I cannot believe it but I have the flu. Dayum!  It kicked in, full force, yesterday evening. It must be a virulent little virus as my son & his girlfriend have it, my youngest son has it and Pete has it too. We are a house of sicko’s at the mo.

This is a very rare goat since my DS and as I have been the recipient of loads of sunshine borne Vit D in Africa lately, I’m a trifle miffed.  I doubt it is a deficiency but nonetheless I have just swallowed a great big whack of Vit D 50 000iu’s in a desperate bid to try to diminish the flu-ish effects which are gripping my body faster than I can write. I’m also pushing up my Vit C & zinc intake right now.

It’s possible all the travelling on a stuffy virus laden plane has been the cause.  It might unfortunately be the swine variety as I have nausea and a sensation of being hit by a bus in my bones and muscles. My keyboard appears strangely elongated and it is an effort to write.  I’m fighting it…I detest being ill. I hate lying in bed at the best of times and right now the thought of bed is not pleasant.  Problem is my fuzzed up mind is hyperactive.

Last night I made up a cough brew of licorice root, lime juice, star anise, satsuma peel, a good sprig of homegrown thyme, cloves and marshmallow root with Croatian lavender honey (Manuka honey would be great too) and it seems to be helping as an expectorant and soother for the old gunged up chest and sore throat.  I’m not all au natrel though - I believe in good old paracetamol too.

The best thing though was a bath salt soak I made - after using it last night I felt almost recovered, deeply relaxed and slept very well. But alas it is temporary. This morning I feel shite again.  Like all alternative approaches it will need to be used often to maximise the effects,  so I might go and take another soak just now.

Here’s my ‘Flu-fighting Bath Salt Soak’ recipe. 

(Make it up before  flu starts to hit anyone in your family so it is on standby, as it was quite a mission to get it together while in the grip of flu - but it is so worth my effort. My family think so too as I notice the big jar I made is fast diminishing!)

3 cups Epsom salts

2 cups Sea Salt

1 cup Bicarb of Soda

1 teaspoon (5ml) of eucalyptus essential oil

1/2 teaspoon lavender oil

1/2 teaspoon rosemary oil

15 drops of Cajeput Oil

10 drops Black pepper essential oil (Tip - if you don’t have black pepper eo you could try adding 3 tblespoons of mustard powder instead…I think it would do a good ‘warming’ job & plan to try it soon!)

Total essential oils (eo’s) = 12.5 ml.  If you want it stronger you can safely add another 2.5 mls of oil, but I suggest leaving the black pepper as it is! You could add more of the other eo’s & admittedly I do - but please use your discretion as eo’s are powerful stuff. If unsure, research & work inside usual safety eo limits.

Glycerin 3 teaspoons (get from your local pharmacy or Tesco’s pharmacy- moisturising)

Optional: 1 tablespoon of oil (if you have a dry skin) - almond oil does the job well but olive will do too!

Optional: Polysorbate 20 - around 1 teaspoon (this disperses oils evenly in the bath)

Optional: Food Colouring. I used green food colouring. Use only a drop to start with as this is pretty concentrated stuff. Less = more.

Mix all the oils into the glycerin plus polysorbate if you are using it.

Add to the salts mixing well.

Add food colouring & mix well until the colour is even.

Use 1/2 cup in your bath and soak in a hot bath for at least 10 mins.

If you have flu I hope you feel better soon!

And  sooo after all of this… and a nice hot soak in the salts, it looks like I might be reluctantly resigning myself to my bed after all,  as I am totally knackered now.