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In this newsletter we will try to help you further
your knowledge and use of essential oils.
Physical ailment And Emotional Concern
It’s Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month – What can Essential oils do to help?
by Penny Keay
November is Alzheimer’s Awareness month. This disease affects millions of people around the world. It affects more than the just the person
with the disease.
It is also National Caregivers Month as declared by President Bush. This goes hand in hand with the Alzheimer’s awareness as without the caregivers
many Alzheimer’s patients would have very little quality of life.
Caregivers are very special and can use essential oils to help both the Alzheimer patients and themselves.
In recent studies and observances done in many nursing and care facilities they have seen the influence essential oils have had on the emotional
and physical needs of their residents.
It can be as simple as diffusing
Lavender essential oil that has changed
and brightened the attitudes of those afflicted.
In several care facilities we have done consults with, not only the use of
Lavender but also with
Bergamot have done wonders. The combination
of these two oils can have dramatic effects.
The persons inhaling the essential oils will be calm and less agitated. Using essential oils in massage oils or lotions will also help. The thoughtful
and loving human touch in itself can also bring about results. Adding the oils to the massage will help it be more lasting.
We have found that Alzheimer victims have a tough time falling asleep and staying asleep.
Diffusing Lavender in the room or using a
misting spray with
Lavender on the bedding or pillows
about 20 minutes before bedtime does wonders.
Some essential oils we often suggest to start with are
Lavender,
Bergamot and
Ylang-Ylang.
If using
Lavender
alone for a week doesn’t seem to bring about any kind of noticeable change try adding
Bergamot essential oil
to the blend. Then a week later you may need to try adding
Ylang-Ylang.
Sometimes you need to try a combination of two or more of these along with others listed below. Most often you will see a calmer,
more accepting change in the individual. See the list below for some more suggestions of essential oils that have been effective.
It is not uncommon for a care facility to use essential oils on just one of their residents to shortly find out that the small
amount of essential oils that permeate the air to bring about wonderful results with more of the residents. And many times
we have seen the staff and other personnel benefit too!
You may have seen articles suggesting Lemon Balm. This is also known as
Melissa. I mention it here because you will wonder
if this works. I’m sure it does but due to the expensive nature of this oil and the high rate of adulteration we won’t suggest
using this oil. There are other less expensive essential oils that have shown to bring about positive results and are more affordable.
In rare cases though, after others oils have been used and no results are seen, you could try a small amount of
Melissa
to see if you get results.
Please note that you need to be sure you buy your Melissa
from a reliable source. As I have stated before the adulteration rate
of Melissa aka Lemon Balm is extremely high.
Again, if none of the other oils have produced results
Melissa most likely will not either.
Restlessness and interrupted sleep can usually be remedied by using
Lavender, especially at bedtime. Other helpful oils
include
Rose ,
Neroli ,
Geranium,
Jasmine and
Roman Chamomile .
You can get suggestions of blends that may help in our
articles about insomnia http://birchhillhappenings.com/insomnia.htm .
Other oils than may be helpful for dementia and Alzheimer’s include
Basil,
Ginger,
Rosemary,
Black Pepper and
Cardamom .
These oils should be tried during waking hours as they can evoke memories, excite the thought processes and in some
cases cause too much stimulation to the brain if used to late in the day.
We all know that Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients also have poor appetites. Oils that may
help to stimulate appetites and continue to help with memory include
Lemon,
Lime,
Nutmeg,
Clove bud ,
Coriander ,
Orange,
Cinnamon ,
Ginger ,
Cardamom , and
Black Pepper.
Our favorite suggestion is to pin a “flower” on the lapel of the resident and add a few drops of essential oils to this “flower”.
Actually it is usually a cotton ball pinned on the collar. Often times Alzheimer’s patients love the fact they have a boutonnière
or corsage. If budgets allow maybe you can use a real silk flower and just add the oils to that. This in itself may stimulate
memories of good times for these folks.
The next question that comes up and is also a known fact, the older we get the more likely we are to have diminished sense of
smell. Will aromatherapy still work, even if we can’t smell? Well, yes and no.
If the response is strictly due to you actually being able to smell and differentiate the scent then No they probably won’t work.
An example would be if the smell of a skunk normally would trigger a response of ‘dread’ because of the smell but you can’t
smell the skunk, then there would be no response.
Now, since essential oils work on us at the cellular level too and can help the body with chemical imbalances then they work,
whether or not you can smell them. Here an example would be: You are terribly congested and you can’t smell or taste
anything. But after several inhalations and a little time for the essential oils to work at the cellular level reducing
inflammation and fighting the infection, you will soon regain your sense of smell. Initially though, you could not
smell anything and they were able to help you.
You can always use any of our premixed massage blends or our synergy blends (for diffusing or ‘flowers’).
There are several that may work wonderfully for the Alzheimer’s patient.
Some suggested premixed massage blends include
Calming massage oil,
Attentive massage blend,
Be Alert Massage blend,
Uplifting Massage Blend.
Our synergy blends that may be beneficial for calming and reducing agitation:
Calming,
My Angels,
Peaceful,
Relaxing,
Take Five.
Then for enhancing concentration, alertness and memories you could try:
Beautiful,
Citrus,
Concentration,
Courage,
Elation,
Enlighten,
For Women,
Full of Life, or
Inspiration.
So, now what’s next? It is for you, the Caregivers. You are so very important. I’m going to repeat part of this week’s
Tip of the Week here. As Caregivers are so important and need special recognition too.
If you know of someone that is a caregiver – let them know how appreciated they really are.
Here is the reprint of the Tip of the Week. Aromatherapy Tip of the Week - #43 November 11, 2008
We Salute all the Caregivers!!
President Bush** declared November 2008 as National Family Caregivers month. And so we would like to extend
our well wishes and Thanks to all those that take care of our loved ones.
Whether they are being taken care of in their own home, in special care facilities or hospitals the special folks
that take care of them hold a very special place in our hearts. Caregivers can be husbands & fathers, wives and
mothers, sons, daughters and nurses and nursing assistance and the list goes on.
Now, the Tip this week is about the things you need to do for yourself so you will not experience ‘burnout’.
You need to pamper yourself and take care of yourself too! As you continue to take care of those other folks in your life.
Each day, you take care of our loved ones in ways only you know what you do. We know how special you are, but do you?
Don’t ever think that what you do is ‘just a job’ as it is way more than that. You are the ones with the loving touch,
the simple smile and more, that make our loved ones know they are being cared for when we can’t be there.
Each day you need to take a few moments and – ‘smell the Rose s’! Well, not necessarily smell of Rose s but inhale
your favorite essential oils that give you the little boosts and warm cozies inside. Knowing you are so important
in the lives you attend and giving you the strength to continue. And don’t be afraid to share those smells with
those you take care of too.
When was the last time you had a relaxing bath?
Where you filled the tub with really warm or very hot water
and just sat there and soaked, undisturbed? With candle light? and soft music? Close your eyes and cover your
face with a dampened cloth and just sit back and relax. Stay as long as you like and tune out the world. You deserve it.
Don’t have time for a bath? How about a foot soak and a little foot massage? Most folks enjoy this simple little pleasure.
Make an appointment and have a real massage by a real massage therapist. Let them work out all that tension
in your back and neck. Most massage therapists will let you bring your own massage oil blends. We know many
massage therapists that will welcome it. (We have plenty of massage blends to choose from and you may already
have a few of ours on hand.)
At the very least, diffuse a few of your favorite essential oils in the evening before retiring for the night
and enjoy a few pages out of a good book or that magazine you purchased a month ago.
Now, if you are not a caregiver, you most likely know someone that is taking care of an elderly relative
or a homebound individual. Why not drop by and give them a little massage or bring them a silk flower
arrangement and a bottle of essential oils so they can refresh the smell? (Don’t bring them a live plant
unless you know they have time to take care of it – from personal experience – taking care of the
homebound – my plants all ended up in the garbage as they slowly died off from lack of care).
Al and I have been caregivers and have also given the reins over to others to take care of our loved ones.
We know how hard it is and how much caregivers do and how much love they pour from themselves.
So again, We Salute you! But please, take care of yourselves too as we appreciate and depend on you
for all that you do for our loved ones!
(** Go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081029-2.html to see
the declaration by President Bush)
Beauty Tips aka Skin and Hair Care
Getting Enough Sleep or what is causing the dark rinks under my eyes?
by Penny Keay
Are you getting enough sleep? This is so important to your beauty and over all health.
Do you have those dark rings under your eyes from not getting enough rest? That should be an indication
to you to slow down and take some time for yourself. Although there can be other causes of those dark rings – namely allergies.
Other causes include: aging, hereditary, injuries, and being dehydrated.
The congestion and pooling of blood around the eyes is what causes the dark circles. Get plenty of rest
and get allergies under control and drink plenty of water and you will soon look and feel better.
You can begin with a gentle under and around the eye massage with just a plain carrier oil – do not use any
essential oils in this. Excellent carrier oils include
Jojoba with a little Rosehip seed oil added.
This combination can be wonderful for your facial skin too.
Unfortunately not much can be done if the dark rings are caused by your heredity or as you age (but then again,
are you getting enough sleep, have allergies and are you drinking enough water??)
First thing, simply drink plenty of fresh water each day. Next to help you sleep, there are several
essential oils that can help you fall asleep and stay asleep. Always start with a drop or two of
Lavender on the pillow at night.
Please see our article on Insomnia http://birchhillhappenings.com/insomnia.htm
if you are a victim of that sleep
disorder as that article has many more suggestions to help you get a good nights rest.
Or maybe you are a Night owl and morning work interferes with your sleep patterns. You may have to reset your i
nternal clock. In areas around the world where daylight saving time a factor it can take several weeks to get your
circadian rhythm reset so you won’t feel so worn and tired.
Now if you are resting just fine, maybe you are dealing with allergies. These cause swelling in the tissues in the nasal
passages that may be impairing the blood flow in and around your eyes. If you know you are plagued by allergies
there are several essential oils that can help with congestion, swelling and inflammation and will also aid in getting better rest.
German and
Roman Chamomiles are both known for their antihistaminic properties and they help you to sleep better too.
Naiouli
is also good for congestion due to allergies.
Our Allergy Tamer blend has those oils in it and others
to help with seasonal rhinitis type allergies. So you may want to give it a try. Add a few drops in a
Personal inhaler and use 3-4 times a day.
One word of caution: Do NOT put any essential oils in or close to your eyes. They can burn, sting and
possibly cause damage to your precious eyes even if accidentally placed in the eye. If you do get some
in your eyes, rinse with water for several minutes and seek medical care if necessary.
As a last resort you can cover the circles with makeup, but that really isn’t addressing the health issues.
You need to get plenty of sleep, eat fresh nourishing foods like fresh veggies, drink lots of fresh water,
get your allergies under control and possibly get your sleep patterns adjusted. Then you won’t need the cover up!
Nightie-night and good bye to those dark rings!
Around the House and Garden
The Holiday’s are just around the Corner!!
Closet Hanger Sachets – an easy to make gift.
by Penny Keay
It is hard to believe it is already November, where in the world did the summer and fall go!!
Oh my, now it is time to get our thinking caps on and start our holiday gifts projects.
Again as in the past we love to hear from our Readers what they have made and given as gifts using and
incorporating essential oils. So please send us an e-mail and we’ll include it in the next issue of the newsletter that comes out in December.
Closet Sachets to hang from your closet rods or hangers are an easy to make item and if you are creative
can certainly come up with some cute and unique designs. If you have a sewing machine you can easily
make a little drawstring bags out of scrap material, inexpensive ribbons and then fill it with your own
homemade potpourri. This is simple and you can easily include a small bottle of essential oils to freshen it when giving it as a gift.
For the Closet Sachets you can use regular potpourri mix if you want a floral one or make your own
out of inexpensive items found in your local grocery and discount stores.
Pine Chips (can be found in a pet store) or Pine needles (if you have your own trees)
Cedar Chips (can be found in a pet store)
Orange and lemon rind – Make some Orange or lemon Zest strips – let them dry thoughly.
Cinnamon Sticks (purchase in any grocery store)
Clove buds (purchase in any grocery store)
Using any quantities of the above items mix and stir them together and place in a glass jar. T
hen add several drops of essential oils to complement your blend –
Pine needle ,
Cedarwood ,
Orange ,
Lemon or any citrus,
Cinnamon Leaf,
Clove bud or any others you want to add.
Let them blend for several days. Then when you are ready, stuff your little draw string bags and
‘ta da!’ you have some very easy to make Closet Hanger sachets.
Have fun and be creative. Please share your ideas and if you make some creative sachets
and have a camera – please send us the photos to also share!
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BIRCH HILL HAPPENINGS NEWS
Hello Everyone,
Hope everyone is having a good fall. We are being kept really busy.
Some new items include:
A new Aromatherapy Sterling Silver Locket.
Dainty Sterling Silver Locket
It is very cute and dainty. It is very much more
affordable for those that want something a little fancy, but not as expensive as the other Aromatherapy Lockets we have.
Click here to see more about the little locket.
These little lockets will also be featured with our new line of Aromatherapy Bracelets soon to be available too!
Many of you have asked about the next two items and we have decided to have them available. One is a
lotion pump that will fit an 8 ounce PET bottle. These have been requested many times by massage therapists.
Sorry it took so long but they are now available.
Click here for the Lotion Pump for 8 oz bottles
Next is
Polysorbate 20
a naturally derived emulsifying agent that when used with essential oils will not alter
or change their properties. You use that like our other emulsifier in a 1to 1 porportion of essential oils to the Polysorbate 20.
After you have mixed those together, THEN you add to your water based product whether it is a body spray,
distilled water, shampoo lotion or whatever you have that you need to use an emulsifier to mix water based products with your essential oils.
Click here for Polysorbate 20
We have a couple new blends we are working on. One we hope to have ready within the next couple weeks.
It is a blend to help with sleep. As you know we recently added Valerian to our line of essential oils.
As many of you know Valerian is a very potent and smelly essential oil. Personally I think it smell obnoxious!
Although it works great to help to induce sleep IF you use it in small amounts. IF you use too much it WILL have
the opposite effect and keep you awake – probably because it smells so awful!!
Anyway, I’ve been working on a blend that has a much sweeter smell and still has a good percentage of valerian in it.
I hope to put the finishing touches on it within the next week.
Also many of you have been requesting for us to replicate a YLO blend called R.C. Well, we thank Barb O
for sending us a sample of that. We are working hard at that replication and hope to have it ready soon.
Barb is almost out and so I need to put a rush on it!! It is coming Barb – very soon!!
And many of you are wondering how the Aromatherapy Recipe Book is coming. Well, I have to do a little bit more writing,
a little more editing and proofing and then it needs to get printed. I’m getting really close and we are still hoping
to have it ready before Christmas. We’ll send out an announcement letting you know when it is ready – so be
sure to sign up for the Recipes notices or What’s New? Notices if you haven’t done so already.
That’s about it for this time. Stay, safe, snug and warm and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
As always, if you have suggestions, questions or comments please feel free to send us an e-mail to
bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com
and
we will get back to you as soon as possible.
‘til next month,
Yours in Aromatherapy,
Alan and Penny
E-mail us at bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com
CLICK HERE TO Start SHOPPING!!!
CLICK HERE to SEE WHAT'S NEW!!
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