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Essential
Oil Safety Precautions
Essential
oils are wonderful healing substances, but they are highly concentrated
and can be potentially hazardous if missed. So before you begin to experiment
with essential oils, do please read the safety guidelines given here.
• Keep bottles out of reach of children
• Unsupervised skin applications of essential oils on babies and young
children is not recommended. It is safer to use plain almond oil for massage,
and/or to vaporise low concentrations (2-3 drops) of appropriate oils
according to need. For children over the age of 5, use half the usual
adult concentration of essential oil. Where there is the slightest doubt,
please seek the advice of a qualified aromatherapist.
• Certain oils are best avoided during pregnancy. Always check the Considerations
note in the Essential Oil Profiles – chapter 5 for any contra-indications.
Generally, use essential oils in the lowest recommended quantities. If
in doubt, seek the advice of a qualified aromatherapist.
• Nursing mothers should use essential oils in the lowest recommended
quantities, as strong aromas can cause sleeplessness and irritability
in babies. If in doubt seek the advice of a qualified aromatherapist.
Avoid jasmine absolute as it may inhibit milk production.
• People with epilepsy are advised to avoid the following oils: fennel,
hyssop, rosemary, sage. There is a remote chance that these oils may provoke
a seizure in people predisposed to the condition.
• Keep essential oils away from varnished surfaces as they may dissolve
the coating.
• Keep essential oils away from the eyes. Should any seep in, rinse with
plenty of water, If this does not work, half-fill an eye bath with sweet
almond oil and bathe the eye. Oil is the best medium for diluting essential
oils.
• Never take essential oils by mouth, rectum (suppository) or vagina (pessary
or douche). Although such methods are advocated by French aromatherapy
doctors and clinical aromatherapists, unsupervised self-treatment is potentially
risky.
• Essential oils should always be diluted before applying to skin. However,
tea tree and lavender are occasionally applied neat to treat spots, insect
bites and minor burns.
• Avoid steam inhalations if you suffer from asthma. Concentrated steam
may trigger an attack.
• Citrus oils, especially bergamot, increase the skin’s sensitivity to
ultra violet light, so don’t use on the skin within 12 hours of exposure
to sunlight (or a sunbed) as they can cause unsightly pigmentation. It
is possible to obtain a rectified bergamot oil labelled ‘Bergamot FCF’
(see page 40) which is virtually free of photosensitising agents.
• Avoid prolonged use of the same oil (i.e. daily for more than three
months) as there is a slight risk of developing a sensitivity to it. Take
a two-month break before using the same oil again.
• If you suffer from sensitive skin, carry out a 24-hour patch test (page
19) before using any essential oil for the first time (see below). However,
if you suffer from eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis or food allergies,
it is essential to seek the advice of a qualified aromatherapist before
embarking on treatment with essential oils. It may even be necessary to
avoid aromatherapy altogether, and perhaps consult a homoeopath or medical
herbalist.
• If you are having homoeopathic treatment, do seek the advice of your
homoeopath before embarking on aromatherapy. Most strongly aromatic substances
have the potential to negate the effects of homoeopathic remedies, though
peppermint and eucalyptus are cited as particularly likely to do so.
• Never use an essential oil about which you can find little or no information.
Patch
Test For Sensitive Skin
When
using essential oils for the first time, it is advisable to carry out
a patch test especially if you have sensitive skin or suffer from allergies.
Mix 3 drops of the test essential oil in a teaspoonful of your chosen
carrier oil (e.g. almond, sunflower). Or, if using a blend of essential
oils (as is most common in aromatherapy), you will need to test the mixture
as a whole. Rub a little of the oil in the crook of your arm, behind your
ear or on the inside of your wrist (supersensitive spots). Leave uncovered
and unwashed for 24 hours. If there is no redness or itching, the oil
is safe for you to use.
Using
this method it’s also possible to test three essential oils (or blends)
at the same time. But you will need to keep an accurate record of the
oils used and where they were applied. For example, one test oil applied
to the wrist, another behind the ear and another in the crook of the arm.
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