Rise of Warming Oils

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Ginger is well known for its ability to heal motion sickness. More than that, it helps expelling the heat from the skin by its warming action. Thus, if you get fever, it should not be neglected in your blend. This is due to its rubifacient therapeutic property, and by generalizing localized increase in blood flow and circulation, heat can be released through the skin by means of perspiration. Though there are many functions of Ginger essential oils, these few make it stand out of the rest in healing ailments concerning fever.

A case in point

A client with mild fever came to ask for help, she had headache and running nose. The reason for her sickness was catching wind cold. To relieve her sickness, the following blend was made:

  • 1 drop of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
  • 1 drop of geranium (Pelargonium roseum x asperum)
  • 2 drops of ginger (Zingiber officinale)
  • 1 tsp (5ml) of olive oil

This helped her relieve the symptoms and she slept well. She felt a lot better the other day after her first applications. Actually, in Chinese medicine, ginger is praised for its ability to relieve surface wind cold.

Cardamon (Elettaria cardamomum)

Cardamon and ginger belong to the same family. In most cases, they can be used “interchangeably”. In my practice, ginger is used more to induce surface perspiration while cardamom is used for deeper action like tonifying and vitalizing the body, if any difference arises.

The 1,8 cineole of cardamom makes it a good choice for ailments related to nasal congestion. Since it is a decongestant, it helps reduce the mucous congestion and swelling. It is a rising star for stopping the spasmodic (bronchial) cough in my clinical experience.

A case in point

A client with nasal congestion and bronchial (spasmodic) cough was given an inhaler with the following blend to relieve the symptoms:

  • 5 drops of Cardamon (Elettaria cardamomum)
  • 5 drops of Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus globulus)
  • 5 drops of Frankincense (Boswellia carterii)

This combination could benefit nasal congestion, but to my surprise, it was effective in stopping the client’s spasmodic cough whenever it happened. After three days of inhaling the blend, her spasmodic cough was healed completely. In fact, in my practice, I have used different decongestant oils to sooth the cough. But, it is only soothing without completely eradicate the problem. However, by adding cardamom essential oil, the problem got solved in a dramatic way.