“I’ve just tested positive for COVID.”
“I’ve just tested positive for COVID.”
No, I don’t have it. But that’s probably the most feared thing we can hear a friend or family member say, particularly if we’ve just been visiting with them. Of course, COVID isn’t the only virus floating around out there. There are millions. And this is in addition to bacteria and other potentially harmful disease-causing agents. In 2013, Stephen Morse, Professor of Epidemiology at the Columbia University Medical Center and Director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology Certificate Program, estimated that there were about one million viruses that affect vertebrates.
Forget the possible danger from aliens from another planet. Viruses are real, and floating down from the sky every day by the millions.
So why aren’t we all dead or at least very sick most of the time?
Natural immunity.
We know that viruses enter our bodies through our noses, mouths, and eyes. Our T-cells and other killer cells work together to destroy them, and each type of cell plays a specific role in hunting down and eliminating harmful micro-organisms. We walking targets can help avoid these sometimes deadly invaders by doing simple things like washing our hands and faces, rinsing our mouths, and swabbing our noses.
Nature’s Common Scents products are a natural way to strengthen and assist the immune system
Sinus Aid is a product I created to help myself withstand the headaches I get with the change in the barometric pressure. But I have learned that by swabbing my nose with it I am also killing some germs and protecting myself from breathing in the millions of viruses floating around me. Further, it can help keep pollen from climbing up the nose and making me sneeze in springtime.
Gum Powder is another example of a product Nature’s Common Scents offers that can help us avoid viruses. Brushing daily with it as well as rinsing the mouth with a teaspoon in a cup of warm water can kill germs. If I have a sore throat I up the amount to a tablespoon per cup of warm water and gargle with it.
And this may surprise you: Acne Clear & Clean Face Wash which I initially created to help with acne, is excellent at killing germs because it keeps germs off the face (and therefore away from the oral cavities), but also it can be used as a hand sanitizer. I have kept a small bottle of it in the car and rubbed it on my hands when coming out of stores or public restrooms. It does not have to be washed off because it absorbs nicely and is good for skin, unlike the alcohol hand sanitizers which are very hard on skin.
Other NCS products we have that help kill viruses and bacteria include Lemon Balm Balm (the Lemon balm plant is particularly effective against the herpes virus), Lavender Spritzer, and the Lavender Headache Oil as well as our new NCS Hand Soap and our Anti-Itch Spritzer.
So if I had any advice on avoiding COVID, which I think will be around in one form or another for the foreseeable future, it would be to have on hand a good virus-protective kit which would include Sinus Aid, Gum Powder, Acne Clear & Clean, and our Hand Soap. And remember that dry, cracked skin also invites invaders. All our soaps and creams have that covered too!
Stay well. And come visit us at the shop as weather permits!
-Sondra.
