Before school starts and cold and flu season rolls in, it’s important to start collecting recipes and planning your lines of defense. Every year, millions of Americans are hospitalized for seasonal illness, and the numbers are rising as stronger strains of bacteria, microbes, and viruses begin to multiply, mutate, and evade conventional medicine.
While I certainly don’t recommend ignoring what modern medicine has to offer, I also don’t recommend ignoring the powerful natural remedies we have at our disposal.
Essential oils are one of those remedies.
Broad-Spectrum Essential Oil Blend for Cold and Flu
The term broad-spectrum refers to the ability to kill off microbes, viruses, and bacteria. Obviously, without conducting your own experiments and growing what lurks in your home on a petri dish, and have extensive knowledge on these types of microorganisms, it’s going to be hard to determine what types of bacteria and viruses are in your environment.
So, since you won’t know exactly what microbial threats are flourishing in your house, it’s good to have something on hand that is going to cover all the bases.
That’s where this broad-spectrum essential oil blend comes into play.
How to Make a Broad-Spectrum Essential Oil Recipe for Seasonal Wellness
The following essential oils are chosen for their antiviral, antibacterial, and antimicrobial properties. Blending them together, of course, is what gives this blend its broad-spectrum attributes.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
• One empty 15ml essential oil bottle
• 5 drops melissa essential oil
• 5 drops niaouli essential oil
• 5 drops palmarosa essential oil
• 5 drops thyme linalool essential oil
• 10 drops basil linalool essential oil
• 10 drops lemongrass essential oil
• 10 drops oregano essential oil
• 10 drops tea tree essential oil
• 15 drops sweet orange essential oil
• 20 drops lemon essential oil
• 20 drops peppermint essential oil
• 20 drops spearmint essential oil
• 20 drops juniper essential oil
• 20 drops lavender essential oil
If you’re using this blend around children under 10, swap the peppermint and spearmint with more orange or lemon essential oil.
Read more about using essential oils safely around babies and children HERE.
Loving Preparation – Broad-Spectrum Essential Oil Blend
1. Add each essential oil to the empty 15ml bottle.
2. Cap closed then roll between the palms to mix.
3. Allow the blend to “synergize” for a few days before use.
Essential Oil Recipes Using The Broad-Spectrum Blend
The following recipes are examples of the different ways in which you can use this powerful blend to help protect your family from cold and flu.
My personal favorites are the spray and hand soap recipes!
Broad-Spectrum Spray Recipe
• One 8 oz spray bottle
• ½ cup white vinegar
• ½ water
• 20 drops of broad-spectrum essential oil blend
Shake well before use, then spray on toilets, sinks, kitchen counters, and other frequently touched areas of the house to disinfect them.
Broad-Spectrum Diffuser Blend
• Add 8-10 drops of broad-spectrum blend to a diffuser and diffuse throughout the house during cold and flu season to help kill airborne bacteria and viruses.
Broad-Spectrum Hand Soap Recipe
• One foaming hand soap dispenser
• ⅔ cup water
• ⅓ cup unscented castile soap
• 25 drops broad-spectrum essential oil blend
Broad-Spectrum Hand Sanitizer Recipe
• One squeeze bottle
• 3 oz aloe vera gel
• 45 drops broad-spectrum blend
Have you made a broad-spectrum essential oil blend for the upcoming season? Please share in the comments below!
You may also enjoy reading:
Sickroom Spray Recipe for Cold and Flu
Essential Oils for Boosting The Immune System and Fighting Cold and Flu
Essential Oils for The Flu
Immune Boosting Blend for Colds and Flu
The Difference Between Cold and Flu
Sources:
Protective essential oil attenuates influenza virus infection: an in vitro study in MDCK cells.
Essential Oils to Prevent the Spread of Flu
Chemical Constituents of Essential Oils Possessing Anti-Influenza A/WS/33 Virus Activity
Barbour, Elie K., et al. "Safety and antiviral activity of essential oil against avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses." Int. J. Appl. Res. Vet. Med 8.1 (2010): 60-64.
Hayashi, K., et al. "Inhibitory effect of cinnamaldehyde, derived from Cinnamomi cortex, on the growth of influenza A/PR/8 virus in vitro and in vivo." Antiviral Research 74.1 (2007): 1-8.
Chao, Sue C., D. Gary Young, and Craig J. Oberg. "Screening for inhibitory activity of essential oils on selected bacteria, fungi and viruses." Journal of essential oil research 12.5 (2000): 639-649.
Characterization of the Action of Selected Essential Oil Components on Gram-Negative Bacteria
Christina says
Hi Tash!
When I entered office this morning I was welcomed by all my colleagues sniffing and sneezing.
Fortunately I live close by so I immediately went home and mixed this blend up. I prepared the spray, but with witch hazel instead of vinegar. I sprayed all the surfaces and my hands liberally and the room smells amazing, too 🙂
I also prepared an inhaler stick with this blend.
I know I should have waited for the blend to synergize but this is an emergency 😀
Thank you for sharing all this wonderful recipes and blends!
Tash says
You're very welcome Christina! I hope the blend worked out well for you 🙂
Nr says
How do you use this blend?
Tash says
Hi Nr!
You can diffuse it or use it as a cleaning spray.
Holly says
Your post about boosting the immune system to fight colds/flu, lists Cinnamon Bark as one of the most powerful antibacterial/antiviral essential oils. You use it alone with water in a spray bottle as a surface cleaner, with a recommendation to let it sit for 5 minutes before wiping. I don't have Melissa, Niaouli or Palmarosa, and noticed you told another reader that Tea Tree could be subbed. Since I think it has a rather unpleasant odor and not sure I want to add more, would Cinnamon Bark be a good substitute for the oils I don't have?
Tash says
Hi Holly!
Cinnamon bark is an excellent essential oil for cold and flu season. You can definitely just stick with that one if it's all you have because it is one of the most powerful germ and virus-fighting essential oils.
Deborah says
Hi Tash, I am ready to make this great recipe however I don't have Melissa, Niaouli
or Palmarosa. Please let me know if they can be replaced with another EO or can I just
leave them out? Thanks
Tash says
Hi Deborah!
You can leave them out 🙂 simply add more of another oil like tea tree which has similar properties against germs and bacteria.