We decided to take a last minute trip to GA this weekend to see my family. The day before we left I had that pre-sickness “ick” feeling all day. Downing immune boosting supplements and of course my trusty Gut Guardian since I’m still faithfully plugging away at the challenge I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. No specific symptoms developed other than a mild sore throat from drainage. A few spritzes of Bee’s Aid and all was well.

Steve woke up the morning of our departure feeling like I had the day before. We discussed staying home since it was obvious both of us were actively fighting off the cold Doodlebug had been so generously sharing with us for a couple of weeks. She of course got it from a friend who generously shared it with her. Such sharing people we all are. Packing extra supplements in our handy travel supplement bag along with our travel case of essential oils and diffuser we decided to go anyway. We were already packed! Plus, without any specific symptoms other than “I think maybe kinda sorta we might be getting sick” it seemed like the lamest of reasons to cancel.

So off we went. As long as we stayed on top of the supplements we all felt pretty good. Kinda tired but we were sleep deprived and traveling. We took care to eat as well as we could traveling and I packed an ice chest from home with an electric skillet to do a bit of hotel room cooking to save us from the necessity of eating out much. The first night in the hotel we noticed we were struggling with stuffy noses. My chest felt a bit tight. An experienced asthmatic (although inhaler free for years now!) I knew to take that as a serious indication that my body was struggling to get on top of this thing. Concerned that I might be on the brink of succumbing despite the  the diffuser running I decided to get creative with the tools we have here in the hotel room.

Step one was to utilize the coffee maker for a much healthier purpose than coffee. I cranked it up with a full pitcher of water.

Hotel Room Coffee Maker with Plain Water

Next was a stop by the handy dandy essential oil travel case to select which oils I wanted to use in this particular concoction.

Essential oil padded Travel Case

My selection was a bit random, but they would all help each other to get the job done.

Essential Oils for sinus pressure and chest tightness

Waiting for the water to finish getting nice and hot I sprinkled drops of the oils in varying amounts into the bottom of the hotel provided disposable coffee cup. Once the water was nice and hot I poured it in on top of the prepared essential Oils in the cup. The steamy rich aroma of the blend instantly rose up around me. Ahhhh. Nice! It started working right away.

Pouring hot water over essential oils in cup

Grabbing a towel and throwing it over my head as the last step I got settled in and breathed in the steam as deep as I could through my nose and deep into my lungs.

Towel Donned and steamy cup of essential oil laced hot water in hand

10 Minutes of this “breathing treatment” and all my sinus pressure was gone and the tightness in my chest had loosened. Whew. I’m going to be able to sleep much better tonight. Sometimes the extra moisture in a steam delivery method makes the essential oils more effective. In my experience this is especially true of chest tightness. The moisture helps everything let go and relax faster and more effectively than just the cold mist diffusing of the oils. The cold mist diffuser is helpful, don’t get me wrong, it’s what keeps our noses clear all night long as we sleep but for that immediate fast relief nothing beats a steamy oil treatment.

What is your favorite sickness busting travel trick?