I don't often get jiggy about a product that has been in my cupboard for years and years, earning little more than an occasional sideways glance. But this situation was exceptional: following weeks and weeks of winter rain, the one fine day we had sent me into a bout of sneezing that lasted from early morning to late evening. Friend, I tried everything, sprays, pills, drops - but by nightfall, my still-throbbing nasal cavities forced me on yet another raid of the medicine cabinet. And there it was, the dark-glass bottle with the orange badge and green label, promising relief "for catarrh, colds and sinuses". And hay fever? Friend, I was desperate and double desperate. A vague memory of sprinkling drops on a handkerchief that once relieved a bout of sinusitis prompted me to try it again. I sprinkled, sniffed and within half a minute, the nasal throbbing had stopped, enabling that magical thing, a night's sleep. And I am free of it this morning. What makes Olbas Oil (TM) such a magical remedy?
Made of a blend of natural oils, including clove, juniper and eucalyptus, it was patented by a Swiss company before 1916, its name literally meaning "oil of Basel". Its effectiveness as a decongestant has bred a family of Olbas products that include an inhaler, pastilles, nasal spray, baby and even, shower and bath products. The best way to use the product is sparingly, either sniffing occasionally from the bottle or from drops sprinkled on a handkerchief. Leave a sprinkled hanky alongside your pillow overnight for 24-hour relief - ah! As long as us humans wear noses,
Olbas oil will be on sale.
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