My OTC-free Medicine Cabinet

Hello, I’m Jill, mother of two toddlers, and I don’t have any Children’s Tylenol in my house during cold & flu season this year.  

What the what?  Sounds crazy, but I cleaned out our medicine cabinet, and threw away all the remaining OTC medicines because they were expired.  Bye-bye Tylenol, Motrin, Benedryl, and TUMS.  

Even I am shocked at how much my approach to children’s healthcare has changed since I became a mom.  After all, I used to medicate any fever, even administer Tylenol alternated with Motrin every 4 hours.  I would also give my kids rounds of oral antibiotics every time they got an ear infection (and my first child had many). 

I’ll tell you what, it grossed me out giving my kids that stuff.  They were constantly recalling OTC baby medicine when my son was a baby, and that really scared me to the point I looked into alternative means.  Plus I learned the overuse of antibiotics wrecks a person’s gut flora, which is a key to a healthy digestive and immune system.

I played around with a lot of home remedies and tried several alternative brands last year, all of which worked pretty well and helped us avoid antibiotics for the entire 2012-2013 school year.  (Knock on wood, but we haven’t even been to the pediatrician this 2013-14 year!)

My favorite of the remedies were the essential oils.  Not only did they smell good, they WORKED.  

Essential oils have been used for thousands of years, frequently mentioned in the Bible and found throughout the world's cultures.  They are the original medicine!  In comparison, modern medicines are less than 100 years old.

Since then, I have learned much more about essential oils.  How you want to shop for therapeutic grade oils because they are made from the specific species of the plant that have the most health benefits and/or the least toxicity.  Different plant species can have vastly different chemical components – for example, there are over 700 species of Eucalyptus.

The company I get all my oils from now is called Young Living.  Young Living is the only company out there that offers a seed to seal guarantee: they literally own all the farms where the plants are grown, distill them in-house, and sell them exclusively through their distributors.  They are so pure that you can ingest them, in most cases!  Even the organic brands at the grocery store say “For External Use Only.”  

Each oil has different qualities - some are antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-parasitic, antiseptic, anticoagulant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal, decongestant, astringent, digestive aid, etc.  Studies have shown them to work against some really scary ailments – aka cancer and MRSA.  They have worked so well for our little ailments that I’ve even started taking some of them for my Lyme disease.  I'll be willing to report more on that case later - it takes many months to treat Lyme.

I can attest that Young Living oils are a totally different quality than the ones I owned before – they smell different – and they work better!  The best deal to buy Young Living oils is to join as a distributor, which gets you 24% off everything, all the time, plus allows you opportunities to get discounts and perks.

When I signed up, I bought an intro package that included bottles of 10 different oils, plus a home diffuser and other samples, for $150.  I can honestly say I’ve found good use for every single one of them.  Even the one I didn’t like at first.

I am not a big salesperson, y’all.  However, I do believe than knowledge is power, and I know many of my friends and family have never heard of using essential oils as medicine.  I can't help but share how well they are working for us. 

My theory with it is, why not give nature a chance first?  When someone has a health problem, I turn to the oils first.  If it doesn't work, I am secure knowing that “modern medicine” is there to get my back.  The thing is, the oils almost always work!!

If you are interested or have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.   You can also learn more by joining the Facebook group, Homemade Mommy Essential Oils.  My friend and YL sponsor manages this community of YL users – you can ask questions and get lots of ideas for other ways to use oils in your life!

Here’s a rundown of the Everyday Essential Oils that come with the Premium Starter kit and some of their uses:

And what I use these same oils for:

Lemon – drop in water daily for liver detox, apply on children for congestion, add to homemade kitchen cleaner, use in Epsom foot soak

Lavender – my go-to for children’s fever/discomfort, diffuse for calming before bed, use in Epsom salt baths, use on open wounds to disinfect, burn treatment

Frankincense – immune booster for infections (cold, cough, Lyme, staph, strep), cancer fighter, supports the nervous system, depression/anxiety

Purification –It knocked out pink eye in 24 hours!  I use it in cleaning solution blends and in my laundry’s softener cycle, plus it's great to diffuse and a wonderful insect repellent

Valor – seriously amazing oil - it keeps you calm, collected, and confident.  It can be used to stop snoring, TMJ, and keep the spine aligned after an adjustment.  It smells so good people will think it's perfume.

Thieves – A potent antibacterial/antiviral/antifungal blend.  I make hand sanitizer with it and use it religiously when we are out and about.  Anytime a family member even acts like they might get sick, I also rub this on the bottom of their feet.  If someone is sick, you can diffuse it in the air to prevent illness from spreading in your house. 

Peppermint – Very cooling, works great as a fever reducer and for hot flashes, apply to stomach for digestive issues, add to smoothies/desserts, I use it blended with lavender and eucalyptus for my laundry

Peace & Calming – a blend of oils that will really help you to relax in a very tense situation or before bed

Joy – relieves depression, elevates mood when diffused in the house

PanAway – use diluted for headaches, muscle aches, bruises, etc. 

Stress Away – another blend that will help ease you through those tense moments!  It is warm with a vanilla undertone and works great as perfume, as well.