I know from experience that once I start to cough convulsively, I’m really going to get in trouble. Bronchitis had taken me months 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 for an extended period of time.

Not only can bronchitis turn into something more serious like pneumonia, it can leave me weak, exhausted, and vulnerable to more serious degenerative diseases over time. Bronchitis is not a temporary thing that ends when you stop coughing and the antibiotic prescription runs out. It must be cured quickly, thoroughly and completely. For me, that will take at least 10 days after all symptoms are gone.

This is what I do when I have a cold that starts to turn into a cough.

I continue the steam treatments that I started at the first sign of a cold, both in hot therapeutic baths each night with essential oils and Epsom salts as well as steam showers with an essential oil diffuser in the same room for about 20 minutes each morning. before I leave. for work.

If I start coughing at work, I’ve found that a convenient cup of warm scented water will quickly ease my cough. I fill a thermos with hot tap water and put a drop of spearmint or basil oil in it. These soothing anti-inflammatory oils are soothing and tasty too.

When I have had bronchitis, it is common for a whooping cough to start shortly after going to bed at night. When I was a child, my mother applied Vicks VapoRub and put a cold cloth on the thymus area (just below where the clavicles meet). Now I use diluted peppermint oil on the area along with the cold cloth and cover it with a dry towel. It stops the cough by cooling the inflamed bronchioles that tickle and trigger the cough. If I find the cloth getting hot and the coughing starts again before I can go to sleep, I simply wave the damp cloth in the air to cool it down and apply it again.

These are by no means the only things I do when I catch a cold. I take a large amount of vitamin D3 for 3 days. I increase my krill oil intake to control inflammation. Take many essential oil capsules over a period of almost a month. I have oils in all of my drinking water and many recipes. I use a cold air essential oil diffuser at least twice a day. I do what’s called the “lick trick” with essential oils to help with a sore throat, and I keep my sinuses clear at all costs. For me, the sinuses are where the infection begins, and if I can quickly clear it up and keep it clear through any other symptoms, I can prevent ear infections, sinus headaches, and many other symptoms typically associated with a cold.

I also apply a lot of oils topically, especially after showering and bathing, while my skin is damp and the oils are more easily absorbed.

Dr. Daniel Penoel, who trained me in the medical uses of essential oils, taught me that I had to maintain all my scent habits for at least 10 days after feeling completely fine. That is difficult to do when I feel good and am back to normal. I also know from personal experience that if I don’t make a full recovery, the symptoms can return with force.