Category: Essential Oils

Recent Lecture: Herbs for Acute and Chronic Respiratory Infections

11/13/2016

Hi friends. I recently taught a class on using herbs in acute and chronic respiratory infections. Here is the class description:

Prepare for winter by enhancing your understanding of how respiratory infections develop and how herbal, nutritional, and lifestyle interventions can make a big difference regarding prevention and recovery. In this class we will discuss how to use herbs to address a wide variety of respiratory complaints including colds and flus, acute and chronic lung infections (bacterial, fungal, and viral), bronchitis, as well as chronic sinus irritation and infection. Our focus will be on moderate to severe respiratory illnesses. Students will gain deeper knowledge of how to use natural means to combat infections in order to minimize the need for use of antibiotics, steroids, and other pharmaceuticals.

Below is the lecture, which is split in two parts. I've also added a slide show of my power point slides. Enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions or would like to share your own experiences.

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The Many Consequences of Sinus Disease

1/16/2016

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Sinus disease is a common part of cystic fibrosis. Many of us need to have the chronic infection in our sinuses cleaned out and the polyps removed at some point in our lives. I personally have had 4 or 5 sinus surgeries in my life (I've lost count honestly). This type of sinus infection clean-out and polypectomy is called a FESS (functional endoscopic sinus surgery). I recently had a FESS done in December, plus a septoplasty. I needed a septoplasty because my septum had deviated to the point where it was occluding parts of my right sinus. Interestingly, the bone of the upper septum had ballooned out so that it looked quite deformed on CT-scan (but didn't aesthetically look unusual from the outside). When the surgeon went in to scrape it down, he remarked to me that the bone in there was like spongy mush; very unusual. I wonder if it is a sign of osteopenia. I don't know why else this would have happened. Maybe the infection/inflammation had effected the bone? I don't know.

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Rectal Suppositories: the Final Frontier of Essential Oils

9/3/2014

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As a scientist, there are many things that I must explore in order to discover helpful treatment protocols for complicated problems like CF. Some of these explorations are uncomfortable, or on the fringe of social acceptability. Some of these explorations involve places where the sun don't shine. Oh yes, my friend. I'm going there. Let us discuss that place that our culture chooses not to think about. The "deep space" of our body. The rectum.

It's a pretty useful spot. Located in between the bowel and the anus, it is of course wonderfully useful for expelling feces. But because it is a highly vascularized area of tissue, it is also very useful for absorbing things into the blood. Rectal suppositories of medicine have been used for centuries, and more recently it's come to my attention that essential oils can be administered systemically via this technique.

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Benchmark Thyme

6/22/2014

9 Comments

In mid-May I began inhaling Benchmark Thyme essential oil in my nebulizer. For two and a half weeks I inhaled 3 drops of the oil mixed with 3mL of normal saline and nebulized it twice a day. By the end of this 2.5 week trial period I noticed a significant improvement in my lung and overall health. Of the oils I have used so far, Benchmark Thyme (BT) is probably my single favorite. In the two weeks before starting BT I was inhaling a combo of eucalyptus and tea tree oils. Although these oils kept me from declining back to pre-essential oil levels, when I began using thyme I could notice a difference. My main lung bug is MRSA, and since BT is specifically formulated to target MRSA infections, I believe this is why it has been so effective for me.

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Inhaling Essential Oils

4/20/2014

55 Comments

I have some wonderful things to report after several weeks of self-experimentation. I've been inhaling essential oils since late February, and after seven weeks I feel like I have enough of consistent results to report my findings (I am a scientist, after all).

First of all, before I started inhaling essential oils I had just gotten off of oral antibiotics (minocycline and bactrim) and was planning on going into the hospital for some IV vancomycin to treat my MRSA infection. Fate brought me a snow storm that prevented me from getting to the hospital, and instead I decided to test out the eucalyptus essential oil I had bought the day before. I am so glad things worked out the way they did, or I would never had made these radical discoveries!

Why Use Essential Oils?
It's been on my mind for many months now that I should begin inhaling essential oils. In herbalism school we talk a lot about plant constituents, and that those herbs that are the most antimicrobial (antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, etc.) contain a high amount of volatile oils.

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Author

Mica is a clinical herbalist specializing in addressing issues related to cystic fibrosis, severe respiratory diseases, nutrition and digestion, diabetes and blood sugar disregulation, immune disregulation, and much more. Through their own personal experiences with chronic illness, they are passionate about empowering people to take charge of their own health with natural, holistic, and integrative approaches. Please ask questions or share what's worked for you!

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Disclaimer: The content of this website and blog is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. I am not a licensed medical professional and do not take responsibility for any actions taken by the reader as a result of access to this information.

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