My husband and I sleep with at least one of our bedroom windows cracked open when our furnace is running otherwise our sinuses become dust bowl brittle and we awake with horrible headaches, dry skin and stuffed up noses.

One of those windows is directly behind our headboard and at some point in the night last night, he must have felt a raindrop blow in through the open crack at the top and he popped up in bed and shut it. I had previously shut the other window just before bed because there was enough air coming through the one window, I didn’t think we needed them both open. I glanced at the clock and saw it was just after 2 a.m. and thought, it won’t be long before we are up; no problem. I went back to sleep.

Sure enough, at 5 a.m. I rolled over and realized I could not breathe through my nose. And my head was splitting!

Two things went through my mind; the humidifier is probably out of water and I forgot to use my Magical Sinus Inhaler yesterday. It’s not really magical, but for me it sure feels that way. I especially like it because it’s inexpensive and extremely effective and I haven’t found one person for whom it doesn’t work or who doesn’t like it.

So what in the world is it? One of these:

Sort of an odd, rude looking item. Remember the Vicks Inhalers. Same thing only better. Using real essential oils instead of synthetic ones, you get a very effective way to manage that annoying nose issue.

So, which oils? You can adapt and adjust this mixture as you wish by adding eucalyptus or wintergreen or frankincense… but I am very happy with a simple trio of oils — lemon, lavender and peppermint.

You can order the nasal inhalers from a number of places: Aromatools, My Oil Business, even Amazon. I like the ones from Aromatools and My Oil Business because you can remove the bottom cap and easily replace the cotton wick or just add more oil. The ones I got from Amazon are a little more difficult to close tightly and once closed, seem not to want to open again easily. If you Google nasal inhalers you can find other places to purchase and some come with labels and in pretty colors. If I were giving these as gifts to women, I might go with the pretty colors. For guys, I stick with the white ones.

So here is the recipe: Put the nasal inhaler inside the cover with the bottom upward. Drop in the cotton wick. Drip two to three drops each of lavender, lemon and peppermint onto the wick inside the tube. Don’t add too much or it will overfill the wick and run out into the cap. Close all your oil bottles. Snap the bottom onto the inhaler and give it a little shake… not hard, just enough to roll the wick around inside and let it soak up any stray oil droplets.

Remove the cap and place (not insert) the opening at the top of the inhaler at the opening of one nostril. Sort of cover the nostril with the tip of the inhaler but do not insert it into your nose. Hold the other nostril closed and for the count of 5, breathe in through the nostril with the inhaler. Switch nostrils and repeat. You can do this once or maybe three times on each side depending on your level of need.

For myself, using my little Magical Sinus Inhaler twice daily (morning and night) keeps me from experiencing misery inside my sinuses. Like many folks, when I’m feeling fine, I forget… until I’m not fine… like this morning.

But in just 10 minutes, my nose was functioning again and an added single drop of peppermint on my fingertips dabbed under each eye and across the back of my neck took care of the rest of it.

A word of warning, peppermint under the eyes WILL cause your eyes to water profusely to the point people will ask why you are crying. For me, it releases sinus tension. This may not work for everyone, but worth a try is you are not wearing mascara and your face hurts.