Best POWERFUL ANTIBACTERIAL ESSENTIAL OILS

Eucalyptus

This powerful disinfecting essential oil is a germicide. This germicidal quality makes it an antiseptic, which means it is suitable to treat wounds, burns, cuts, ulcers, sores, and abrasions.

When treating a wound, eucalyptus oil expedites the healing process while protecting it from exposure to air and antimicrobial activity. For this reason, eucalyptus essential oil is often used in skin care products because its helps fight skin infections and soaps. Eucalyptus is a common ingredient found in dental hygiene products for its ability to fight cavities, plaque, and gingivitis.

Diffuse this essential oil in a vaporizer if you want a fresh smelling home free of roaming bacteria and germs.

Peppermint

This cooling, uplifting essential oil is famous for its antibacterial activity and antiviral properties. Peppermint essential oil has also been widely used for its medicinal properties.

Sure, peppermint essential oil is used in dental hygiene products for its minty fresh flavor; however, it serves another purpose as an antiseptic, helping teeth and gums fight off harmful bacteria. Those suffering from nail fungus find that the antifungal properties of peppermint essential oil greatly reduces the chance of fungal growth while improving the overall health of their nails.

With all of its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties, peppermint essential oil is a great way to boost your immune system. It contains such compounds which are impervious to many dangerous strains of bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, and staph infections.

Lavender

This soothing essential oil know to induce feelings of tranquility and calm, often lulling you to sleep. However, do not mistake lavender for being just a pretty smelling oil. The name lavender is derived from the Latin name Lavare, which means to wash.

This essential oil is a powerful antibacterial that can boost your immunity. Regularly using lavender essential oil can help provide resistance to a number of diseases and viruses. Due to its antibacterial, and antiseptic properties, lavender essential oil is considered effective in treating various skin conditions as acne, psoriasis, and other inflammatory conditions of the skin.

Lavender essential oil is especially effective in treating acne because it inhibits the growth of bacteria while speeding up the healing process of the blemishes. This healing oil also helps to speed up the healing of wounds, cuts, burns, and sunburns while preventing the formation of scar tissue.

Tea Tree
One of the few antibacterial, antiviral, and antimicrobial essential oils that you can apply directly to the skin without first diluting it with a carrier oil. This medicinal oil is widely used to treat skin infections such as acne, eczema, warts, and psoriasis.

An antifungal, you can apply this oil to fight athlete’s foot and nail fungus. In Australia, where it is native, this essential oil is considered a cure-all, treating a wide variety of infections and diseases. Keep a bottle of tea tree essential oil in your medicine cabinet or first aid kit, as it is beneficial in disinfecting and treating wounds.

A recent study has demonstrated that tea tree essential oil was capable of treating staph wounds faster than those treated by conventional medication. The study published in 2013 examined the effect of tea tree oil on wounds infected with the superbug staphylococcus aureus.

The experiment was carried out on 10 volunteers who were treated with tea tree essential oil fumes or with conventional medication. The conclusions were striking and those treated with tea tree oil experienced significantly faster healing time compared to the other group.

A previous study found that a cleanser made from tea tree essential oil could effectively eliminate MRSA from the skin just as well as the standard treatments offered by hospitals.

Based on these and other studies, it seems that such a natural and inexpensive fix could be a huge boost for hospitals battling to prevent the spread of MRSA which has become so common and difficult to treat within hospital and nursing care settings.

This antiseptic oil prevents infection from developing in cuts, wounds, burns, and boils. It is also great for treating insect bites and stings, shielding them from infection. Just be sure not to ingest this cure-all, as it is considered poisonous when consumed internally.

 Bergamot

This sunny citrus essential oil delights with its citrus scent and its magnificent antibacterial properties.

Bergamot essential oil is known to fight against certain strands of bacteria and fighting against a variety of infections such as urinary tract infections, meningitis, endocarditis, etc.

Those suffering from skin conditions will find relief with bergamot essential oil. It speeds of the healing process of mouth ulcers, cold sores, and herpes while also lending a helping hand in the fight against shingles and chicken pox. This antibacterial is also a great natural way to heal and prevent acne.

Lemongrass

A powerful antibacterial essential oil. The antimicrobial properties of this oil inhibit the growth of bacteria internally and externally of the body. It helps to fight such bacterial infections as urinary tract infections, malaria, typhoid, food poisoning, body odor, and various skin conditions.

Antiseptic in nature, this essential oil is great for treating wounds preventing them from getting septic. In fact, lemongrass is a common ingredient in many commercial lotions and creams used for cuts and wounds. A powerful fungicidal, lemongrass essential oil can also be used to treat fungal infections of the skin.

There is a certain amount  of scientific evidence that backs up these claims that lemongrass essential oils is a powerful antibacterial treatment. One study published recently in 2013 demonstrated that a hand gel produced with lemongrass essential oil as well as thyme essential oil was highly effective in reducing the MRSA bacteria from the skin of the volunteer subjects.

The researchers concluded that both thyme oil and lemongrass essential oil provided excellent antibacterial activity against MRSA. Furthermore, the essential oil gel was well tolerated with no adverse effects being reported.

Oregano is not just a spice used to add flavor to your Italian dish, in fact, it’s a ruthless germ killer and provides wonderful immune support. Oregano essential oil has been found to protect from many strains of bacteria such as E. coli, staphylococcus, and salmonella.

This powerful essential oil not only causes significant damage to the strains of bacteria, but it also helps to minimize the bacteria’s ability to create toxins that can be severely hazardous to human health. Oregano essential oil was first recognized for its antibacterial and disinfecting abilities in ancient Greece, where it was often used to treat wounds, bacterial infections on the skin.

Oregano was also used in food to shield it from the proliferation of bacteria. Oregano essential oil is also recognized for its great medicinal properties. Viral and bacterial infections do not stand a chance against this essential oil.

This antibacterial protects against infections of the colon and urinary tract. It also helps protect the body from skin infections, sores, cholera, typhoid, and even food poisoning. Even though oregano essential oil fights against bacteria in your digestive tract, it does not eliminate the good gut flora vital to your digestive and immune health.

Viruses also don’t stand a chance against this essential oil, as it offers ample protection from such viruses colds, chicken pox, and mumps. Oregano essential oil also helps boost the immune system by stimulating the production of white blood cells and adds protection against certain autoimmune disorders.

Thyme

In addition to being a powerful antifungal—thyme is also a powerful antibacterial. Thyme has been shown effective against a host of bacteria including MRSA and Staph (staphylococcus).

A study published in 2011 found that thyme essential oil used in combination with clove essential oil was equally as effective in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (candidiasis) as the commonly prescribed antibiotic treatment, metronidazole. Researchers concluded that its efficacy and safety profile made these essential oils a suitable treatment candidate for infectious vaginal complaints and to reduce the exposure to antibiotics.

Thyme is very powerful and also potentially very irritating to skin. Thyme essential oil should always be diluted with a carrier oil before topical application on the skin. It is also recommended to test a small area to make sure to avoid irritation and potential allergic reactions.

Clove bud essential oil has strong antimicrobial and anti-fungal characteristics. Clove was the second best inhibitor in a test of essential oils tested against common bacteria including E Coli and K. Pneumoniae.

The major component in Clove Oil called Eugenol also effectively kills scabies mites. Clove oil should be avoided if pregnant or nursing and may react with blood thinners and anticoagulant medications.

Basil and Rosemary

I have grouped these two essential oils together because of a recent study which found that they could inhibit the spread and growth of some 60 different strains of Escherichia coli (E.coli). The study published in August 2013 set out to examine these oils as an alternative treatment to deal with multi-drug resistant bacterial strains.

The antibacterial ability of these two oils was put to the test against 60 separate strains of E.coli and the results were extremely promising. Both basil and rosemary essential oils proved active against all 60 bacterial strains and the researchers felt the results could hasten the application of essential oils to treat and prevent many resistant strains of bacteria.

We saved the best for last. Cinnamon Essential Oil has good research showing it to be potentially one of the strongest antibacterial essential oils.

In a test against some nasty bacteria including:

Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus

Cinnamon Essential Oil came out on top as the most potent antibacterial oil. Cinnamon was effective at virtually all doses vs. all the bacteria tested, contains cinnamaldehyde –which as you can guess is unique to Cinnamon.
Other oils effective vs. all the bacterial species tested were: Rosemary, Geranium, Clove and the citrus oils lime, orange, and lemon.

This list of oils is far from complete. Patchouli, lavender, lemon, grapefruit and sage are other oils with proven ability to fight certain antibiotic resistant bacteria strains .

One thing is for sure—there are many essential oil options when looking to fight bacteria.

There’s a super-group of essential oils called adaptogens. These smart essential oils are unique because they have opposing healing properties like being both stimulating and relaxing — they adapt to your needs.
The use of adaptogen essential oils are pivotal for hormonal imbalances where glands may be under-functioning in one system, while over-functioning in another. Adaptogenic essential oils are capable of balancing opposing conditions without creating further imbalance, as many pharmaceuticals would cause. Using them together further strengthens their healing properties.

• Basil,
  
• Lavender
  
• Anise
  
• Lemon
  
• Myrtle
  
• Clary Sage
  
• Geranium
  
•  Lemongrass

The adrenals are the glands that supply hormones such as adrenaline (to make us more focused and alert) and cortisol (to release energy-giving nutrients) to the body. They assist us in the fight or flight response, so that when we need a quick burst of energy to get out of a sticky situation, the adrenals deliver the chemicals to help us. In a crisis situation, we get a boost of adrenaline and cortisol to deal with the immediate challenge, then once safe, the adrenals re-regulate and our bodies return to normal functioning. But sometime when there is chronic stress and worry, the flight or flight mechanism never gets switched off, and we have a constant flow of stress chemicals taxing the body. With sustained high levels of cortisol, healthy organs can become compromised and normal functioning hormone levels become destabilized. At this point we can experience adrenal exhaustion/fatigue. There are many symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue including weight gain, insomnia, tiredness, depression, food craving, mood swings and lack of focus.

Your adrenal glands are responsible for how you cope with stress. If you’re trying to juggle a job, family and the demands of everyday life, you are likely to have overworked adrenals.

Cortisol, the “stress hormone” is produced by the adrenal glands and regulates your body’s response to stress. It works on a schedule — good sleep, starting at 10 pm, maximizes adrenal hormone function.

The adrenals are the glands that supply hormones such as adrenaline (to make us more focused and alert) and cortisol (to release energy-giving nutrients) to the body. They assist us in the fight or flight response, so that when we need a quick burst of energy to get out of a sticky situation, the adrenals deliver the chemicals to help us. In a crisis situation, we get a boost of adrenaline and cortisol to deal with the immediate challenge, then once safe, the adrenals re-regulate and our bodies return to normal functioning. But sometime when there is chronic stress and worry, the flight or flight mechanism never gets switched off, and we have a constant flow of stress chemicals taxing the body. With sustained high levels of cortisol, healthy organs can become compromised and normal functioning hormone levels become destabilized. At this point we can experience adrenal exhaustion/fatigue.

Out of balance cortisol levels lead to:

• feeling exhausted upon waking even after a long night’s sleep

• high energy late in the evening or waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning

• not being able to calmly deal with stress

• food cravings

• brain fog

The aromatherapeutic use of Lavender increased the percentage of deep, restorative, slow-wave sleep in all men and women. Make an essential oil mist of lavender and water in a spray bottle and spray the mixture on your pillow before bedtime to enhance deep sleep. Add anise oil to the lavender mist to amplify the restful qualities of both oils.

• Depression
• Uncontrollable weight gain or loss
• Dry hair and skin
• Cold or heat fluctuations
• Insomnia

Myrtle oil is an adaptogen that can stimulate thyroid activity. Specialized studies in myrtle oil discovered that the oil has the natural ability to balance and normalize hormonal imbalances of both the thyroid and ovaries, regardless of whether either are under or over performing.

Rub a few drops of myrtle oil diluted in a carrier oil into your foot’s big toe and the reflexology point for the thyroid located at the base of the foot in the fleshy area below the big toe. Another area where myrtle oil is effective is the thyroid area below the Adam’s apple, at the base of your throat.

Essential oils are able to penetrate skin membranes quickly. A study conducted by scientists at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Vienna, Germany found that the healing compounds of essential oils enter the bloodstream within five minutes of skin application.

Magnify the thyroid-healing effect of myrtle oil by blending it with lemongrass oil, another thyroid-boosting adaptogen, or alternate between each.

Anise is a powerful antidepressant. To fight thyroid imbalance symptoms like fatigue and depression, rub a drop of anise oil diluted in a carrier oil in your hands and rub together to warm. Inhale the warm scent for a mood boost.

• PMS
• infertility
• difficult or irregular menstrual cycles
• lowered libido
• difficult menopausal symptoms like sweats and hot flashes

Add  the juice of 1 lemon into a cup of warm water and drink it first thing in the morning.

Hormone imbalance can take several months to remedy, so essential oils should be applied daily for several months. When additional issues arise, women may benefit from individualizing their blend by adding specific oils for specific complaints to those previously suggested.
 Bergamot for example, can improve symptoms of depression and weepiness or
Angelica can improve violent and irrational behavior.
Either of these could be added to a blend of fennel,  thyme and geranium.

Aromatherapists have found success with tarragon for women who display aggressive PMS.

PMS Bath
I add 3 drops of clary sage, 2 drops of chamomile, 2 drops of geranium and 2 drops of lavender to a warm bath. Mixing these oils with 1/4 cup Epsom Salt before adding to the bath will help keep the oils from floating on top of the water and will include the benefits of magnesium.