Your Essential Oil Travel kit

I love to travel. Seeing new places, or even familiar ones from a new perspective, keeps life interesting. I even love the process if getting there – road trip or flight or train – I like them all. But from time to time, our bodies may not enjoy the trip as much as the rest of us. Getting out of our daily routine, experiencing new foods and drinks, even a time change can throw us off a bit. Motion sickness, bug bites, digestive difficulties, and general travel weariness, are common discomforts experienced when venturing away from home. Those little ailments can make the travel experience range from mildly unpleasant to downright unbearable. That’s where your essential oil travel kit comes in.

A small collection of inexpensive essential oils can fit into your luggage and provide relief from these unexpected and unwelcome disruptions to your itinerary. Treatment with these oils is simple, ranging from inhaling a little oil from a tissue, to adding drops to a bath, to drinking a drop with a warm cup of water. And, thankfully, relief often comes quickly because of the oils’ powerful properties and compatibility with our own bodies.

Peppermint

Any trip starts with traveling. By car, boat, plane, train, or otherwise, motion sickness commonly affects many people, particularly children. This can easily make the ‘traveling’ portion of your experience absolutely no fun. Enter essential oil travel kit.

The first essential oil in the kit is Peppermint. Peppermint has long been used to calm uneasy stomachs. Just one drop (it is strong!) in a cup of warm water, sweetened if you like, can be sipped before and during the journey. For the fussy ones, a drop can be added to a small amount of honey and taken from a spoon for the same effect. Peppermint can also keep the weary driver or passenger sharp - a drop or two placed on tissues in the car or near your seat will release the aroma into your surroundings. Be careful with this oil however, as getting it on sensitive areas of the skin (directly under the nose, and certainly near the eyes) can cause irritation. Tissues with the oil on it should not touch these areas directly.

Ginger

If peppermint isn’t your cup of tea, Ginger is another option for calming upset stomachs. Just a little inhaled from a tissue, or diluted in a carrier oil and rubbed on the abdomen can bring relief. One can also add a drop of ginger to warm water and drink it as a strong tea. This doubles as an effective treatment for some food-related stomach issues as well, particularly when combined with the abdomen massage method.

Lavender

Maybe the most important oil in your essential oil travel kit is lavender. Lavender has been called ‘a medicine chest in a bottle’ due to its wide range of effects. The aroma of lavender is uplifting and relaxing, useful for stress in congested airports or crowded highways. Breathing this very safe essential oil is effective for adults and children alike, inhaling drops from a tissue directly, or placed in your surroundings, can help you and your companions feel more at ease. Lavender essential oil is also an effective wound-healer because of its anti-inflammatory, mild antibacterial, and skin-regenerative actions. It can be used directly in case of burns, scratches, and bites. Try a mixture of 50:50 lavender and tea tree oils on band aids to prevent infection, or blended with thyme linalol and eucalyptus (2:4:2) and added to a bowl of water for an effective disinfectant wash.

This versatile oil is also a component of an insect repellent blend composed of equal parts of lavender, thyme linalol, and peppermint, and a double-dose of lemongrass essential oil. A drop or more placed on tissue or cloth about your room can keep the insects out of your space. Add 3 drops of this blend per teaspoon of carrier oil, and you have a ready-made repellent that can be regularly applied to the skin. You may mix a similar amount into any lotion you may have.

Lavender can also be used in combination with geranium, chamomile, peppermint and eucalyptus oils in relieving the effects of jet lag. Getting out of this weary state as quickly as possible makes any trip more enjoyable. This requires getting yourself and companions in-sync with local time, having good rest at night, and perhaps a gentle lift in the mornings and throughout the day. To get yourself into the swing of local time, relax and be ready for bed with equal parts of lavender and geranium essential oils, chamomile may also be used in place of the geranium, and works especially well for soothing children (if they are irritable for ANY reason). In the evenings, add a few drops to a bath or use in a massage oil. For a morning eye-opener, do the same using equal amounts of peppermint and eucalyptus. You will find these useful at other times as well, whenever you need a little clarity and lightening-up.

Lemon

Lemon also has some wonderfully diverse uses. It is effective as an antibacterial, but not so strong as to be an irritant. Adding several drops per quart to your drinking water will help purify it, and the water can act as a disinfectant to be used in washing your fruits and vegetables. The need for this certainly depends on your location, but it is not a bad idea whenever bacterial contamination may be a possibility. And regularly drinking water with added lemon oil can gently stimulate the lymphatic and digestive systems, helping alleviate that sluggish feeling that often accompanies extended plane and car travel.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus, the narrow leaf variety is a favorite – has a great range of uses as well. It can cool the body when too hot, and protect it when too cold. Eucalyptus is found in almost all formulas used to relieve congestion, and can be used like peppermint to uplift and invigorate during long intervals in an automobile. It can also be added to a cool bath or used on a cold compress in cases of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (accompanied by, of course, copious amounts of water and electrolytes!), and used in a similar manner to reduce fever. Eucalyptus oil may be blended with geranium as a massage oil (3 drops eucalyptus and 2 drops geranium per teaspoon of carrier oil) to relieve heat cramps. For congestion relief, add 1 drop eucalyptus, 3 drops lemon, 2 drops thyme, and 2 drops tea tree to a drawn bath, soak and breathe deeply. Or simply add a few drops to a steaming bowl of water and inhale.

Geranium + Tea Tree

Both geranium oil and tea tree oil have a range of potential benefits due to their antifungal and astringent properties. Geranium oil has antibacterial properties, which may help in fighting certain bacteria and microbes. It can also be beneficial for skin conditions, like dermatitis, and is often used to promote relaxation and reduce stress. Similar to geranium oil, tea tree oil is also used in aromatherapy for its refreshing scent, which can help clear the mind and promote relaxation. It is also a potent antibacterial and antifungal, commonly used in skincare for acne and fungal infections like athlete's foot. Tea tree oil may also help reduce inflammation, making it useful for soothing irritated skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis.

These are just a few examples of ways your essential oil travel kit can make your travel experiences more at ease and enjoyable. These essential oils are readily available, and fairly inexpensive, though remember to exercise caution when buying oils - some can be adulterated, and others are mass-produced with techniques that may limit their therapeutic benefits. The more pleasant and ‘well rounded’ an oil’s aroma, generally the higher the quality. Your nose will know! And as with any aromatherapy application, start slowly. Natural doesn’t mean weak. In fact, essential oils are concentrated forms of a plant’s active compounds and can pack quite an effective punch. So, give this essential oil travel kit a healthy dose of respect. With a little practice, you can expand your knowledge of these oils, discover further uses, and find other oils that work well for your particular needs.

Bon voyage!