If you have lost your sense of smell...

I lost my sense of smell this past year and although it is now back I went through quite a journey to recover it. I wanted to share this.

Have you or someone you know lost your sense of smell recently?

Did you know that inhaling essential oils can help with your olfactory abilities?

Use a piece of cotton pad and drop on an essential oil.

It is best to use a couple of the same essential oils each day. For example suitable candidates are:

• Clove bud for spices

• Lavender or Geranium for florals

• Wild Orange or Tangerine for citrus

• Basil/Oregano

Close one nostril and use the open one to inhale and sniff from the cotton pad. Do this 5 times and then swap to the other nostril. Then leave a break of about 3-5 minutes and swap to a different essential oil aroma. Sometimes it can help to take a sniff of coffee between aromas as this can be used to 'clear the palate'. You can pop the cotton pads in separate jam jars with lids or just use a new drop each day (be sure to write down on a label what each one is).

You can keep a log of what you notice about each one and at first it may be nothing. I found the citrus aromas took the most time to return. You may wish to add in another aroma as other ones return and become more noticeable - be mindful of any safety aspects.

Other essential oils I added after a time were Black Spruce, chamomile, magnolia (touch) and Peppermint (the latter was the easiest to notice).

If you want to know more about essential oils that I use please contact me.