No one can deny the enormous range of benefits of aromatherapy. Apart from spreading a heavenly smell, aromatherapy can provide psychological benefits, respiratory disinfection, reduce stress, and so on. Besides this, certain essential oils can also ease cold and sinus inflammation symptoms.
What Essential Oils Are Good for Sinus Inflammation and Cold?
Before listing some of the most popular essential oils for sinus and cold that you can use separately, you can also consider the idea of using an essential oil sinus blend. Way more powerful and providing you with instant relief, quality and pure essential oil sinus blend can be a breath of fresh air. Several inhales would be more than enough to lighten your ‘heavy head’ and relieve your congested airways.
Grapefruit peel oil, lemongrass oil, lime and peppermint oil is a blend strong enough to help you minimise hay-fever, cold and flu symptoms. On top of that, such a blend of essential oils for sinus congestion and cold can also spread a pleasant smell in your home and purify the air. Putting bacteria and bad vibes at bay is more than easy with the help of essential oils.
Peppermint Essential Oil
The main reason why peppermint oil is a great choice for blocked sinuses and symptoms of a cold is because of its man compound, menthol. Thanks to menthol, peppermint essential oil can affect the mucus receptors in your nose by opening the congested airways and clearing the mucus. Lots of studies have been made, and a great number of them show that peppermint oil can fight bacteria which in fact, is one of the main triggers for sinus inflammation.
The therapeutic uses of eucalyptus also include sinus congestion, headaches and migraines, tension relief, mental and physical exhaustion. You can either add a few drops to your diffuser and enjoy its pleasant smell or you can make yourself a steamy bath. All you need to do is add a few drops of peppermint essential oil in a bowl of warm water and breathe in the steam until you feel a relief in your airways.
Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Unlike peppermint which contains menthol, the main compound in eucalyptus essential oils are cineole, which is considered safe and effective for treating sinus issues like a runny nose, nasal obstruction and headaches. Pure eucalyptus essential oil can be used the same way as peppermint, in diffusers and in steam baths.
Tea Tree Essential Oil
The main compound in tea tree essential oil – alpha-sabine, can provide you with antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial effects. Thanks to its properties, tea tree essential oil can reduce inflammation and sinus swelling. By reducing the swelling, this essential oil can also relieve symptoms of a runny and stuffy nose.
Lavender Essential Oil
Although lavender is mainly known for its calming and relaxing properties, it can also be used for improving the symptoms of sinus congestion. It can reduce pain, swelling and inflammation.
Oregano Essential Oil
This is a powerful cleansing and purifying oil thanks to its two main ingredients – carvacrol and thymol. It is a well-known immune-boosting oil that can also help fight off bacteria and aid sinus congestion. If wondering how to use oregano essential oil for colds, you can use it as any other pure essential oil. In other words, just add a few drops of it to a diffuser or bowl of hot water and let its smell heal you. You can also apply it on your skin, but only when mixed with a carrier oil like almond or coconut oil.
Rosemary Essential Oil
Rich in antioxidants, rosemary is an anti-inflammatory essential oil that can relieve swollen sinuses. Pure rosemary essential oil can manage metabolic syndrome which is a cluster of conditions that can occur together. All of them can increase the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke. Some of these conditions include high blood sugar, increased blood pressure, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels.
How to Find Pure Essential Oils?
Assuming that you need to use pure essential oils for medical purposes, it’s vital to choose pure, high-quality and undiluted essential oils. That way you can be sure that you’re getting maximum effectiveness and healing power. In order to find pure and 100% essential oils, you should choose certified organic therapeutic grade oils and look for reputable suppliers. If not sure where to start, you can always consult with a professional and read customer reviews. Dig a little bit about the chosen supplier and their products. Don’t forget to check the essential oils’ certification and product origin. Read the ingredient list as it should contain only essential oils and their Latin names need to be listed on the back of the label.