Be Gentle With Yourself,
You Are Doing The Best You Can
I love this thought, “Be gentle with yourself, you are doing the best you can”.
When someone has a chronic illness such as Diabetes, each day can be a challenge. In this world, it’s good if you can be easy with how you treat yourself on a daily basis, and on how you react to life around you.
Today is World Diabetes Day, and as such, I wanted to highlight how aromatherapy can be beneficial to those who have a diagnosis of Diabetes, whether it’s Type 1 or Type 2.
Essential oils will not change your blood sugar levels, but they can play a role in some of the side effects that Diabetes brings into your world. A few of examples are:
- slow to heal ulcers
- skin integrity
- circulation
- stress
Today, this blog will look at Slow to Heal Ulcers:
Slow to heal ulcers are best addressed by a qualified aromatherapist, but I wished to give you some guidelines that may be of benefit to you, to start you thinking along the lines of how you will be able to treat these if they do occur to you. A great article covering all aspects of this has been written by Jane Buckle.
Essential Oils For Slow Wound Healing
Lavender – Lavendula angustifolia
Frankincense – Boswellia carteri
Sandalwood – Santalum album
Teatree – Melaleuca alternifolia
Eucalyptus – Eucalyptus globulus
Geranium – Pelargonium graveolons
German Chamomile – Matricaria recutita
These oils, diluted at a rate of 1 – 5 drops in 5ml (1 teaspoon) of carrier oil, can be applied to a sterile gauze. The wound is packed lightly with the gauze and a dressing is applied. Repeat this twice a day. The carrier oils will ensure that the dressing doesn’t stick to the wound – that will be very painful and not serve to assist in the healing.
Obviously, all the essential oils would not be applied in one dilution. Usually, as an aromatherapist, I utilise 1 – 3 essential oils at any one time. The oils would be chosen based on their individual antiseptic, antibacterial and encouragement of cell regeneration. The nature of the wound comes into play also, whether there is obvious infection or inflammation will guide the choice of oils to be used also.
Suggested carrier oils include:
Sweet almond
Tamanu
Evening primrose
Rosehip
Olive (not the culinary version!!)
Interesting fact: World Diabetes Day is 14 November, as it marks the birthday of the man who co-discovered Insulin, Frederick Banting (in 1922!)
Aromatherapy can assist you in managing your Diabetes in other ways as I highlighted above. Contact me for more information.
If you have a slow to heal wound, please contact me prior to attempting this for yourself. This article does not constitute medical advice, nor should the advice be utilised in replacement of medical treatment. Before using this advice on yourself, please also take advice from your GP and Diabetes health care team.
World Diabetes Day – 14 Nov 2014
Natures Healing 