Summer Preparedness Tips

2:53 PM Posted by jo

Are you ready for summer? Summer is just around the corner and it is a good idea to be prepared. I live in a place where it gets extremely hot and we are already experiencing temperatures in the high 90's. We have spiders, snakes, and scorpions to prepare for. It is about 25 miles to an emergency clinic, so it is important that I have things at home for emergencies.

The Blend Purification is one of my favorite oils during this time of the summer. I use it for wound care, to repel insects, purify the air, and to neutralize poisons from wasps, hornets, and other insects.

Being prepared for the heat
One of the first things I do is to make sure we are prepared to handle the heat. We spend hours outdoors everyday and it gets very hot here, so I want to make sure we can handle the heat well. In the post Staying Cool in the Summer Heat, I share what we do to stay cool when it is hot.

Here are some other things that I do (cursive bold texts are linked to useful posts)

First aid kit

I make sure that my first aid kit is well stocked with the supplies I need
Essential oils are antiviral, antibacterial, pain relieving, and anti-fungal. I use essential oils for things such as fevers, cuts, bruises, blisters, colds, flu, allergies, pest repellant, and pain. You can easily put together your own basic aromatherapy care kit.
I like to make my own antiseptic vinegar and I often make an aromatic compress for minor things such as sprains or bruises. Compresses have also been used for fevers.
Herbal remedies can also be used with younger children, but you want to make sure that you use herbal remedies that are suitable for their age.
We live in an area with poisonous snakes so I make sure I have essential oils at home in case someone get a snakebite. Snakes are also said to dislike certain scents so it is good to know what oils will repel the snakes.
It is easy to get wounds in summer when we are outside a lot, I use essential oils in healing compresses for wounds.

Bugs, bugs, and bugs
We have plenty of bugs where we live and I know we all deal with bugs. Some of us deal with more dangerous bugs than others, but they are still annoying whether they are poisonous or not.

I like to use the essential oils to ward off insects. I like to:

make a room spray
make a massage blend
drop some oil on the collar of shirts
add to a diffuser
put on cotton balls and place around the house.
to soak ribbons in water with added essential oils and hang them where you want them.

Some oils are more suitable as insect repellants than others, check out my insect post to know what oils to use.

It is not unusual that scorpions come inside our house so I make sure that I have suitable things for scorpion stings as well. My son was stung last year and it wasn't so bad, of course it helps that he is in good shape and that his immune system is strong.
When we lived in Texas we had a lot of ants coming into our house but we found a way to make the go away. Check out the post Ants in My Kitchen for some natural ways to repel ants.
Tick bites can lead to lyme disease and cause a lot of suffering. Use essential oils to remove and kill ticks.

Sun exposure

I am not a big fan of sun screen since sun exposure is important so that the body can make vitamin D. I make sure that we protect ourselves by eating the proper nutrients and practice common sense when we are outside. I believe it is best to protect the skin from the inside out. I do realize that we may need sun screen if we are outside all day long, but I make sure that I use a sun screen that is safer.
I like to make a Summer, Sun and Bug Spray that I can use for occasional sun burns as well as insect bites. It also works as an insect repellant.
I also use things such as honey, lavender, aloe vera and calendula for sunburns. Check out my post, Tips for Sunburns to learn what to do if you spend too much time in the sun.
Also, it is important that you avoid phototoxic oils if you are going to be out in the sun. So, avoid these oils before sun exposure.

Swimming pools
Most swimming pools are full of chemicals that are harmful. Many hours can be spent daily in the pool if you live in a hot climate. Chlorine and bromine are often used in pools and they are fighting for the same receptors as iodine in our body, this will influence our thyroid and set off a various reactions in the body. My husband and I discovered that our daughter is very sensitive so we supplement with things like black walnut or seaweeds during times when she spends a lot of time in a chlorinated pool. We used salt in our own little pool a few years ago, but unfortunately we are not in control of the pool we use today. It is far too hot not to go swimming, but we muscle test and she seems fine with extra nutritional support. Eating food high in antioxidants is always important to aid in neutralizing damaging free radicals.

Equipment
This is the time when we use things that have not been used in a while. We don't have the long snowy winters here so my children have used their bicycles all year long. We still look over the bicycles and make sure that break works and that the bikes are running fine. Helmets are inspected to make sure that they are still safe. Swim gear, life jackets, pool toys, and outdoor play areas are inspected to make sure they are still safe to use.

Other things to be prepared for
We experienced several fires not too far from us here in the the Sierra Foothills in California a few years ago. Fortunately the fires never reached our home, but it is scary enough when you hear that houses are destroyed only miles away from you. It is important that we have an emergency preparedness plan for any kind of emergencies.

Educating the children
I educate my children in how to deal with emergency situations. This includes what kind of remedies to use for various conditions, as well as what to do in case of fires or other emergencies. I write a list of situations that might happen and how to deal with them. My children also learn first aid and other useful information from Girls Camp and Boy Scouts.

Don't wait until you face an emergency. Stock up on the things that you need now.

Before you leave:

I recommend that you always perform a skin patch test when you try a new essential oil.

Check out my safety page to make sure you are aware of any contrindications before you use essential oils. Some oils are not suitable when suffering from certain conditions. Also, Read this Before You Start Using Essential oils. Some oils should not be applied prior to sun exposure so make sure you check this list before spending time in the sun.

Not sure how to apply the oils? Visit these pages to learn how to apply the oils:

If you're new to essential oils you might want to check out my Getting Started Guide.

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Johanna is an aromatherapist and she is passionate about educating people about health, essential oils, real food, natural remedies, and nutrition so they make healthier choices in their lives. She also runs Naturally Sports & Wellness together with her husband.
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