‘I think I may be having a reaction—I am having a hard time breathing–I have been using Lemongrass on my solar plexus—please call me!” When I heard this message it was evening and I called my client immediately only to learn that she was in the emergency room of a local hospital and had been there for the entire day!
“They tested me for everything-heart attack, stroke-I had tests all day and they couldn’t find anything! I think it must have been the essential oil”, she said and indeed it was the essential oil!
She proceeded to tell me while on her way home that she had a pimple on her solar plexus and began treating it three days ago with a drop of undiluted cymbopogon citrates-lemongrass-directly on the pimple three times a day. After applying the undiluted essential oil on the morning of third day she was stricken with breathlessness and overall feelings of severe illness. When I did not return her call that morning, she headed for the emergency room.
When I asked her why she applied the essential oil undiluted, she replied, “I thought you could apply it undiluted or was that lavender? “Lavender” I said “and only in an emergency such as a burn.” Thank goodness she was much better the next day and recovered without any residual symptoms but the incident caused excessive stress on her body, mind and spirit. In addition, she lost time at work and I did have the courage to ask what the Emergency Room charge was!
At this writing she is fine but I remain quite concerned. It seems to me that one of the first concepts I teach is ‘do not apply essential oils undiluted to the skin, except lavender angustifolia and ONLY in an emergency such as a burn or bite’ but worry that I have not made the danger perfectly clear . So let me make it very clear now—DO NOT USE ANY ESSENTIAL OIL UNDILUTED ON YOUR SKIN!
In the past month I spoke with one of my graduates, a nurse who uses lavender angustifolia almost on a daily basis with her patients and has for the past three to four years. She places one drop of undiluted lavender on a cotton ball for diffusion or mixes it in oil for body rubs. She has developed a sensitivity to lavender and I suspect it is because the undiluted oils touch her finger tips daily. ( It is best to wear gloves when working with essential oils and please, dilute all of your essential oils in a carrier and use only diluted oils.) Currently she is mixing lavender with other essential oils which helps with the sensitivity.
Both of these incidents have left me feeling greatly concerned for those who use essential oils and have challenged me to heighten reinforcement of diluting all essential oils before use.
This past weekend I have heard repeatedly of people putting undiluted essential oils on their cats for ticks. Let me say this—DO NOT APPLY ANY ESSENTIAL OILS ON CATS! And DO NOT APPLY UNDILUTED ESSENTIAL OILS ON DOGS. FYI-Cats are not small dogs and cannot be treated as such and dogs and not small humans and need essential oils diluted before application.
Having said that, let me say this—CHILDREN ARE NOT SMALL ADULTS AND REQUIRE DIFFERENT DOSING–You cannot give your child the same dose you give yourself!
Essential oils are incredible healing gifts from our aromatic plants but they are chemicals and cannot be used without directions and caution.
So please, dilute your essential oils and ask questions before you use them if you are unsure. You can call me or email to ask questions, no matter where you’ve purchased your essential oils.
If you have never taken an aromatherapy class, you may want to think about that. Please see class offerings and call me to schedule a time that suits you, your friends or family.
Be safe, be happy, be wise.
Blessings,
Cheryl
Now that I think about it, it was those darn fairy tales that my mother used to read to me that ended with ‘and they lived happily ever after’ that really messed with my mind and life perceptions. I realize that for much of my life I have been looking for that “I have made it place” where everything is in order and life goes just as you plan.