Adjustments in a Drier Climate

We’ve been in Arizona for six weeks now and Fiona seems to be having a challenge adjusting to the drier climate. I checked one day last week and the humidity in our old home town of Roseville California was 80% whereas here in Mesa it was 18%. That’s a huge difference! You should see what happens to our hair when we brush it – talk about static electricity!

My skin has been much drier and sometimes when at night as I’m trying to drift off to sleep my back itches like crazy due to the dryness. I’ve been trying to drink a lot more water and have used more hand lotion than I usually do.

However this last week Fiona broke out in strange small bumps all over – sort of like goose bumps. Her nose started itching like crazy, she has purple bags under her eyes and today her face started itching like crazy and developed red blotches and her skin is obviously very dry. I know what chicken pox, measles, and other rashes look like and this was completely different.

So I did some research online and found that she seems to be having some sort of reaction, sort of an allergic reaction, to this climate. So I started thinking about how to treat allergies with an antihistamine and knew I’d rather try something natural than an over-the-counter medication. And since I’ve used essential oils for years, I wondered if one of the oils I already had would be useful.

I found that Lavender is a natural antihistamine and I happen to have some Lavender essential oil. I sometimes put a drop or two of lavender in a bath and I plan to do that later for Fiona. In the meantime I got out the bottle of lavender and told her I thought it would help. Usually she doesn’t like the smell of the lavender oil; it’s too strong she says. This time I held the open bottle up to her nose and she inhaled deeply and said it smelled good. That’s a sure sign that her body needed it.

I rubbed some lavender oil into some lotion and rubbed it on her. Since it can be taken orally as well, I put a couple of drops in her apple juice and she gulped that down. In no time at all she said she didn’t itch anymore.

Since we’ll be back in Arizona for another two to three weeks at the end of March, I’d better keep the lavender on hand.

Have you ever suffered ill effects from a drier climate? I’d love to hear your stories and how you adjusted!