This is my little apothecary. In our home, we have come to rely on essential oils for a variety of things. We use them for cleaning, in our laundry, personal care and beauty products, and for healing. I will share more of these recipes and remedies with you as I continue to write more articles.
Because of the injuries to my legs, I am almost always in comfy supportive shoes. This creates a perfect environment for foot fungus a.k.a. athlete’s foot. Although I never get full blown athlete’s foot, (mostly because I takes measures to prevent it), my feet sometimes feel itchy and not quite right. There are however folks in my family that get it. I love to declare with an old timey bellowing voice, “There’s a fungus among us!”. So I have aptly named this ‘recipe’ Fungus Amongus. Here are the specific essential oils I use and the reasons why.
First let me say a few things about essential oils in general. It is very important that you only use 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils. Fragrance oils are NOT essential oils. They hold no therapeutic properties and will do more harm than good. I guess I should also say that I have no allegiance to any particular brand. I have Now, DoTerra and Plant life. They all work the same for me. I would however caution you to do some research on brands you are interested in, to find out extraction processes, company ethics, etc. I haven’t got around to it yet but I need to put a notice on my website somewhere that I do not endorse any of the specific brands of anything I use. I’m not that ‘big time’ (yet) to have sponsors, but hope to be some day.
- 100 drops of Melaleuca also called Tea Tree Oil.
- 50 drops of Lemongrass
- 50 drops of Lemon
- 5 drops of Peppermint
- 5 drops of Oregano
- 5 drops of Myrrh
- Melaleuca- This is a super oil. You can use it for just about everything. During my backpacking days I would carry some with me as first aid in a bottle. Here are the applicable properties for it in Fungus Amongus- Anti-fungal, tissue healing, antiseptic, treats infections, kills bacteria and viruses on contact.
- Lemongrass- Anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, soothes aching feet
- Lemon- Antiseptic, antibacterial, improves circulation
- Peppermint- Antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, astringent, analgesic
- Oregano- Antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory
- Myrrh- Cleansing properties, calms the skin
I put all of these in a dark colored dropper bottle. It fills the bottle about 1/3 full which = .33 oz= 10ml. Always store your oils in a dark cool place to keep them from degrading. Yes I actually count drops. I haven’t figured out another way of doing it yet without wasting a single valuable (and by valuable I mean expensive) drop. Apply 2 to 3 drops to a cotton ball an apply ‘neat’ (without dilution) to affected area. We use it twice a day or so. I even wipe some on my leather flip flops if I feel like they are becoming a petri dish. I used to use only melaleuca but Sam says this combination actually works better. I plan on using essential oils for most of our medical needs during the zombie apocalypse, so as you can see, I’m stocking up. Who knows, they may also make for good trades. I really REALLY shouldn’t have to say this but just in case; don’t put it around any sensitive tissue or area ie; your eyes, your mouth, your hoohah, your twig-n-berries, or your butt! Sometimes I really wonder about people.
