Natural Protectants in the Time of Covid -19 that you can use when the shelves are empty

So I braved the stores yesterday, wondering if my experience would be the same as the pandemonium I was hearing on the news. Being Canadian, I noted that people were still being polite with each other (that's a plus) but none the less the instinct for people to grab the last 5 of everything on the shelf was alive and well.

I am a person that has prescribed to the idea of being prepared for situations like this. I don't have a hidden bunker, but my house doesn't cycle completely out of stock every month if that makes sense.

Initially as the information was coming out about Covid-19, I was not sure that it was going to become a large problem where I lived. That's not to say I wasn't taking it seriously but just cautious to see what happened before I worried. I did choose to step up my hygiene game and do everything in my power to virtually wrap a bubble around my house and my children. Here are some of my thoughts and implementation:

It dawned on me how many grimy surfaces my kids shoes touch.... all the places they set their backpacks down on....their lunch kits and ….. ugh that means my purses too!... we were welcoming germs into our house and just leaving them in the foyer or up on the kitchen counter or any other number of places we put these items.

And then the clothes they sat in school wearing? The potential contamination continued!

I wanted to break the cycle of the germs coming in. We started a system where upon coming home the bottom of everything is being sprayed down with Lysol which claims to kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. I like those odds... but I will note given the hysteria at the grocery store, that I could not find additional cans of it... so I need to make due with the 2 partial cans I have left.

I also ensure that all clothing goes directly into the laundry if they have been worn out for the day... no additional spread to my couches or kitchen chairs! And hand washing is a must...

While I do use products like Lysol... I also subscribe to the healing and cleaning properties of essential oils. I use them as part of daily routines, especially for self care for illnesses for my family. But what works?

Essential oils can have very effective antibacterial and anti viral properties and when diffused through the air can reduce their impacts when airborn. An interesting read at www.tisserandinstitute.org on the history of flu and pandemics and prescribes to the use of essential oils to help mitigate this risk.

Tea Tree oil has been reported as being able to eliminate airborne influenza droplets within 15 minutes of being diffused. The same is true for Eucalyptus.

Looking at www.health.com I learned of a few additional essential oils I had not previously seen like Blue Yarrow which has been shown to inhibit respiratory disease causing microbes like pneumonia and viruses that cause bronchitis. Given the possible negative effects of contracting Covid-19 Blue Yarrow is an essential oil I am ordering up as we speak.

I have started a regiment of echinacea and oil of oregano for my family to take internally. These compounds help to boost immune systems.

Cinnamon bark is also reported to have anti-microbial properties but contains a compound that could be aggravating when diffused or used topically. For this reason I also used cinnamon and lemon grass in water and vinegar (another natural disinfectant) as a cleaning spray for surfaces within my house!

I typically use this for regular maintenance cleaning, I may add other essential oils to modify the smell such as a citrus of some kind.... and the beauty of it is throughout this time of panic essential oils have not been on the radar for bulk purchasing and are still readily available for use.

There is no perfect solution for keeping safe and away from exposure, but I feel pretty good about my "natural attack" against corvid -19 within my house, the air within my house and internally within our bodies! Good luck and stay safe and healthy!