As someone who's advised not to use decongestants much because of the medication I'm on, dealing with trying to sleep when you have a cold is sometimes quite hard and that's where Olbas oil comes in incredibly handy. Unlike most decongestants you don't poke it up your nose to inhale it, you don't squirt it up there either, or take it in tablet form or anything. In fact, you don't get it anywhere closer to you than on a bit of tissue near the bed.

For me, the snuffles are generally something that just happens when I have a cold, and it's normally then when I bring out the Olbas oil. However, although it's only April, I'm noticing that the heat and pollen is high the last couple of days, and my eyes are a bit less comfy than normal, and my nose is a bit stuffier than it should be. It's not like having full blown hayfever which I used to get as a kid and grew out of thank goodness, it's just a bit of a mild irritation that I could do without, and only comes on at the worst times. I've shoved some drops in my eyes today however, and tonight I'll pop some Olbas oil on a tissue and I know it will help me to breathe more clearly and to sleep well which for me is even more important than for most people because I have fibromyalgia and if I don't sleep well, I am more liable to flare ups.

Olbas oil can be bought in little 10ml bottles in most chemists. It can also be bought in bigger 50ml bottles but not all chemists stock this size. If you can get the larger bottles though, it does usually work out quite a lot cheaper, and as the stuff is pretty long lived, it keeps well enough that you don't need to worry about wasting it. I don't think it's particularly expensive at around £2-3 for 10ml or £8-10 for 50ml especially as you do only use 3 or 4 drops at a time.

The bottle is quite dark so you can't see much of what's inside which is a bit of a pain when you're trying to hold it up to see how much is left, but otherwise is fine. The label and the box it comes in are in bright green and orange colours which make it very nice and easy to spot on the shelf when you're hunting for it - most useful if you're feeling poorly at the time.

Olbas oil is a blend of various natural plant oils including; clove oil, eucalyptus, juniper berry and cajuput. For me this is great because although I have some medications which I have to use, I do prefer to avoid chemicals when I can, so to have something so natural to use that really works is brilliant, and this really does work. It leaves me feeling much less stuffy of the nose, and also seems to help clear some of the brain fogged feeling that often goes with a head cold too. Doesn't do much for watery eyes lol but doesn't make them worse unless you get it right up in your face which there's no need to.

It's not advised for use for kids, but they do a kid friendly version that can be used from 3mths so that babies and young'uns can benefit too. I would think you'd want to keep the tissue with it on well out of the way however as you never know what littleuns will pop in their mouth!

Overall, I'd say this is one product I wouldn't want to be without. I always keep a bottle in the cupboard at home, and we use it liberally in this house when we're bunged up whatever the reason.