August 21, 2007 | Essential oils
Along with back-to-school sales and the start of football season, it’s also back to the grindstone with fighting colds and viruses. Fall is on its way, and with it, the flu season, bronchitis, and all those extra fun illnesses heralded by a cold snap (though right now in Atlanta, a cold snap seems far, far away).
So we’ve been looking around to see what we can do this winter to protect ourselves and our kids from the run of the mill back to school viruses and colds, and I have some information you might find helpful.
Tea tree oil fights bacteria, viruses, and fungi (molds & mildews). So you can use it to kill the mold in your shower grout, or spray it (diluted, of course) on light switch plates, the phone, door handles, all those things around the house to inhibit the spread of germs from person to person.
White tea has been found to have similar properties - at least in fighting bacteria and viruses. Drink that during cold season to help your immune system do its job. Several toothpastes have white tea added to them, so those may be of help too.
Of course the most important thing you can do is wash hands properly at least 5 times a day. Warm water, scrub for at least 20 seconds. And then dry hands with a paper towel to wipe off any stubborn germs. Use hand sanitizers for those tricky times that proper hand washing isn’t an option.
Need to teach your kids to wash their hands? Lysol has some helpful resources for families here. (Not that we sanction the use of Lysol - it’s chemical-laden, but why throw out the baby with the bath water?)
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