Every winter household has a shelf of things it reaches for when someone comes down with something. Ours has three:
Healing Chest Rub is the one to apply at night. It’s made with thyme, eucalyptus, and white pine, and rubbed into the chest and under the nose it opens nasal and chest passages so you can actually sleep.
Sinus Steam is for the daytime. Add a spoonful to a bowl of hot water, lean over it with a towel over your head, and breathe; or leave a pot simmering on the stove or the wood stove so the whole house gets the benefit. It clears breathing passages and makes the kitchen smell like a pine forest.
Warming Oil is for the aches. Black pepper, eucalyptus, and yarrow warm the muscle underneath the skin, which is what you want for a stiff neck, a sore back, or the general body ache that comes with a cold.
None of these replaces a doctor, of course, but none of them contains anything you’d need to look up online to understand what it is or what it does. Thyme, eucalyptus, pine, black pepper, yarrow… All plants that people have used for exactly this purpose for a very, very long time.
Keep the three together and within easy reach. When it’s 2 a.m. and someone’s coughing won’t let them rest, you’ll thank us for it.
