How To: Make Your Own Soothing Bath Soak For Sick Days

How To: Make Your Own Soothing Bath Soak
For Sick Days

I spent half the weekend doing everything I could to not catch what my boyfriend had: sore throat, runny nose, itchy eyes and fatigue and the other half dealing with having caught it. Cold weather, hail, sore throat, a trip to Ikea, it was the perfect storm. Only one good thing comes from being sick (not counting getting to gorge on really bad tv/movies) and that's permission to really luxuriate in a bath and then get directly into bed, no matter the time of day or night. Here's how I make it count:

I like bath stuff for sure, and have an array of powders, soaks and bubbles, but when my nose is clogged and my body is sore, I call in the big guns.

Homemade Bath Soak (For the Sniffles and Aches):
2 Cups of Epsom Salts
4-6 drops of either lavender or eucalyptus essential oils (or both)
at least 15 minutes of soaking in hot, but not too hot water

Many of you already know about how great epsom salts can be (they're not just for old people!), they help soothe sore muscles and calm the nervous system, plus they're really cheap at the drugstore.

So when I'm sick, I crawl into this soak and it helps to soothe my body and clear out my sinuses before I climb into bed. It also gets me nice and warm before I slither into bed and pass out. It was especially nice this weekend with the cold weather since I don't like turning the heat on at night, I got the bed nice and warm right away and stayed cozy all night.

Image from Kelly's Craftsman Comfort.

Comments (6)

Nice paint color. Can anyone ID it?

posted by Rick Roberts on January 26th 2009 at 4:39pm
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Add ten to twenty drops of glycerin to your recipe and you gain an extra moisturizing boost.

posted by Aldyth on January 26th 2009 at 5:16pm
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Thanks for the recipe, Laure, and the glycerin tip, Aldyth. I have fibromyalgia and am also recovering from a wicked sinus infection, so this is right up my alley.

posted by madampince on January 26th 2009 at 5:23pm
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add a few drops of mint essential oil to the eucalyptus and it really helps decongest.

posted by mysoultokeep on January 26th 2009 at 5:44pm
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I used to love taking baths but now that we are entering another year of a water shortage and the Soviet of Los Angeles is patrolling water usage, I have had to give up this part of my life until gentler conditions permit.

posted by Seaside on January 26th 2009 at 6:36pm
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Toss a couple of chamomile tea bags into your bathwater with the salt and oils, and you've got my anti-cold recipe.

And I'm Canadian so you know it's been well-tested. ;)

posted by SputnikSpak on January 26th 2009 at 10:57pm
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