Fir oil for the common cold, cough, colds, SARS: baths, inhalations

Fir oil for coughs is one of the remedies that can be said to be “confirmed to be effective”. But you can not abuse this drug. In fact, this is turpentine of the highest purity, obtained from fir trees. Turpentine oil is obtained from all types of conifers in the same way: distillation with water vapor.

Is it possible to use fir oil for ARVI and colds

Unlike technical turpentine, fir extract is used to treat diseases. But even the first agent of a very high degree of purification cannot be used in its pure form inside. It is a poison that can burn the mucous membranes. For colds and runny nose, fir oil is used for inhalation. Active substances clear the respiratory tract well.

To clean the bronchi and facilitate the release of sputum, fir oil can also be breathed with SARS. But it is impossible to seriously expect to cure a viral disease with the help of any drugs. The oil will help relieve symptoms, soothe coughs, and ease breathing while the body fights the disease.

Most often, a remedy from fir is used in the treatment of:

• influenza;
• asthma;
• bronchitis;
• pneumonia.

That is, to relieve the symptoms of diseases affecting the upper respiratory tract.

As a warming component in the composition of ointments, it is used in the treatment of rheumatism. It blocks sweating, therefore, as a symptomatic remedy, it is used for hyperhidrosis.

Composition and value

The composition of turpentine oil depends on the breed of conifers from which it was produced. It is richest in representatives of the genus fir. But even here it is not so simple. Medicinal preparations are produced only from 3 types of fir:

• white / European;
• Siberian;
• balsamic.

The extract from European fir is the richest in composition.

Pure oil contains:

• limonene;
• terpintolene;
• camphene;
• cineole;
• terpinenes;
• borneol;
• bornyl acetate;
• other essential substances.

The composition of the extract from European fir also includes dodecanal and decanal.

The most valuable element of fir extract is bornyl acetate. This is the acetic acid ester of borneol, which performs disinfectant functions. Its content in the product is 8-47%. It is also the heaviest constituent of the oil. The higher the percentage of bornyl acetate, the greater the weight of the liquid. But the specific gravity of the contents of a pharmaceutical vial is difficult to determine by eye. Therefore, when choosing a drug, you will have to be guided by other principles.

This product is expensive and not sold in large bottles

Selection rules

It is impossible to visually distinguish a quality product from a fake. You will have to choose a product in a pharmacy intuitively and on the word of honor of a pharmacist. Fir extract is often not even faked, but mixed with cheaper oils of similar action:

• comfortable;
• citrus;
• vegetable.

It is good if the manufacturer immediately positions its products as a complex of substances that help with a particular problem. Depending on the composition of the “cocktail” with such fir oil, inhalations can be done with bronchitis or a runny nose. After all, other essential oils are also often used in the treatment of coughs.

Worse, if a fake was bought, in which fir extract was mixed with roughly refined turpentine. Such a “medicine” will only damage the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

How to identify a fake yourself

The grade of pharmacy fir extract determines the amount of bornyl acetate contained in the liquid. The highest grade contains at least 33% acetic acid ester, the second – at least 27%. The amount of bornyl acetate in oil can be determined using chromatographic analysis. It is clear that no one will do such a study.

Approximately the amount of ether can be estimated by cooling the contents of the bottle to a temperature below + 15 ° C. Bornyl acetate is highly soluble in other components of the fir extract. But when cooled, the substance begins to crystallize and precipitate. After the experiment, it is enough to heat the liquid again to room temperature, and the precipitate will disappear.

Another difficult way to determine the authenticity of a product is to determine the density of the oil. If it is below 0,894 g / cm³, then it is a fake. At home, this method is not available, so simpler options remain. They do not guarantee that there are no extra impurities in the oil, but they reduce the chances of buying a fake.

Large volumes of the “natural product” clearly indicate a fake based on refined vegetable oil, plastic containers also do not inspire confidence

Visual method

You can pour the oil into a cleanly washed dish of white transparent glass. The genuine product is clear and nearly colorless at room temperature. Sometimes it can have a yellowish or greenish tint. There should be no suspension of mechanical particles, turbidity, stratification of the liquid into fractions. Crystalline precipitation is acceptable only if the temperature of the substance is below 15 °C. When heated, the crystals should dissolve.

With the help of smell

Here it is necessary to distinguish aromas well. With a cold, this method will not work. One drop of liquid is applied to a clean cloth. Its smell should not have any irritating notes. Normally, it is light, coniferous. Since the fir extract has a complex composition, the aroma will constantly change depending on which of the fractions has begun to evaporate.

Paper test

Drop the contents of the vial onto white paper. If a greasy stain remains after the liquid dries, it means that the vial is fake. Most often it is a mixture with conventional vegetable oils or synthetic components.

However, it can also be homemade “fir oil”. The cost of such an “environmentally friendly product” barely exceeds the price of a refined plant extract used to make a “medical” remedy.

At home, a similar remedy is prepared from chopped fir needles and annual shoots. The raw materials are crushed, placed in a jar and poured with refined vegetable oil. The container is placed in a water bath and the needles are “boiled”. Then the solid mass is squeezed out. The result is the cheapest fake, which is often passed off as real fir oil.

During cooking, useful essential substances will evaporate, and the heavy compounds obtained by fir from the soil and air will turn into an oil decoction. For children, such a homemade product is better not to use.

The practice of the Moscow Zoo shows that few people are able to distinguish a fir from a spruce, it is not a fact that a tree growing in the yard is a fir

Medicinal properties of fir oil for cough and SARS

Fir extract has medicinal qualities due to its essential components. Substances contained in the extract from coniferous trees can disinfect the air and alleviate sore throats. Minus – the ability to dry the mucous membranes when used in a “pure” form. Therefore, water inhalations with fir oil are more often done.

Fir oil for colds

Treating a cold with fir oil began relatively recently, after the appearance of this product in pharmacies. But about the disinfecting phytoncides secreted by coniferous trees, it has been known for a long time. It’s just that now you don’t need to go to a sanatorium located in a pine grove.

Since a viral disease is usually hidden under the popular name “cold”, a preparation from fir will help to cope with a secondary microbial infection. It also softens and relieves coughs.

The common cold is often referred to as acute tonsillitis, a bacterial disease that used to be called a sore throat. Here, fir extract can be indispensable, as it kills microorganisms. Apply it, lubricating the tonsils. But in its pure form, the tool should not be used. It is enough to mix a few drops of the drug with vegetable oil.

Fir oil for the bronchi

Can be used in very small quantities. A high concentration of fir oil in bronchial cough during inhalation can cause a backlash: spasm. For children, it is better to use not inhalation, but rubbing.

Fir oil for cough

The use of fir oil is most effective for dry cough at the onset of the disease. This will kill pathogenic organisms that multiply on the inflamed bronchial mucosa. Later, when the inflammation has passed and the body begins to get rid of dead tissue, fir extract will not hurt. But it won’t help either.

With a dry hysterical cough in adults, fir oil mixed with vegetable oil is dripped onto the root of the tongue. For children with bronchitis, it is better to simply put a cloth moistened with liquid next to the pillow.

Fir oil from the common cold

The use of oil for the common cold is somewhat controversial. The substances contained in it will destroy bacteria. But only those that are in the nasal cavity. In addition, in case of a severe cold, it is first suggested to use vasoconstrictor drugs. That is, fir oil, in addition to the disinfectant function, has only one more function – it softens dried crusts. But this is due to the fact that fir oil is diluted with vegetable oil. Therefore, only the latter can be dispensed with.

With ARVI and ARI

ARI is diagnosed when the doctor himself does not know what exactly the patient is ill with. There are symptoms of a cold, but what caused them is a mystery. It can be protozoa or fungi. Or it could be a virus or bacterial infection. The diagnosis of ARVI differs from ARI only in that it is clear here: the cause of the disease is a virus.

Accordingly, fir preparations are used in the same way as for “colds” and bronchitis, as a symptomatic remedy to ease breathing.

Sometimes vials are immediately equipped with dispensers, with which it is convenient to measure the drug.

Indications for use

You can often find statements that fir oil helps with almost all diseases, including even nail fungus. In fact, the use of the drug is limited. Best of all, it helps with diseases of the respiratory tract and provided that there is no allergy to it.

You can add fir oil to the water when taking a bath. It is believed that at the beginning of the disease it will help to cure. A hot bath in case of hypothermia or at the beginning of the disease will help the treatment even without any supplements.

Recipes and uses

For colds, bronchitis, acute respiratory infections and other diseases affecting the respiratory system, apply:

• inhalation;
• instillation into the nose;
• rubbing the chest and outer surface of the nose;
• hot baths.

Sometimes they use juice cocktails with the addition of fir extract. But here we must remember that it is poisonous in large quantities.

Inhalations with fir oil

With preparations from fir, inhalations can be carried out:

• steam;
• dry;
• oil;
• air.

Oil inhalations are usually carried out in clinics. They are based on a fine spray of heated oils. At home, other types are more often used.

Air inhalation – spraying an aerosol of fir oil in the air. It is very close in its essence to “dry” or to aromatization of the room.

Fir extract negatively affects the development of the embryo. In the first trimester, the drug can not be used. From the 27th week, theoretically, fir oil can no longer hurt, but inhalation should be done only after consulting a doctor.

In everyday life, steam inhalations are the most common, they are also the easiest to perform.

How to make inhalation with fir oil

Steam inhalation is done for diseases of the upper respiratory tract. To carry it out, it is enough to pour hot water into the teapot and add a few drops of the drug. The teapot is covered with a lid, the socks are wrapped in a cloth so as not to burn the lips, and the steam is inhaled through the mouth. This method allows you to treat inflamed tonsils and reduce coughing with bronchial disease.

If you need to treat a runny nose, the kettle will not work. In this case, hot water is poured into a bowl or pan and oil is also added. The head is covered with a cloth so that the steam does not escape into the air. This method allows you to clear the nasal cavities.

There are contraindications for steam inhalation. It is undesirable to do them with diseases of the cardiovascular system, tuberculosis, with exacerbation of pneumonia. Do not treat with steam and small children. It is better for kids to do a “dry” inhalation.

How to do dry inhalation with fir oils

In fact, dry inhalation with fir extract is no different from the usual disinfectant spraying of the room. It is well suited for very young children who should not drip fir oil into their noses, but need to clear the maxillary sinuses.

The liquid is simply sprayed on the surfaces in the room. But it is expensive, because it will be a big expense. In order not to waste too much oil, a few drops of the drug are applied to a clean cloth and placed next to the patient.

Inhalations with fir oil through a nebulizer

With the help of a nebulizer, you can not do inhalations with any kind of oils, not only with fir. More precisely, you can do it, but for a very short time. Then the device will have to throw out and buy a new one. The holes in the nebulizer are too small and the oil will clog them sooner or later. Moreover, pure fir oil cannot be used for dispersion inhalation, and the mixture with the herbal composition is too coarse for the device.

Treatment of the common cold with fir oil

The treatment of a runny nose is carried out in much the same way as it was previously done with the help of the Asterisk balm. But if the runny nose is severe, it is first necessary to use drugs that narrow the blood vessels and eliminate mucus. An extract from fir can get rid of bacteria, but only on the condition that it has the opportunity to penetrate the nasal cavity. With a large amount of mucus, the drug will simply flow out.

Is it possible to bury fir oil in the nose

Not in its purest form. Turpentine, even the highest degree of purification, in a concentrated form will burn the mucous membranes. It is better not to drip fir oil into the nose of children at all, since it is difficult to manually calculate a safe dose. It is easier to use ready-made nasal drops.

Fir oil is included in the composition of such nasal drops only as one of the components, they are ready for use and do not require dilution with other substances

How is fir oil diluted for instillation

For instillation into the nose, fir oil is usually mixed with any refined vegetable oil. More expensive options:

• sea ​​buckthorn;
• calendula;
• wheat germ oil.

Fir and sea buckthorn are usually mixed in a ratio of 1:3. For children, this mixture is not recommended. The remaining species are mixed at the rate of 30 ml of any oil per 5 drops of fir. Toddlers as the basis of drops for the nose are better suited vegetable.

How to drip

The finished mixture is instilled into the nose, cleared of mucus with other drugs. Dose for adults 3-4 drops in each nostril. Children no more than 2 drops.

Oil is instilled with the head resting on a pillow so that the liquid can flow deep into the nasal cavity. After a few minutes, you need to lie down quietly so that the agent is distributed over the mucous membrane.

Baths with fir oil

A bath is taken only if the body temperature is within the normal range. And this procedure is purely preventive in nature. In 160 liters of hot water, 39-42 ° C, pour 20 ml of fir extract. You can add foam to the bath. You should not specially cook the composition with soap and oil. Bar soap usually begins to smell unpleasant 2-3 days after dilution in water.

The bath will prevent colds as a result of hypothermia. The procedure time is 20 minutes. However, you can just soar your legs, simultaneously inhaling fir fumes.

For children, a bath is made with a water temperature of no more than 39 ° C. Since the volume of the bath for a child is less than for an adult, the oil is added in smaller quantities: about 5 ml per 60 liters.

Another bath recipe: add a tablespoon of salt, honey or milk and a few drops of fir preparation to the water. It is better to carry out the procedure before going to bed, as warm water relaxes.

When taking a bath, you need to monitor the temperature of the water and the time

Rubbing

It is better for children to do not baths, but rubbing the chest and nose. To do this, fir oil is mixed with vegetable or internal lamb / goose fat. Thanks to rubbing, the child’s body warms up, and blood circulation increases. Fir oil slowly evaporates from the skin. Thus, inhalation occurs at the same time. After rubbing the child, you need to wrap it with a blanket.

With a runny nose, you can rub the bridge of your nose. In this case, the vapor will also enter the nasal cavity. Do not lubricate the mucous membranes inside with pure fir oil.

Room aromatization

Perhaps the most effective way to use oil. A pleasant smell in the room is guaranteed. Aromatization is carried out in the same way as with any other essential oils: using an aroma lamp or hot water. You can also spray an aerosol from a can or put a cloth moistened with oil somewhere, but then it will not be any different from a “dry” inhalation.

Healing cocktails

There are two cocktail recipes with juice and fir oil. In one case, it is advised to take unsweetened juice, in the other – sweet. The authors of cocktails agree on only one thing: you can not use citrus fruits. Their juice irritates mucous membranes. The rest of the recipes are exactly the same:

• a glass of juice;
• a teaspoon of honey;
• a few drops of fir extract.

Mix everything and consume one hour before meals or 1,5 hours after meals. Multiplicity – 3 times a day.

The similarity of the recipes suggests a marketing hoax. In addition, fir oil, albeit weak, but poison. But before they drank kerosene from a cold. And the experience of King Mithridates proves that the human body can gradually adapt to the use of poison.

Pomegranate juice is suitable for a cocktail

Application rules

Before using the drug as a medicine, you must make sure that there is no allergy to it. This is especially true for people with a predisposition to asthma. Any strong odors can cause them to suffocate.

You can not use the product from fir in its pure form. It must be diluted with other substances. You can often find advice to mix it with water. But these two fractions do not mix, and this method can only be used when taking baths or steam inhalations.

Taking the drug inside as part of cocktails begins with 6 drops: 2 at a time. Add 1 drop per day.

The maximum amount of oil is not more than 30 drops per day. But the dose is individual and ranges from 9 to 30 drops.

Limitations and contraindications

Advertising presents “natural” drugs as completely harmless and without side effects. However, the list of contraindications suggests otherwise. Fir extract can not be used when:

• tuberculosis;
• diseases of the circulatory system;
• heart disease;
• pneumonia;
• pregnancy;
• kidney disease;
• stomach problems;
• epilepsy;
• liver disease;
• tumors;
• allergies;
• Cerebral palsy.

Hot baths and warm rubbing are contraindicated in high blood pressure. Preparations from fir in the early stages of pregnancy are strictly prohibited. And later they are used only under the supervision of a doctor.

Redness of the skin is a common symptom of an allergy to an irritant.

Symptoms of an allergy to fir oil

The main symptom of not even allergies, but poisoning with fir preparations is a rapid heartbeat. That is why it is advised to start taking the oil inside with 2 drops. More chances to survive.

You can check the body’s reaction to fir oil as follows:

• count the pulse before taking the drug;
• take 2 drops;
• count the pulse after 3-4 hours.

If the number of strokes has increased by more than 10, you need to stop. Theoretically, you can take 9 drops daily, but it is better not to do this at all.

If the body reacts normally, the next day the dose is increased and the pulse is checked again. The latter is done every day until the maximum dose of the drug is determined.

Another, more “traditional” way to test for allergies is to rub the oil into the skin. If redness appears, you can not use fir preparations.

Conclusion

Fir oil for cough helps only in combination with other drugs. In fact, it only makes breathing easier. The body either copes with the disease on its own or with the help of other medicines.