Bee Sting Relief

Our honeybees have had a crazy and unfortunately an eventful spring.  They have already swarmed once and have are threatening to do it again.  When I went outside today I noticed that they were acting like they were going to swarm again, so I put out an extra hive box with some Lemongrass Essential Oil in it as an attractant. That way we might be able to catch our own bees if they do decide to swarm.

My husband does most of the beekeeping in our house because we thought I might be allergic to bees.  About 10 years ago I was stung on the arm while driving on a road trip with the window down.  My entire arm swelled up about twice it's normal size.  I was nauseous and ill for the entire rest of the day.  When I mentioned it to my doctor once, his eyes got big and then he wrote me a prescription for an epi-pen, which I carried around for years.

About 4 years ago I had an allergy test done and the test came back negative for bee venom.  Because bee allergies can be so serious, I wasn't exactly jumping on the bandwagon when we decided to keep bees.  I have enjoyed it and almost always observe when my husband does inspections, but I keep my distance.

Because of their erratic behavior the last few weeks, my husband decided to do a very thorough inspection.  I pulled out my lawn chair and observed about 12 feet away as he pulled each frame out and inspected it.  Towards the end I went inside to get dinner started.  When my husband finished, I came out of the house to make sure he was bee-free before we took off his protective gear.  There was a bee hiding in a fold of his clothing, so I whisked it away.  Next thing I knew there was a bee flying around my head and then I felt a sharp sting on the back of my neck.  The bee was stuck in my hair.  While my husband was getting the bee out of my hair, I could feel the intensity gradually increasing.  My husband got the stinger out and then I went straight inside and grabbed my Purify essential oil blend.  I put a drop directly on my bee sting.  I immediately felt some relief.  I kept applying one drop about every 5 minutes.  The welt never got any bigger and there has been no swelling.  15 minutes after the sting there was no more pain.  I am so thankful that I had the essential oils on hand.  I have never had such a pleasant bee-sting experience.

Other essential oils that are good for bee stings are Roman Chamomile and Basil.

Nosebleed

My 3 year old daughter is susceptible to nosebleeds.  Sometimes I'll get her from her bed in the morning and see that she has had a nosebleed in the night.  If it happens during the day, I am usually able to get it under control in a couple minutes with gently pinching her nose.

Yesterday she was playing outside with her cousins at her grandma's house.  An older cousin brought her in because she had a bloody nose.  I took her into the bathroom to get her cleaned up and found that this time it was pretty severe.  There was a lot of blood and it wasn't slowing down.  I tried pinching it gently, then more firmly.  I got a cotton ball wet and put it inside her top lip and held it there with pressure.  After trying for nearly 5 minutes to get it under control and not seeing any improvement I started to get a bit nervous.  As I stared at the garbage full of used tissues and I started exploring my options.  I immediately wished I had Helichrysum Essential oil, as I have had experience with it getting bleeding under control.  But all I had was my little key chain holder that I keep in my purse with a few oils in it.

I did have Deep Blue which is a soothing blend for aches and pain.  I knew it had Helichrysum in it, so I grabbed my little bottle of Deep Blue and put a drop on the back of her little neck and rubbed it in.  It also has Wintergreen and Peppermint in it, and my little daughter didn't like the way it felt.  So I left her for a second to grab some fractionated coconut oil from the next room to help dilute the oils and reduce the sensation.

I put a drop of coconut oil on the back of her neck and rubbed it in.  Then I took the tissue away to check her nose.  It had all but stopped bleeding.  We took the next minute to clean up the mess we had made in my mother's bathroom, wash my daughter's hands and dress and she was good to go.

I'm so thankful I had my Essential Oils on hand.  I'm so thankful that they have so many uses.  I'm so thankful that I was empowered to care for my daughter in her time of need so I didn't have to feel fearful or helpless as a mother.  Thank you, Deep Blue!