PROTECT YOURSELF FROM OTHER PEOPLE'S GERMS

On one of my trips to Australia a couple of months ago, the winter flu season was in full swing. A particularly bad strain was going around, and after about a week I was suffering along with everyone else. I rarely get sick in my travels, except for occasional food poisoning; but on this trip I was particularly exhausted from being on the go so much.

Everyone I encountered had succumbed to this flu with the notable exception of two cleaning ladies in one of the large buildings where I was working, The ladies caught my attention because a very strong odor of eucalyptus followed them everywhere they went. At first I thought the smell came from one of the cleaning solutions they were using. However, when I looked closer I saw that they carried a small rag that had been doused with oil of eucalyptus. The fumes were very strong, and just breathing them greatly relieved my head congestion and runny nose. I soon found myself following them from room to room just to inhale the fumes.

As soon as I could, I went to the local health food store and purchased a four-ounce jar of eucalyptus oil. I put eight to ten drops on a small rag every few hours and kept the rag near me for the next several days until I felt better. I also slept with the rag next to the bed. It worked wonders--I was able to get some much needed rest.

TASMANIAN BLUE GUM TREE OIL

The use of essential oils to fight illness dates back to the Old Testament. These complex, volatile substances are essential to a plant's survival. They help fight off pathogens, attract insects for pollination, and repel others that pose a threat. Essential oils, which are extracted from various parts of plants, can be inhaled, used topically, or put in baths.

One of the best-known essential oils is eucalyptus. Eucalyptus is an evergreen tree (also called the Tasmanian Blue Gum Tree). It is native to Australia but can be cultivated worldwide. The essential oil extracted from the leaves has long been used in cough drops and cold medications, mouthwashes, toothpaste, detergents, and liniments for arthritis pain. It also happens to be the least expensive essential oil available today.

In fact, millions of people take advantage of eucalyptus' antimicrobial properties each day by swishing with that old medicine chest staple, Listerine. Eucalyptus is one of the four active ingredients in Listerine, along with aspirin; menthol from peppermint and other mint plants; and thymol, one of the essential oils in the herb thyme. Thanks in large part to eucalyptus, Listerine is a very potent germ killer.

So potent, in fact, that researchers from Tokyo Dental School demonstrated that even a 50 percent solution of Listerine can kill 60 percent of the HIV virus it touches within 30 seconds and 100 percent of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus present, (Bull Tokyo Dent Coll 94;35(1):23- 6) Staphylococcus is the bacteria strain often associated with very serious, even life-threatening illnesses, such as flu and pneumonia, blood infections, heart damage, and other illnesses.

If you've ever used cough drops or nasal inhalers, you've experienced the congestion clearing powers of eucalyptus oil. This oil can also be used by adding 10 to 15 drops to a vaporizer or to some boiling water on the stove. By diluting it with other essential oils, it becomes an excellent chest rub for congestion and mucus buildup.

In addition to clearing the air passages, inhaling eucalyptus has been shown to cause an increase in the uptake of oxygen from the lungs to the bloodstream. No one is quite certain why this occurs; and when you consider that we haven't even isolated all the compounds in eucalyptus, I doubt we'll have the answer any time soon. The important thing is that it works and it's something you can put to use today, not have to wait for decades of clinical research.

Next time I find myself in cold or flu territory, you can bet I'll have eucalyptus oil handy.

EUCALYPTUS IN THE ARMY

By the way, those cleaning ladies never caught the flu, though they were exposed to it throughout the winter months. When I talked with them, they told me one of their grandfathers had used eucalyptus oil to ward off flu since World War I. At that time, a military base had apparently experienced a flu epidemic so severe that soldiers were dying from it. To stop the problem, authorities sealed off one barracks, sprayed down the interior with eucalyptus oil, and placed all the soldiers in that building for a day. Reportedly the epidemic stopped in 24 hours.

Based on my personal experience, the story certainly seems plausible. Eucalyptus oil can be toxic if taken internally, but if you're already infected, breathing the oil's fumes can knock out infections in the nasal passages, sinuses, bronchial tubes, and lungs with incredible speed, because of the potent bactericides it contains.

Keeping eucalyptus oil close to you can help turn back the virus. If you think you're at risk of catching something, put eight to ten drops of eucalyptus oil on a handkerchief and keep it in your breast pocket. Some of the more volatile compounds in the fumes could plausibly enter the bloodstream by way of the lungs, so eucalyptus oil might be helpful in other types of infections as well.

Eucalyptus oil only costs a few cents per day and can be purchased on the Internet or through the mail, under several different names. Health food stores or herbal shops carry this oil. For catalogs containing oils I recommend the following companies: Cata Corp. at 800-267-7116 or www.catacorp.com; Penn Herb Company at 800-523-9971 or www.pennherb.com; Aroma Vera at 800-669-9514 or www.aromavera.com; and Aura Cacia at 800-437-3301 or www.frontiercoop.com.

If I were you, I'd stock up now. Once word gets out that this stuff can actually prevent the flu, it might not be so easy to come by!