Thieves Essential Oil

A couple of weeks ago, I visited my friend, Lambie to learn about essential oils. I was interested in reducing my use of cleaning and health/beauty products with laboratory chemicals with names that are hard to pronounce. I wanted more natural products without dyes and chemical preservatives. I especially wanted a natural, bug repellent that would work.

Lambie brought out her collection of Young Living Essential Oils. They are high-quality, food grade or therapeutic oils distilled from plants. They can be use in a diffuser to perfume the air to enhance mood. The oils can also be combine with a carrier oil (coconut, almond, olive) and used on the skin. Some of the oils like lavender have anti-bacterial properties.

I sniffed a lot of oils. Some were quite pleasing. Some I didn't like. The one I fell in love with was called Thieves. The story about this oil goes during the Middle Ages during the Black Death, a group of thieves was robbing the dead. They didn't get sick. Confronted, they divulged their secret to smearing themselves with a blend of cinnamon, cloves, eucalyptus, rosemary, and lemon.Combined these oils may have anti-bacterial properties.

I was hooked. Ordered a starter kit (more on that later), and also ordered a bottle of the Thieves essential oil and household cleaner.

For quite some time, I've been using distilled white vinegar as an all-purpose cleaner. It works as well as commercial products, but doesn't have the most pleasing aroma. Per Young Living, added a capful of the household cleaner to my vinegar water solution plus a few drops of Citrus Fresh essential oil and now my all-purpose cleaner smells great, and it even cleans glass without streaking.

I made bug repellent, too. Mixing witch hazel, water, and Thieves essential oil. Smells way better than any of the commercial sprays. Haven't tested whether the bugs hate it.

And then my story turned weird.

Last week, a few days after the Solstice, I could feel a bout of vertigo coming on. (My vertigo seems to be tied to seasonal changes) There was a bit of pressure in my left ear and a feeling like something was dripping or moving around. Wasn't in any pain. Had gone to the doctor several years ago and told I had Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Simplified, this is when the calcium crystals in your inner ear which tell your brain whether you are moving, clump together and the room begins to spin. My doctor had prescribed medication, but I don't like taking it as it renders me useless and makes me feel worse.

Essential oils are used for all sorts of problems like minor skin irritations. I started hunting around to see if there was something that would work for me. Found lavender oil  (because of the anti-bacterial properties) rubbed behind the ear, along the jawline and bottom of the feet was helpful for earache. Not quite what I had as I didn't have ear pain, but I figured it couldn't hurt. Only, I didn't have lavender oil. (more on that later), but I did have the Thieves. Mixed a teaspoon of almond oil with a couple of drops of Thieves essential oil. Rubbed the mixture behind me ears and along my jawline. Never put anything in your ears unless prescribed by a doctor! I felt a little better and smelled great!

Before I went to bed, did a crunch exercise to help alleviate BPPV I also smeared the remaing Thieves and almond oil behind my ears and to the bottoms of my feet. Here's the weird part, I got an electrical tingling sensation in my left foot that raced up my left leg. It was similar to the epidural I was given during labor/when I had The Eldest. I could then feel the tingling on my left side of my upper teeth, under my left eye, around my left eye and above my left eye (all the sinuses). The tingling only lasted a few seconds.

In the morning, the vertigo feeling was gone. Was it due to the Thieves oil? The exercise? Psychosomatic? I don't know and really don't care. I felt back to normal. The vertigo was gone, and I didn't have to take the nasty medication.

So that's my weird experience with Thieves essential oil. Your mileage my vary. Remember, if you are experiencing any sort of pain or medical problem, see your doctor before you try any homeopathic remedies.