Aromatherapy for Motion Sickness

If motion causes nausea for you, the first recommendation for aromatherapy for motion sickness is peppermint essential oil. Peppermint has proven anti-nausea qualities. Other essential oils for nausea are lavender, ginger, spearmint, and patchouli.

You can dilute any of the recommended essential oils 50:50 with carrier oil and massage one to three drops behind each ear and over your navel, two to three times each hour.

Or you can inhale the essential oil directly four to six times an hour, as needed.

You can also try this aromatherapy blend from Aromatherapy for Dummies: Mix eight drops chamomile and four drops ginger with two tablespoons carrier oil. Gently massage a few drops over your belly as needed.

To prevent motion sickness, the Essential Oils Desk Reference recommends this essential oil blend:

2 drops peppermint
2 drops ginger
5 drops carrier oil

Rub the blend on your chest and abdomen one hour before traveling.

Essential Oils for Deodorant

Why use essential oils for deodorant? Although many people try to stop their underarm sweating with antiperspirants, blocking the sweat glands with an antiperspirant interferes with the natural elimination of toxins from the body. Plus, most commercial antiperspirants and deodorants contain aluminum compounds, which some sources believe are potentially toxic.

The most important action of a deodorant is to kill bacteria; it's the bacteria that causes the unwanted odor. I have actually used straight grapefruit essential oil as deodorant and found that it worked as long as I didn't become too sweaty. Although I haven't tried the the following blend from Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art, it looks promising:

15 drops sandalwood essential oil
5 drops cypress essential oil
5 drops sage essential oil
5 drops coriander or lavender essential oil
2 ounces aloe vera juice or witch hazel
1 tablespoon alcohol

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake well before each application. Note: Spot test the formula first to make sure your skin is not sensitive to any of the ingredients.

Here's some more information on using essential oils for deodorant. If you want to purchase deodorants that contain therapeutic-grade essential oils, take a look at the ones from Young Living.

Essential Oils for ADHD

Are essential oils for ADHD useful? The study Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by Terry S. Friedmann, M.D., measured the brain waves of children with ADHD. He divided the children into three groups and gave them one of three essential oils to inhale three times a day for thirty days. He then measured the brain waves again. The results were as follows:

• Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides) calms and balances the nervous system and at the same time stimulates the circulatory system. The vetiver group showed a statistically significant improvement.
  
• Cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica) has high a concentration of sesquiterpenes, which improves oxygenation of the cells of the brain. The cedarwood group showed an improvement but it was not considered statistically significant.
  
• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) has both a sedative and a stimulating action. The lavender group showed no improvement.

The Essential Oils Desk Reference recommends if you want to try vetiver for reducing the symptoms of ADHD, diffuse it for 15 minutes four to eight times a day.

Also, Young Living makes three blends that might be useful essential oils for ADHD:

• Brain Power contains sandalwood, cedarwood, melissa, frankincense, blue cypress, lavender, and helichrysum and is designed to clarify thought and develop greater focus.
  
• Peace and Calming contains tangerine, orange, ylang ylang, patchouli, and blue tansy. It is considered gentle enough for young children.
  
• Clarity contains basil, cardamom, rosemary, peppermint, rosewood, geranium, lemon, palmarosa, ylang ylang, bergamot, Roman chamomile, and jasmine. You can use Clarity to help restore mental alertness.