The Best Essential Oils for Seasonal Allergies
Do you look forward to the warm spring and summer months, only to be met with sneezing, itchy eyes, puffiness, and congestion? If so, you are likely among the millions of Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies each year.
Keep reading as we explore how essential oils may help you find relief!
What Are Seasonal Allergies?
Seasonal allergies, also known as hay fever or allergic rhinitis, result when the immune system overreacts to common allergens such as pollen, grass, dust, and animal dander. Immune cells release histamine, triggering an inflammatory response in an attempt to rid the body of allergens. It's estimated that seasonal allergies affect 19.2 million adults and 5.2 million children in the US annually (1).
Some of the most common symptoms include:
● Sneezing
● Runny nose
● Congestion
● Sinusitis
● Coughing
● Chest tightness
● Itchy, watery eyes
● Swollen eyes
● Sore throat
● Fatigue
These allergies typically occur during spring and summer; though some people also struggle during winter and fall.
Can Essential Oils Help Allergy Symptoms?
The short answer to this is yes! When used aromatically and topically, these potent plant extracts offer powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihistamine, expectorant, decongestant, and energizing properties. While they aren't a cure-all, essential oils can help you turn down the dial on the debilitating seasonal allergy symptoms.
They're a safer and more cost-effective option than common antihistamine medications that cause drowsiness and other unpleasant side effects!
Top Essential Oils to Soothe Seasonal Allergies and How to Use Them
The best ways to use essential oils include direct inhalation, diffusion, and topical application. Here are some of our favorite oils to help you banish the misery of seasonal allergies.
Woolzies Breathe Essential Oil
If you can only choose one essential oil to soothe your hay fever, it has to be our Woolzies Breathe Blend! It has a refreshing aroma and has been expertly crafted to target nasal congestion, sinus headaches, and chest tightness. It contains a combination of peppermint, eucalyptus, frankincense, tea tree, lemon, laurel leaf, thyme, cardamom, cypress, and myrtle essential oils.
One of its key ingredients, peppermint essential oil, has superb decongestant, anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic properties to help relieve a stuffy nose and itchy eyes.
How to Use It: Diffuse this blend in your office, bedroom, and living room to help you breathe easier during allergy season! Add 3-5 drops per 100ml of water to your ultrasonic oil diffuser, and let it permeate the air for 30-60 minutes at a time.
Woolzies Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Eucalyptus is a must-have essential oil for alleviating respiratory symptoms during allergy season. It has a camphorous aroma and, interestingly, is one of the active ingredients in Vicks VapoRub! It contains anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties that may help to loosen mucus and relieve respiratory tract irritation.
How to Use It: We recommend massaging the eucalyptus essential oil into your chest and back before bed – just make sure you dilute 4-6 drops per tablespoon of carrier oil.
Woolzies Lavender Essential Oil
If you've read our previous blogs, you'll know we love the multipurpose benefits of lavender essential oil! This earthy, floral oil has potent anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Its calming effects may help to reduce allergies by soothing allergic inflammation (2). It's also a natural sleep aid, giving you some shut-eye when allergies have been keeping you awake.
How to Use It: Our Lavender Oil Double-Sided Roll-On is ideal for allergy relief. It has a roller on one side and a dropper on the other, making it super easy to carry around and use whenever you need it! Some of the best places to apply the roll-on include the bottom of the feet, pulse points, chest, and temples.
Woolzies Frankincense Essential Oil
This list wouldn't be complete without the “king of oils”, Frankincense!
Frankincense – from the Boswellia serrata tree – is an anti-inflammatory essential oil with a woody, earthy aroma that offers relief from troublesome hay fever symptoms! It has a long history of use in Eastern medicine due to its natural expectorant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties (3).
How to Use It: Frankincense can be inhaled, diffused, and applied topically. We suggest adding 5-10 drops of oil to a warm bath and soaking for 15 minutes while you deeply inhale the aroma. You can also make an anti-allergy blend by combining 3 drops of frankincense oil, 3 drops of peppermint oil, and 2 drops of lavender oil.
Final Thoughts
While allergies are complex, essential oils may offer some symptomatic relief when needed – without side effects!
Let us know; have you added essential oils to your natural allergy-relief toolkit?
Resources
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24909715/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27117114/
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