Week of Wellness: Take the Urgency Out of Emergency

Yesterday, we were pleased to host a class called “Take the Urgency Out of Emergency” taught by author Tamalu Watkins in our new Elevé Event Center. This class was part of our Week of Wellness to celebrate the grand opening of our new AromaTools retail store in Pleasant Grove, UT. This post covers the highlights of what was taught in that class.

Emergency Essential Oils Kit

The first step to having a truly useful emergency essential oils kit is learning how to use oils to benefit your family today with their everyday health concerns. This competence is the key to a customized kit and the confidence to use it, says Tamalu Watkins—a mother, grandmother, massage therapist, author, and essentials oils educator.

Do members of your family have allergy, respiratory, digestive, or blood pressure issues? Then, oils that address those ailments must not only be part of your emergency kit but also part of your mastered skill set. Your everyday needs will only intensify in a time of emergency. And that’s before anything else that an accident, sudden illness, or epidemic may throw your way. In other words, “practice makes permanent.” Determine to develop a skill set that will help you intuitively respond better when a crisis comes.

After your personalized oils, add other combinations and blends suitable for any emergency: calming (for victims and yourself as responder), cleansing, protective, respiratory, etc. For example, through years of having sons who play contact sports, Tamalu added bergamot to her kit for protection against head trauma.

What to Include in Your Kit

To round things out, here is Tamalu’s basic supply list to equip you as a ready “first responder” in emergencies:

• Empty Gelatin Capsules for taking essential oils orally or as suppositories.
• Vegetable Glycerin as a carrier oil for taking oils orally (especially for children who can’t swallow capsules). A couple of drops of lemon (and a drop of oregano for adults) in a spoonful of glycerin can help soothe a sore throat or cough—the glycerin is naturally sweet and will not compromise the immune system or become dangerous over time like commercial cough syrups. To soothe cracked, bleeding skin, add a drop each of lavender and fractionated coconut oil to a glycerin base, and apply topically.
• Baking soda for aiding detoxification. Make a paste, and spread it over affected areas. Add a drop of Purifying Blend for insect bites or a combination of lavender, peppermint, and eucalyptus for rashes.
• Epsom Salts for detoxification as well as for reducing swelling and pain. Add to water to soak a sprain, strain, or bruise.
• Fractionated coconut oil for diluting essential oils when massaging a large area or applying to sensitive skin.
• Hydrogen peroxide for applying to wounds to loosen embedded materials.
• Mustard plaster for a disaster in which lungs are affected. Use with caution, especially on small children and pets. Basic recipe: 3 heaping tablespoons dry mustard, 5 heaping tablespoons flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and water. Combine dry ingredients, and add enough water for a thick paste. The wetter the plaster, the “hotter” it becomes. Do not apply it directly to the skin. Spread it on a clean rag, or—better yet—spread between two old, clean t-shirts and then wear the double t-shirt. Discard the rag or t-shirts after treatment, and rinse the skin.
• A variety of bandages and self-adhering sports wrapping tape for dressing all types of wounds. Rinse the wound with clean water, if possible. For embedded debris, soak with hydrogen peroxide to loosen, and then rinse. Drop lavender, melaleuca, or other soothing oils or blends onto the wound to cleanse, reduce pain, and promote healing. Seal with fractionated coconut oil (or other ointment), and cover with a gauze sponge. Wrap with gauze roll, and secure with self-adhering tape.

Knowledge Is Power

Tamalu’s ultimate objective for emergency preparedness is this: “Drop me—or you—into any situation with oils in hand, and we can come out OK because our knowledge will make a difference for good.” To benefit from Tamalu’s 20 years of experience with essential oils, check out her pamphlets, brochures, and books at AromaTools.com.

About the Presenter

Tamalu Watkins is an educator, massage therapist, author, mother of 9, and grandmother of 3 healthy, happy, and active children. Nutrition, essential oils, and essential oil application have been her focus for most of the past 20 years. You won’t regret time spent learning from her years of applied study.