This past June, my husband and I rented a 35 foot fifth wheel trailer and drove it from San Antonio, Texas to Orange County, California and back again – on a 7 day / 6 night trip. I do not recommend this plan to anyone who is sane. But that’s a story for another day. I’m really here to talk about essential oils. I’ve talked about them before because some can be a migraine trigger. Today I’m going to tell you the good side of them.

The day before we left, I somehow cut my finger on the dishwasher. We never figured out what I actually cut it on. It was right along the nail line of my right hand. Not a good spot at all, considering I’m right handed. Considering how the trip went, I now consider that cut an omen. But we ignored its message.

I kept it bandaged and used a lot of antibiotic ointment on it. Even so, it didn’t seem to heal, and even seemed to get worse. It would just hurt and ache most of the time. And, of course, it was red and swollen. Of course, it got really bad on our way back.

On day 1 of our 3 day return trip, I began to think it was going to require medical attention. Which would have to wait until we returned. Of course, we weren’t going to get back until Friday afternoon. Which would mean living with it until Monday. (Well, unless it turned black or something like that.)

So, not knowing what to do, I did what any health coach would do. I got on Facebook to one of my Health Coach groups and asked for advice. The best options were soaking it in peroxide or treating it with tea tree oil.

You have to understand that when you’re towing a 35 foot trailer, your options for stopping are fairly limited. You’re pretty much limited to what you can get to from the highway. The chances of finding someplace that sold tea tree oil were pretty slim. But we actually stopped at one truck stop that had peroxide! So I soaked my finger off and on for the rest of the trip. When we got home, it was better but still a mess. So all weekend I treated it with tea tree oil.

The end result? Come Monday morning it was 99% healed. No medical intervention needed! I’m now a believer in the power of essential oils. And it all makes sense because people have been treating sickness and infections for centuries before the introduction of antibiotics. Look for more on this topic in the future!

WARNING: This treatment is useful for minor infections. If you have a large area of infection, serious swelling, or red lines running up your arm then please seek medical attention immediately!