"While eucalyptus isn't a magic bullet that'll wipe out all mutant viruses and bacteria, I can tell you from firsthand experience that it may be your best defense against the illnesses these pathogens can cause."

"On one of my trips to Australia a couple of months ago, the winter flu season was in full swing. A particularly bad strain was going around, and after about a week I was suffering along with everyone else."...."Everyone I encountered had succumbed to this flu with the notable exception of two cleaning ladies in one of the large buildings where I was working.".... "However, when I looked closer, I saw that they always carried a small rag that had been doused with the oil of eucalyptus."

"By the way, these cleaning ladies never caught the flu, though they were exposed to it throughout the winter months. When I questioned the ladies, they told me that one of their grandfathers had used eucalyptus oil to ward of flu since World War I. At that time, a military base had apparently experienced a flu epidemic so severe that solders were dying from it. To stop the problem, authorities sealed off one of the barracks and sprayed down the interior with eucalyptus oil. Then they placed all the soldiers in that building for a day. This action reportedly stopped the epidemic in 24 hours."

"Based on my personal experience, the story certainly seems plausible. Eucalyptus oil can be toxic if taken internally, but breathing the oil's fumes will likely allow its bactericidal components to knock out infections in the nasal passages, sinuses, bronchial tubes, and lungs. Some of the more volatile compounds in the fumes could plausibly enter the bloodstream by way of the lungs, so eucalyptus oil might be helpful in other types of infections as well."

Reference: Dr. David G. Williams, article entitled "New Uses for An Age-old Therapy" in the publication entitled "Alternatives For the Health Conscious Individual", Mountain Home Publishing, Rockville, MD, Vol. 8, No. 4, October, 1999, pages 25-27.