Essential Oils: Not Just for Yuppies Anymore

The world can be a scary place, even without man-made disasters. Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and wildfires can leave us stranded for days at a time. Add the prospects of sickness, war, civil unrest, or nuclear Armageddon and the need for preparedness becomes very real. So rather than cower at the thought of these disruptive and frightening events, we prepare. If you are a reader of the articles on this site, you most likely recognize that being prepared and living a preparedness lifestyle is purposeful and intentional. It may surprise some of you that understanding and collecting particular essential oils should be a part of your attempt to prepare for all eventualities.

We may be expected to fend for ourselves and our families for some time should the power go out or water supply gets rendered unfit to drink or cut off completely. What about your family’s health needs? Will you be able to take care of them? What would you do if one of your children had an asthma attack and you didn’t have an inhaler? Or suppose someone developed a bacterial infection and no medical help was available? Perhaps you or a family member has a bad toothache but you have no access to a dentist. How would you handle the stress and anxiety associated with a natural or man-made disaster, economic crisis, or act of terrorism? Here are some essential oils that could be helpful in any of the above-mentioned situations. I think of them as Emergency Essential Oils. 

The number one essential oil to have in your survival kit is lavender.

This is an amazingly helpful and versatile oil. Lavender heals burns and cuts, relieves insomnia, reduces stress, is a powerful antihistamine, treats bug bites and bruises, and helps with inflammation, sunburn, and lice. If that isn’t enough to convince you, it is also soothing to skin irritations, earaches, and depression.

Peppermint is an essential oil that is effective for nausea, digestive issues, allergies, menstrual problems, reduces fever, and increases alertness, focus, and oxygen absorption. It is great for headaches and muscle aches. Peppermint oil is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and can be used for shock, colds, colic, and heartburn.

The essential oil helichrysum is useful for relieving painful bruising, sprains, and swelling. It stems bleeding and can be used to treat shock, help with allergies, and is beneficial against infections and viruses. Helichrysum is excellent for wound care as it speeds healing and reduces pain.

Clove has antibiotic and analgesic properties. It helps relieve toothaches, headaches, and other pain. Clove can be used to draw toxins and infections from the body, and aids in relieving nausea and constipation.

Frankincense essential oil has regenerative properties which make it an important oil in all types of emergencies. It reduces inflammation, relieves headaches, supports skin tissue recovery, soothes hyperactivity and restlessness, and facilitates clarity and focus of mind. 

These essential oils are not a complete list of all that may be helpful to you, but they are the five oils that should top your list of priorities. Buy them, learn to use them, practice with them now. Then when the time comes that you need them for a survival situation, you will be prepared to care for your own and your family’s health needs.