Essential Oils for Feet Conditions
Feet conditions are common, especially when wet areas are shared by many people - like showering facilities at public swimming pools.
Or poor circulation reduces the flow of blood to the extremities of the body limiting delivery of oxygen and removal of waste products.
Where would we be without our feet? Yet so many people ignore warning signs of poor health manifesting there.
Here are just some of them:
Feet Conditions: Athlete's Foot
Athlete’s Foot is a fungal infection between the toes of the foot or any area of the body which provides the ideal breeding conditions for the fungus.
So it can develop in the groin, armpit or on the soles of the foot.
It is usually spread through moist communal areas like showers and once the fungus is in the body it is difficult, if not impossible, to completely eradicate it.
The only way to avoid an outbreak of the infection is to keep the areas dry.
The symptoms are flaky skin, inflammation, itchiness or pain. Sometimes the skin opens to expose soft tissue which can cause pain.
Recipe One
Ingredients:
Use your choice of Tea Tree, Tagetes, Lavender, Lemon or Cypress.
Directions:
Mix a couple of drops or each or on their own onto a cottonwool ball and put it between your toes. It may sting a bit, but that's good - means it's working.
Tea Tree on its own is very good.
Recipe Two
Ingredients:
- 1 drop Lavender essential oil
- 1 drop Myrrh essential oil
- 1 drop Tea Tree essential oil
- 1 teaspoon Sweet Almond oil
Directions:
Make a blend of the ingredients and apply three times a day.
Bunions: Make up a paste of marigolds and alcohol, add some drops of Tagetes, and apply to the bunions. Cover with a pad.
Feet Conditions: Chilblains
Chilblains are damage to extremities of the body which have been exposed to cold. They appear on toes, fingers and ears or nose. The tissue damage is to the capillaries in the skin which become red, inflamed and itchy.
Not everyone develops these red lumps on the body, it seems to be only those people predisposed to this reaction to cold weather and mostly effects women.
This type of condition is very distressful for sufferers.
Chilblains are often confused with frostbite.
However, chilblains usually clear up of their own accord in two to three weeks and don’t progress to frostbite.
Frostbite is a completely different condition and causes necrosis of fingers, toes and noses.
Chilblains don’t cause permanent damage to the tissues affected but they can cause infections if left untreated.
The best remedy is to prevent them in the first place so if you have a tendency to develop chilblains keep those areas warm and dry during the colder months and increase exercise.
Recipe One
Ingredients:
- 2 drops of Marjoram essential oil
- 1 drop of Black Pepper essential oil
- 1 teaspoon of carrier oil
Directions:
Massage the feet or hands. These essential oils have a warming effect and improve the blood and lymph circulation locally.
Recipe Two
Ingredients:
Tea Tree
Directions:
Apply neat to the affected area - just a couple of drops on a cottonwool ball and hold over the hands or feet.
Recipe Three
Ingredients:
- 2 drops Marjoram essential oil
- 2 drops Black Pepper essential oil
- 1 teaspoon carrier oil
Directions:
Blend together and massage over affected area.
Feet Conditions: Corns and Calluses
If unnatural or excessive pressure is applied to our feet or hands then the body will produce a thicker layer to try to protect the softer tissue underneath.
A callus is a flattened area of inflamed skin and a corn is a circular hard or soft area of inflamed skin.
Try to eliminate the cause of the corns and calluses so they don’t re-appear.
Better fitting shoes? More support, like inner soles maybe...
Recipe One
Tagetes is the best essential oil for feet conditions of this type.
Chamomile is the best essential oil for inflammation.
Ingredients:
- 15 drops Tagetes essential oil
- 15 drops Chamomile essential oil
- 30ml Jojoba
Directions:
Rub the oil over the affected areas for as many days as is required, usually no more than a week, until they soften. Then rub the dead skin away with a pumic stone.
Recipe Two
Ingredients:
- 10 drops Tea Tree essential oil
- 10 drops Oregano essential oil
- 1 teaspoon Calendula oil
Directions:
Mix together and apply three times a day.
