromised immune system from those who come in sick as a dog/while they are contagious without considering those of us who have no defenses from what THEY can throw off in a few days...and will represent WEEKS of illness and recovery for people like ME.
I will be posting about these as I do them/try them out. If any of you read of something that interests you [Leila?], just let me know. I'm likely going to make a few solid blends as well as have a set of single note bottles sitting nearby to 'tailor' the scents as they fumigate the air. (I would share the list of antivirals/antibacterials with you now, but I left my notebook downstairs and the idea of limping back down the flight of stairs is much too much...I'll do it later!)
Oh, and for those of you who know I've been experimenting with Ravensara oil--supposedly a good oil for anti-everything and very good for you in so many ways--I keep running into the problem of WHICH Ravensara. There are several oils out there, all totally different, being sold under the name 'Ravensara'. I really doubt they all work the same.
I want to kick the wall because I have a perfume scent I was in the middle of blending for someone...and it's on hold. I've been doing so much 'aromatic' blending to try to aid my recovery that I end up with Overwhelmed Nose Syndrome and cannot then smell the oils I'm blending for someone specific. Hopefully THAT will come together, too, but not until I get the sinuses cleared up.
Love you guys!
Grey :)