We all have supplements & vitamins we take on a daily basis for our individual needs… products we swear by and use daily for our health & beauty regimes, but what about when you are dealing with a sudden onset cold, or when you wake up with a golf ball-sized sore throat? At the VERY first signs I may be coming down with something acute - I start a very purposeful, emergency wellness ritual that I have refined over the years. There are so many useful tools for treating a cold or easing acute allergies or ear infections, so as Fräulein Maria would say - these are a few of my favorite things!

Hydrogen Peroxide / I trust using Hydrogen Peroxide almost 100% of the time when I notice an acute cold coming on. I gargle with it, and I also put a few drops down each ear for 5-10 min, then drain onto a towel. You can dilute it by 50%, but I just use it straight and rinse with water after gargling. This is just one of those measures I swear by. It will kill many bacterial microbes and pathogenic viruses that have entered the ear canal. H2O2 is always best to use right away when you notice symptoms in the first 12-24 hours.

Elderberry, Echinacea, C, Zinc / You can take all these individually, but man that sounds like a lot of pills & I don’t do that very well. So I get these lozenges and have them in the house at all times. They are a powerful blend of healing agents - echinacea, zinc, elderberry & Vitamin C to help reduce the duration of disease and prevent illness from taking hold if you catch it early enough.

Yin Qiao San herbs / Best Chinese herbs for warding off illness in the initial stages - I take it at the first signs of a sore throat, especially one that feels swollen, hot, raw, or burning. I take 3 capsules 3x/day.

Raw Garlic Paste / aka my Warrior Wellness Paste. This stuff probably deserves its own post. I mix together 2 cloves of mashed raw garlic, 1 inch of raw grated ginger, 1 big Tbsp raw honey, & ½ tsp turmeric powder into a paste. I use 1 tsp of this paste in a mug of 1 C hot water (I actually put it inside a teaball and pour the water over it like making tea - that way it is pre-strained and you don’t have bits of garlic floating in your mug) and add the juice of ½ lemon to it. I drink this 2x day until the paste is gone.

What are your self-care rituals? Would love to hear your tried & true remedies!

Happy New Year! First post of the new year, let’s get down to business.

Soooooo many folks sick right now. It’s really the hardest time to maintain your health when it’s freezing and windy, people are traveling, not eating well, stressed out, allergies are high, and pathogens are being passed around like crazy. We had a little bug passed around over Christmas, and I ended up with what seemed like a sinus infection. First one as an adult! Deep congestion, hard to get it out, face & sinus pain, toothache, green snot… not fun. If anyone is having similar symptoms, try this home remedy to help get rid of bacterial infection, open your sinuses, and relieve pain. It got rid of my sinus pain and toothache almost completely after 2 days, and no more green snot, either. I’d say that’s pretty effective!! Eucalyptus and Tea tree oils are very inexpensive, and great to have on hand - both anti-microbial and anti-bacterial. Oregano oil is pricier but extremely effective in fighting stubborn infection.

Sinus Steam Cure:

Eucalyptus essential oil

Tea Tree essential oil

Oregano essential oil, optional

LIght weight towel or large linen/cheesecloth towel

Large pot filled with 3 inches of water

Tissues

Add 3-5 drops of all oils into water in a large broad pot on the stove. Bring water to about boiling and then turn off the heat. Stand over the pot, drape the towel over your head and the pot and breathe in the steam for 10 minutes, pausing to blow your nose with the tissues every so often when it starts to run & careful not to get your skin too hot. Get that crud out! Repeat 2x per day until symptoms improve. You can actually just leave this same pot of water on the stove and re-heat it several times to save oil. Put a few drops of these oils in your shower too for additional help!