Essential Oils for the Elderly Parents of Baby BoomersQuality of life in the elderly is a huge concern for baby boomers with aging parents. However, aromatherapy and essential oils can help deal with physical issues, nutrition, memory, and more. Here's what is covered in this article.
PainWith each passing year, physical discomfort and pain seem to become more of an issue. My parents used to take over-the-counter pain medications, but now use essential oils instead. Clove essential oil, for example, contains compounds with analgesic properties. It is one of the ingredients in the wonderful Pan-Away blend. A recent favorite is Deep Relief, an aromatherapy blend that comes with a roll-on applicator. Most essential oils come in a regular bottle with an orifice reducer at the top. The roll-on applicator is so much easier for seniors (and younger folks too!) to use. Before Deep Relief, my mother's favorite oils for the pain in her arthritic thumb were frankincense followed by Idaho balsam fir. Blood Thinners The older your parents are, the more likely it is that their doctors have them taking blood thinners. But did you know that therapeutic grade clove essential oil contains compounds with blood thinning properties? Beyond that, therapeutic grade clove oil contains compounds with anti-aging, antitumoral, antimicrobial, antiviral, analgesic/anesthetic, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, stomach-protecting, antiparasitic, and anticonvulsant properties, according to the Essential Oils Desk Reference. In addition to having blood thinning properties, therapeutic grade clove oil can, according to the EDR,
With all of these benefits, which would you rather have your parents taking - an aspirin a day or clove essential oil? Immune System 
As parents age, their immune system tends to weaken. Once again, I look to clove oil as a way to help my parents. Why? Because of its high antioxidant content.On the ORAC scale, the antioxidant capacity of clove is 1,078,700. Compare this to blueberries at 2,400, spinach at 1,250, or carrots at 210! Two of my other favorite immune-building products for my elderly parents are NingXia Red and Multigreens. "The Red"is a special wolfberry juice containing essential oils. MultiGreens is a green-based supplement to which essential oils have been added. Adding essential oils to this basic supplement increased absorption by 86% in one hour! Eyes Many essential oils increase circulation, and what better place than around the eyes? A favorite of baby boomers is frankincense applied to the eyebrows and the bottom of the eye socket, but being careful not to get it in the eyes or on the eyelids. Baby boomers with knowledge of aromatherapy may find themselves preparing a special cataract blend for their parents' eyes. This recipe - lemon, cypress, and Eucalyptus radiata, may be found in the
Essential Oils Desk Reference.
Sadly, this also becomes more prevalent as our parents age. But parents blessed with aromatherapy-knowledgeable children may be using a combination of the essential oils of coriander, dill, and fennel, taken in capsules. 
Plain cinnamon like one buys at the grocery story or super market has long been touted to help with diabetes. If one drop of peppermint essential oil is equal to the amount of peppermint in 26 cups of peppermint tea, then how many drops of cinnamon essential oil do you think might be helpful? My father gets his cinnamon essential oil each day when he puts the Thieves oil blend on the soles of his feet. From there, the oils can go to every cell of his body within approximately 20 minutes. Heart There are many ways to use essential oils to address heart issues, including angina, arteriosclerosis, congestive heart failure, fibrillation, heart attacks, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, tachycardia, and more. The Essential Oils Desk Reference contains entries for each of these. My mother's favorite oils for heart issues are the Aroma Life blend and ylang ylang. She first applies Aroma Life on the heart area of her chest and then follows it with ylang ylang. We both love the aroma! Hearing Rather than wound your elderly parents' pride by having them get a hearing aid, why not consider using essential oils to reverse at least part of the hearing loss? Some people report hearing things they had not been hearing for decades, like the highest piccolo notes in certain symphonies. Others report turning down the volume on their TVs. The Essential Oils Desk Reference lists three different ways of using essential oils to help with hearing impairment. Helichrysum is the most important oil of all to use, though some people have even gotten results with blends containing helichrysum. If you want successful results, use a top quality helichrysum oil, like that from Young Living. Helichrysum is item number 3563 at www.EssentialOilsProducts.com. If you purchase an inexpensive helichrysum oil and expect excellent results, you will be disappointed. This applies to both hearing and pain relief. Mixing Meds and Essential Oils In terms of safety, the most important thing I've taught my parents is to take their drugs in the morning and their corresponding oils later in the day. The reason is simple and will make sense when you read it. The example I will use is my father's diabetes medication. As a pharmaceutical drug, this med can be very successful in bringing down blood sugar levels. But that is all it knows how to do - bring down blood sugar levels. By contrast, essential oils have an innate intelligence given to them by the Creator. If the blood sugar needs to go down, certain compounds in the oil can help do this. But if the drug taken in the morning has already brought the blood sugar levels down where they need to be, the oil will not bring the blood sugar level down even further. However, what would happen if my father took the diabetes oils in the morning and the med in the afternoon? If the oil had already brought the blood sugar level down to where it needs to be, the drug would bring them down further - too low! This is because the diabetes drug is designed to do one thing - bring down blood sugar levels. It is my belief that the diabetes drug my father takes does not have within it the consciousness of our Creator. In other words, if an essential oil has already done the job, the drug lacks the intelligence to recognize this, and just brings down the blood sugar levels even more. Nutrition The elderly seem to eat less well than they did when they were younger. Even by middle age, they were absorbing their nutrients less well than they were as young adults. Add these two facts together and it is little wonder that the elderly have increased health problems. One way to help them absorb nutrients better is by cleansing - first a colon cleanse and then a liver cleanse. But how many medical doctors do you know who would recommend that their patients do a colon and liver cleanse? And how many of our elderly parents would consent to doing one? Here's the next best solution - foods, drinks, and supplements containing essential oils. Some examples include
Proof? I'll give you one example with the MultiGreens supplement. Before adding essential oils to the formula, there was 42% blood absorption in 24 hours. After adding essential oils to the formula, there was
Needless to say, my parents take the MultiGreen supplement with every meal. At www.EssentialOilsProducts.com, it is item number 3248. For more information on nutrition in the elderly, I invite you to visit www.boomers-with-elderly-parents.com/nutrition.html. Memory Essential oils such as cedarwood, rosemary, peppermint, and the Brain Power and Clarity blends can be used to help with memory issues, whether in the elderly or younger people. Of these oils, cedarwood and rosemary have more calming properties, whereas peppermint is more energizing. There are several ways to use essential oils as a means to improve memory and cognitive function.
All of these uses are taken from the Essential Oils Desk Reference. and I have taught my parents to use their preferred memory oils in these ways. Stress The elderly, just like younger folks, can experience mental stress, emotional stress, physical stress, and even spiritual stress. B vitamins are widely regarded as helping to reduce stress. So are essential oils such as lavender, Idaho balsam fir, Valor, Peace & Calming, and more. My favorite, and one that my parents also use, is the Tranquil Roll-On, item number 3533 at
www.EssentialOilsProducts.com.
The elderly may be more concerned about spiritual issues than their baby boomer children realize. At the spiritual level, there are two primary ways in which essential oils can help.
Most of these oils may be diffused in a diffuser, inhaled directly from the body, or applied as a perfume or cologne. These are just a few of the ways in which baby boomer children can use essential oils to help their elderly parents. To optimize this usage for the elderly, I encourage you to purchase an Essential Oils Desk Reference for both you and your parents. Share Your Story If you have found an oil or set of oils that is quite helpful with your elderly parent, I invite you to share your story here, so that others may benefit from your discoveries.
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