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Emily
Good afternoon,
I have the unfortunate gift of being allergic to many thing including most pharmaceuticals. As a result, I have taken a deep dive into natural alternatives. I wanted to make a simple massage oil for my swollen muscles and added CBD and peppermint essential oil to some olive oil. Within minutes I was being rushed to urgent care and received a rather large injection to stop my airway from closing. I have since learned that I am unable to use mint. However, I am able to use lemon balm and lavender which are in the family of mints. Is it possible to use these two herbs as peppermint substitutes are they medicinally equivalent to combat viruses, help immune stimulation and stop nausea? I find peppermint in so many formulas but for different reasons so I’m hoping to find a one stop alternative.
Thank you,
Emily
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Dawn
Hello Emily, First, thank God that you are ok. What a scary situation. I believe the answer to your question is addressed when Doc discusses that you do not need to have all of [antibacterial or anti inflammatory etc] herbs but just need some that cover these actions. When you make substitutions, you are addressing what in your body needs support and what in the substituted herb is offering in that regard. I think you lead to that in your post. Peppermint has a few actions in common with Lavender so it will help as a calming nervine, antispasmodic and antibacterial. But it is not analgesic so it may be weaker on addressing the pain. The CBD may cover you so it would be worth a try if that is what you have available since it is reducing inflammation and spasms. I think Lemon Balm is more like Peppermint for this substitution as they have all three actions that you are probably looking for in this formula: analgesic, antispasmodic, nervine. For this same reason, you most likely won’t find a one stop alternative since you are addressing different needs at different times; but, those two might be close enough in actions where you might use Peppermint to be useful as a near “go to”. As I compare their actions, Lemon Balm is only lacking antiemetic and stimulant but offers many other actions that Peppermint does not like tophorestorative, radioprotective, antidepressant/anxiolytic… but note that Lemon Balm is cautioned for those with thyroid issues. I hope that is helpful 🙂
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Thank you for your response, it is very helpful.
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Teresa Fields
May try ginger root for the nausea?
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Dr. Patrick Jones
Essential oils are often really, really strong and cause allergic responses that the normal plants typically don’t elicit. I can use all the herbs that they make essential oils from but can hardly get near the essential oils themselves without blistering.
Most of the mint family plants are good for nausea and other belly issues. Lemon balm certainly is. Here’s some more info on lemon balm:
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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