Late-Summer Allergies: An Aromatherapy Inhaler for Your Home Apothecary
- Dr Lucy
- Aug 29
- 15 min read
If your hay fever seems to make an unwelcome return every August, you're not imagining it.
I know this one personally. My own allergies tend to flare again in August, long after we tend to think of the traditional early-summer hay fever season as being over.
But pollen season doesn't simply end when the grasses begin to fade. Here in the UK, tree pollen tends to dominate earlier in the year and grass pollen through late spring and summer, but what pollen forecasters rather unromantically call “weed pollen” can continue from the end of June right through to September.
And “weed” here is really a category of convenience rather than a botanical one. It includes familiar plants such as nettle, mugwort, plantain and dock - many of which you may recognise from elsewhere in the home apothecary. A weed, after all, is largely a plant growing where somebody decided they didn't want it.
Their pollen seasons overlap rather than following one neat calendar. By late August, some are coming to the end of their season while others can still be contributing to the pollen in the air - and exactly what you're exposed to depends enormously on where you live and, of course, the weather.
Useful plant or not, its pollen can still make you sneeze.
For our friends in the US, late summer also coincides with ragweed season, another important cause of seasonal allergic rhinitis.
So, as we head into the last long weekend of August, this feels like a particularly good time to add one of the simplest aromatherapy preparations I make to our seasonal home apothecary: a personal essential-oil inhaler.
It takes minutes to put together, slips into a pocket or handbag and, unlike diffusing essential oils into an entire room, allows you to use a small, personal source of aromatic vapour only when you actually want it.
But for this one, rather than giving you one definitive blend and calling it an “allergy remedy”, I want to look at what the research actually tells us, why certain oils make sense in an inhaler, and then make a few different blends depending on the oils you have and the kind of aromatic experience you prefer.
Because, rather wonderfully, the science isn't quite as straightforward as “eucalyptus clears your nose”.
If you're here for the research, keep reading - we're going down the rabbit hole. If you just want to make your inhaler, you can skip to the recipes and short how-to-make video below.
What Actually Is Hay Fever?
Hay fever, or seasonal allergic rhinitis, is an allergic reaction to pollen.
If you're sensitised to a particular type of pollen, your immune system mistakenly identifies something ordinarily harmless as a threat. Exposure triggers an immune response involving IgE antibodies, which activate mast cells and lead to the release of histamine and other inflammatory mediators.
It's this response that produces the symptoms we know so well: sneezing, itching, streaming eyes and a runny or horribly blocked nose.
That little bit of biology is important when we start talking about essential oils, because feeling less congested isn't necessarily the same thing as changing the allergic response itself.
And that's where our inhaler gets really interesting. There are several different things that may be happening when we inhale aromatic compounds, from the way they change our perception of airflow, to emerging research around particular essential oils and allergic rhinitis itself.
So before we decide what goes into ours, let's look at what an aromatherapy inhaler might actually offer...
What Can an Aromatherapy Inhaler Actually Do?
A personal inhaler gives us a very direct way of experiencing the volatile compounds in essential oils. The wick holds a small amount of our blend and, when we bring it beneath the nose, those aromatic molecules travel with the air we breathe, without needing to scent an entire room.
It is worth being clear about what it isn't doing. An inhaler doesn't filter pollen from the air or stop your immune system recognising a pollen you're allergic to. It isn't removing the cause of your hay fever. What we're interested in is whether aromatic inhalation can influence how some of those symptoms feel, and potentially, as the emerging research suggests, a little more besides.
Some aromatic compounds can influence how breathing feels. Menthol, for example, can make people perceive their nose as cooler and more open even when measurements show that resistance to airflow hasn't actually changed. That's not the same as physically decongesting the nose, but when you're horribly stuffy, the sensation of breathing more freely can still be genuinely useful.
There is also some intriguing research looking beyond that immediate sensory effect.
In a small double-blind randomised controlled trial published in 2016, 54 adults with perennial allergic rhinitis inhaled either an essential-oil preparation or placebo for five minutes, twice a day, for seven days. Those using the aromatherapy preparation reported greater improvements in total nasal symptoms, particularly nasal obstruction, as well as rhinitis-related quality of life and fatigue (Choi & Park, 2016).
Interestingly, it wasn't the classic eucalyptus-and-peppermint respiratory blend you might expect. It contained sandalwood, frankincense and true Ravensara (Ravensara aromatica).
And eucalyptus has its own emerging clinical evidence in allergic rhinitis, alongside interesting research into 1,8-cineole and inflammation - which we'll come to in a moment.
Taken together, it's a fascinating, if still developing, picture - and enough to make me want to look much more closely at the oils we're choosing and why.
Rather than simply reaching for the oils traditionally labelled “respiratory”, I want to understand what each one actually brings to the inhaler: its aromatic character, its chemistry, its traditional use and, where we have it, the human evidence too.
But first, that allergic-rhinitis study has given us one rather important aromatherapy distinction to clear up: Ravensara and Ravintsara are not the same oil.
Ravensara or Ravintsara?
This study sent me down a particularly interesting aromatherapy rabbit hole, because Ravensara and Ravintsara are not the same oil.
The oil used in the study was Ravensara aromatica. Ravintsara, meanwhile, is produced from Cinnamomum camphora - usually the cineole-rich Madagascan chemotype - and is generally rich in 1,8-cineole, or eucalyptol.
Despite their confusingly similar names, they come from different plants and can have very different chemical profiles. The two have also been mixed up in aromatherapy literature and commercial products over the years, which makes checking the botanical name particularly important.
True Ravensara can be surprisingly difficult to find, particularly compared with the much more readily available Ravintsara. So if you're looking through your essential-oil collection wondering whether you own the oil from the study, look for Ravensara aromatica on the bottle rather than relying on the common name alone.
Ravintsara is still rather interesting for our purposes, though, just for a completely different reason. Its typically cineole-rich chemistry brings it much closer to the respiratory aromatic territory of eucalyptus - something we'll come back to when we start creating our blends.
But first, it's time to decide what we're actually putting in them.
So, What Are We Putting in Our Inhaler?
We've looked at what aromatic inhalation might offer and followed some of the more interesting threads in the research. Now we get to the fun part: choosing our oils.
For our main blend, I've settled on three familiar ones: eucalyptus, peppermint and lavender.
Each is there for a slightly different reason. Eucalyptus gives us our cineole-rich respiratory backbone, peppermint brings that fascinating cooling perception of clearer airflow, and lavender softens and balances the sharper aromatic profile of the other two.
But rather than simply opening an aromatherapy formulary at the respiratory section and choosing three oils from the list, I want to look a little more closely at why each one has earned its place - from its traditional use and aromatic character to its chemistry and, where we have it, the research.
Starting with eucalyptus.
Eucalyptus: Probably Our Strongest Starting Point
Eucalyptus is perhaps the most obvious aromatherapy oil to reach for when you want that wonderfully fresh, penetrating respiratory aroma.
But there is now a little more behind its use in allergic rhinitis than tradition alone.
A 2025 systematic review looked specifically at eucalyptus oil in allergic rhinitis. Only three clinical trials met the inclusion criteria, so this is still a small evidence base, but the pooled results suggested an improvement in rhinitis-related quality of life. The evidence for improvement in total nasal symptom scores was less convincing. In other words, promising, but nowhere near enough to declare eucalyptus a treatment for hay fever.
There is also interesting experimental work around eucalyptus and its major constituent 1,8-cineole, including anti-inflammatory activity and effects on pathways involved in allergic responses. Again, mechanistic and animal research can't simply be translated into “sniff eucalyptus and it stops your allergy”, but it does help us understand why cineole-rich oils continue to attract respiratory research.
For our inhaler, I'm interested in eucalyptus for both that emerging evidence and its characteristic fresh respiratory aroma.
One formulation note if you're using dōTERRA oils: their current UK Eucalyptus isn't a bottle of pure Eucalyptus radiata. It's a blend containing Eucalyptus radiata, E. polybractea, E. kochii, E. loxophleba and E. globulus. That's absolutely fine for our aromatic formulation, but it's worth knowing what is actually in the bottle rather than automatically calling it Eucalyptus radiata.
Peppermint: The Curious Science of Menthol
Peppermint might be my favourite part of the science behind this inhaler.
Its characteristic cooling compound, menthol, activates cold-sensitive TRPM8 receptors in the nose, part of the trigeminal sensory system involved in how we perceive nasal airflow. Rather wonderfully, it seems that we don't simply judge how open our nose is by how much air is physically passing through it - the sensation of cooling across the nasal lining helps the brain interpret that airflow as easier, clearer breathing.
And researchers have demonstrated this effect repeatedly.
In human studies, people inhaling menthol report that their nose feels clearer and more open, despite there being no corresponding improvement in objectively measured nasal resistance. In another study, 16 of 18 participants reported improved nasal breathing after menthol inhalation, even though measured nasal airflow didn't significantly change.
In other words, peppermint can make a congested nose feel clearer without physically decongesting it.
I don't think that makes the effect any less useful. When your nose feels horribly blocked, the sensation of breathing more freely can be welcome in its own right.
And that's exactly why peppermint earns its place in our inhalers.
What About Lavender?
Lavender is perhaps the least obvious of our three choices.
There is some intriguing research around lavender and allergic inflammation. In one study, inhaled lavender essential oil reduced inflammatory cells, airway hyperresponsiveness and several inflammatory markers in an experimental model of allergic asthma. But this was a study in mice, not people with hay fever, so while the biology is interesting, it doesn't tell us that inhaling lavender will improve seasonal allergic rhinitis.
For me, lavender earns its place here for another reason too: we're making an aromatic formulation, not simply assembling a collection of active constituents. Eucalyptus and peppermint together can be incredibly sharp. Lavender softens and rounds that profile, bringing something gentler and more balanced to an inhaler we're actually going to want to use.
Choosing lavender also brings us neatly to a blend you may already know.
If you've ever searched for essential oils for hay fever, there's a good chance you've come across lavender, lemon and peppermint. It's become something of a classic aromatherapy allergy combination, appearing in diffusers, rollers and inhalers, often with the individual oils described as natural antihistamines.
So, naturally, I went looking for what sits behind it.
Peppermint we've already explored, and lavender has some interesting preliminary research, although neither gives us good reason to simply call the oil a “natural antihistamine” as I've so often heard and seen.
But what about the lemon?
This is where the evidence is harder to pin down. Despite lemon essential oil frequently being recommended for allergies, I haven't found convincing human clinical evidence showing that inhaled lemon essential oil itself acts as an antihistamine or improves hay fever.
That doesn't mean lavender, lemon and peppermint is a bad aromatherapy blend. Aromatically, it makes perfect sense: bright citrus, soft floral and cooling mint. And an absence of good clinical evidence isn't evidence that something doesn't work.
It simply means that, for this particular inhaler, I haven't found a compelling reason to add lemon simply because it traditionally appears in the trio.
Instead, lavender stays for what it genuinely brings to our formulation: an interesting, if still preliminary, research story of its own and an aromatic softness that beautifully balances the much sharper eucalyptus and peppermint.
Where Ravintsara Fits In
Remember that bottle of Ravintsara we left waiting in the wings earlier? This is where it comes back in.
Ravintsara's typically high 1,8-cineole content gives it that fresh, penetrating aromatic character that sits very naturally alongside the respiratory oils we've been exploring. It isn't simply interchangeable with eucalyptus - essential oils are much more than a single constituent - but in practical formulation terms, it gives us another lovely way to build the fresh, cineole-rich heart of an inhaler.
And personally, I really like it here.
To my nose, Ravintsara is softer and gentler than eucalyptus, while still giving us that beautifully fresh, clear aromatic quality. In a personal inhaler, where you're experiencing the oils immediately beneath your nose, I actually prefer it.
Which is why our Ravintsara blend became Soft + Clear - paired with lavender and just a touch of peppermint for a gentler take on our original formulation.
Three Late-Summer Allergy Inhalers
These formulations are intended for adult personal inhalers.
I'm keeping them at around 10–12 drops in total. You may see personal inhalers made with considerably more essential oil, but we don't need to saturate the wick simply because it can hold more. We're looking for an aroma that is clearly perceptible when the inhaler is brought beneath the nose, not maximum possible intensity.
Fresh + Clear
This is where I would start.
6 drops Eucalyptus
3 drops Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
2 drops Peppermint (Mentha × piperita)
Eucalyptus provides the fresh, cineole-rich backbone; peppermint adds that cooling perception of freer nasal airflow; lavender takes the hard edge off both.
If I were making one inhaler to keep in my handbag through August, this would probably be it.
Soft & Clear
If you have Ravintsara rather than eucalyptus, or simply want to explore it, try:
6 drops Ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora ct. 1,8-cineole)
4 drops Lavender
1 drop Peppermint
This is a slightly softer formulation. I've deliberately reduced the peppermint to one drop because I want to be able to smell the character of the Ravintsara rather than immediately flattening everything beneath menthol.
And remember: we're choosing Ravintsara here because of its own chemistry and aromatic character, not because we're pretending it's the Ravensara used in the allergic-rhinitis study.
Woodland Air
For something a little less medicinal-smelling:
4 drops Eucalyptus
3 drops Siberian Fir (Abies sibirica)
3 drops Lavender
1 drop Peppermint
This is the more aromatic, slightly more sophisticated blend of the three.
Siberian fir brings a fresh coniferous quality that sits beautifully between eucalyptus and lavender and makes the inhaler feel much more like walking through cool woodland than reaching for a chest rub.
I'm not including Siberian fir because I have evidence that it treats allergic rhinitis - I don't. I'm including it because aromatherapy is also the art of formulation, and because its fresh forest aroma changes the character of this blend completely.
Personal inhaler formulations vary, with professional aromatherapy sources commonly using around 10–20 drops on the wick. I've kept these blends to 10 drops: enough to give a good aromatic intensity without making the inhaler unnecessarily overpowering.
And if you only have two oils?
Please don't turn this into another reason to buy six more bottles. You could try:
6 drops Eucalyptus or Ravintsara
4 drops Lavender
Or, if peppermint is one of the oils you particularly enjoy:
8 drops Eucalyptus or Ravintsara
2 drops Peppermint
That's part of what I love about building a home apothecary: getting to know the oils you already have well enough that a recipe becomes a starting point, rather than another shopping list.
What About the Other Respiratory Oils?
Of course, eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender and Ravintsara aren't the only oils we could reach for here. Tea tree, cypress, rosemary, cardamom and the conifer oils all have their own places in contemporary respiratory aromatherapy, and there are countless ways we could take these inhalers depending on the oils we have and the aromatic experience we're looking for.
But one of the things I've tried to do throughout this article is distinguish between an oil having a tradition of respiratory use and having evidence specifically in allergic rhinitis. Those aren't necessarily the same thing.
So rather than trying to squeeze every potentially useful oil into three little inhalers, I've kept these formulations relatively simple and chosen each oil for a reason.
How to Make a Personal Aromatherapy Inhaler
If you've never used one of these before, they're wonderfully simple.
A blank aromatherapy inhaler has just a few basic parts: the inhaler body, absorbent cotton wick, base cap and outer lid. The essential oils are absorbed into the wick, which sits safely inside the inhaler body rather than coming into direct contact with your nose or skin.
You will need:
one blank aromatherapy inhaler with an absorbent cotton wick - these are the ones I use
your chosen essential oils
a small clean glass dish or other non-porous surface, if needed
clean tweezers, optional
a label
To make your inhaler
Gather your inhaler parts, separating the cotton wick from the inhaler body.
I find the easiest way to work is to stand the wick upright in the base cap while I add the oils. It holds it surprisingly neatly in place and means I can drop the oils directly onto the top and allow them to travel down into the wick. Alternatively, simply lay the wick in a small clean glass dish or on another non-porous surface.
Add your chosen essential oils drop by drop, giving them a moment to absorb into the wick.
Once the oils have soaked in, slide the wick into the inhaler body and push the base cap firmly into place. Replace the outer lid - and that's essentially it.
The final step is one I wouldn't skip: label it properly.
Write the name of your blend and the date you made it. If you're likely to make several inhalers, I'd also keep a note of the exact formulation somewhere. There is nothing more irritating than making something you absolutely love and having no idea what you put in it.
I've also made a short 40-second video below so you can see exactly how I put mine together - once you've seen it, you'll realise just how easy they are to make.
How to Use It
Remove the cap and hold the inhaler just beneath one nostril rather than inserting it into your nose. Take one or two gentle, normal breaths, then repeat on the other side if you wish.
Replace the cap tightly afterwards to slow evaporation.
You can use your inhaler as needed throughout the day, simply returning to it periodically when you want that fresh, clearer-breathing aromatic effect. There’s no need to use it on a fixed schedule or to sit inhaling from it continuously; one or two gentle breaths at a time is plenty.
And, as always, pay attention to how you respond. Stop using it if it causes irritation, coughing, headache, wheezing or makes your symptoms feel worse.
A Few Important Safety Notes
These particular formulations are intended for adults.
Essential oils are highly concentrated aromatic substances and inhalation isn't appropriate for everybody.
If you have asthma, highly reactive airways or know that fragranced products trigger respiratory symptoms, I'd be particularly cautious. Strong fragrances and volatile substances can provoke symptoms in susceptible people, and an essential-oil inhaler shouldn't be assumed to be harmless simply because its ingredients are natural.
Don't apply undiluted essential oils to the inside of your nose or nasal mucosa, and don't push the inhaler wick or tube up the nostril.
Pregnancy, significant respiratory disease and use in children deserve more individual consideration than I can sensibly build into a general recipe, so I'm deliberately keeping these formulations as adult blends.
And if an inhaler makes breathing worse, stop using it.
And Don't Forget the Less Exciting Things That Work
I love aromatherapy. But I don't think loving it requires us to make it responsible for jobs it can't do.
If pollen is driving your symptoms, reducing exposure still matters.
Check the pollen forecast. On high-pollen days, think about when you're opening windows and spending long periods outside. Changing clothes and showering after you've been outdoors can help remove pollen you've brought home with you.
And if you also need an antihistamine or steroid nasal spray, that doesn't mean you've somehow failed at the natural approach - or that your inhaler hasn't “worked”. They are doing different things. Your inhaler can be a lovely supportive tool for those stuffy, uncomfortable moments, while conventional allergy treatments are there when you need them too.
A home apothecary doesn't have to be an either/or.
Those treatments act on the allergic response in ways our little inhaler does not. If your symptoms are persistent, worsening, affecting sleep or everyday life, or aren't responding to pharmacy treatment, speak to your pharmacist or GP.
The inhaler belongs alongside sensible allergy management, not instead of it.
A Little More From the Home Apothecary?
If you'd like more seasonal recipes like this, you can join me by email.
I share a home-apothecary recipe, plant, aromatic formulation or seasonal make each week, along with the research, traditional knowledge and practical details that help you understand not just what to make, but why.
References & Further Reading
UK Pollen Seasons
Met Office. When is hay fever season in the UK?The Met Office identifies tree pollen season as approximately late March to mid-May, grass pollen from mid-May to July, and weed pollen from late June to September. It also explains how geography and weather influence pollen timing and levels.
Essential-Oil Inhalation and Allergic Rhinitis
Choi SY, Park K. Effect of inhalation of aromatherapy oil on patients with perennial allergic rhinitis: a randomized controlled trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2016;2016:7896081. doi:10.1155/2016/7896081.
Eucalyptus and Allergic Rhinitis
Hamayal M, Shahid W, Akhtar CH, Awwab M, Hussain S, Ahmad N. Effect of eucalyptus oil on symptoms of allergic rhinitis: a systematic review. Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery. 2025;77(2):967–974. doi:10.1007/s12070-024-05316-0.
Menthol, Nasal Airflow and the Sensation of Clearer Breathing
Eccles R, Jones AS. The effect of menthol on nasal resistance to air flow. Journal of Laryngology & Otology. 1983;97(8):705–709. doi:10.1017/S002221510009486X.
Eccles R, Griffiths DH, Newton CG, Tolley NS. The effects of menthol isomers on nasal sensation of airflow. Clinical Otolaryngology and Allied Sciences. 1988;13(1):25–29. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2273.1988.tb00277.x.
Pereira EJ, Sim L, Driver H, Parker CM, Fitzpatrick MF. The effect of inhaled menthol on upper airway resistance in humans: a randomized controlled crossover study. Canadian Respiratory Journal. 2013;20(1)–e4. doi:10.1155/2013/383019.
Chief Complaint: Nasal Congestion. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. 2024;12(6):1462–1471. doi:10.1016/j.jaip.2024.04.028.
Lavender and Allergic Airway Inflammation
Ueno-Iio T, Shibakura M, Yokota K, Aoe M, Hyoda T, Shinohata R, Kanehiro A, Tanimoto M, Kataoka M. Lavender essential oil inhalation suppresses allergic airway inflammation and mucous cell hyperplasia in a murine model of asthma. Life Sciences. 2014;108(2):109–115. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2014.05.018.
Ravensara and Ravintsara
Ranarivelo L, Ramanoelina P, Juliani HR, Simon JE. Characterization of essential oils from Cinnamomum camphora T. Nees & Eberm. and Ravensara aromatica Sonnerat from Madagascar. ACS Symposium Series. 2009;1021:391–400. doi:10.1021/bk-2009-1021.ch022.
Andrianoelisoa H, Menut C, Danthu P. Ravensara aromatica ou Ravintsara: une confusion qui perdure parmi les distributeurs d'huiles essentielles en Europe et en Amérique du Nord. Phytothérapie. 2012;10(3):161–169. doi:10.1007/s10298-012-0703-4.
Conventional Allergic-Rhinitis Treatment
NHS. Allergic rhinitis.
NHS guidance covers the symptoms and causes of allergic rhinitis, allergen avoidance, pharmacy treatments and circumstances in which further medical assessment may be appropriate. Treatments include antihistamines and corticosteroid nasal sprays.
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