My daughter posted something about this on FB. My bullshit meter pegged immediately, as pretty much all holistic treatments are nonsense. I pretty much said this to her and I’m expecting to get a big blowback on it.
I couldn’t find anything on Google that supported using oils to treat allergies other than from the companies selling it. If anybody has a cite with scientific proof that they work, or a cite that debunks the notion, I’d appreciate hearing about it.
Bump.
I think there’s a reason you’re not getting any replies to this.
Eh. I had a co-worker that swore that gargling with olive oil kept her from getting colds and flu. I remain unconvinced.
Woo, woo, woo, woo - stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive - woo, woo, woo, woo, woooooo.
Can you get any more specific? Just about any living thing, and many minerals, could be the source of an essential oil. Which oil, in particular, does she think combats which allergy, in particular?
I could imagine someone suspending ground-up Claritin tablets in olive oil. I bet that would work against nasal allergy symptoms.
Essential oils are not essential to life. They are the “essence” of the plant from which they are derived. I think some believers may be confused by the use of the word essential. The pressed oils of a plant may or may not contain pollen, but in order to gain any degree of immunity via exposure one would need the pollen that is the source of one’s complaint as well as one from the region of exposure.
Some applications of certain essential oils have been tested in a laboratory setting and found to be valid. Tea tree and lavender oils have applications in skin care. Pine and rosemary oils can be used as deodorants. Many essential oils are good antiseptics. But saying, “essential oils are good for allergies” is meaningless. Some might help relieve allergy symptoms (for example, by helping clear a stuffy nose), but their effects vary widely. Some may even trigger allergies; if you’re allergic to cloves, avoid clove essential oil!
The ones shown in her post are Lavender, Peppermint, and some things called RC, Immunopower (:rolleyes:), Harmony and Raven. That last one gives me pause for thought. Directions include things like:
WTF?
Here’s a link to what the OP actually asked for:
Scroll to the section “There’s Hardly Any Science Behind Essential Oils” for links to more articles.
Also an article specifically on oil of oregano: Oil of Oregano | Science-Based Medicine
That looks pretty bad. Could be allergies.
I used to buy little chapstick-sized tubes of lavender oil. They basically had a sponge inside impregnated with oil, and a hole in the top which allowed you to “sniff” the oil really hard. It hurt like crazy, but would also shrink up swollen nasal tissues like salt on a slug.
The last time I tried to buy it though they had changed the formulation. I left the store and opened the package at a traffic light (was headachey and desperate) and took a big whiff.
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
Whatever ws in there felt like pure capsaicin. Seriously, you could have sprayed this stuff at a mugger it was so strong. I recovered much more quickly than the time I got sprayed with tear gas, but the pain and tearing and etc. were basically the same.
I still have to say though, when I finished crying I felt much better, and the effect lasted until the next morning. I’m pretty sure that’s because my body had completely run out of the raw ingredients to make more mucus.
Peppermint oil may be useful for indigestion/irritable bowel syndrome. There’s a kitchen sink full of other suggested uses, which are lacking in supporting evidence. As for this suggestion:
Hilarious.
Good luck tapping your thymus with any finger or tool. Apart from the silliness of thinking this is a necessary step in essential oil application, you’d be lucky getting within a few inches of your thymus, if indeed you have macroscopically detectable thymus tissue left in your body (it typically atrophies into relative nothingness in adulthood).
Besides, these application suggestions have it dead wrong. You need to have the oil rubbed on your skin by a polygamous Lithuanian with a full head of hair, during the hours of 1 to 3 a.m., then jump up and down to the tune of “Gimme Dat Ding” until you become dizzy or the neighbors complain.
The site won’t load, for some reason.
have you tried rubbing lavender oil on your screen?
Rest of the post: Hilarious. But one important detail: Please don’t apply straight peppermint essential oil to skin! It is extremely irritating, basically feeling “so cold it burns”. Then you rub your eyes and… yikes.
OK, back to crumping with Lithuanians for medicinal purposes.
I have a cunning plan for destroying all creation: I shall abolish all essential oils. Because, you know… they’re essential… for life… and stuff.
My basic rule of thumb is that any medical or dietary advice that comes to you via Facebook meme is essentially woo. I don’t necessarily SAY that to the Facebook faces of the people who post it, because that’s a good way to make people mad at me.
Ah, well see, that’s a difference between us: I don’t give a rat’s ass about making someone mad. I’m hoping that by debunking the bullshit that she’ll stop posting it.
I’m trained in aromatherapy (the use of essential oils) and use essential oils a lot.
That Facebook meme makes me stabby.
First of all, what **xnylder **said. Essential oils aren’t essential to our life (although they’re essential to the life of the plant while they’re alive!) they’re any one of dozens of oil or alcohol soluble compounds like phenols and aldehydes and other sciencey stuff. What they all have in common is that they aren’t water soluble (so they got the moniker “oil”, even though none of them are oils) and they have a strong odor.
Odor is a strong but largely unstudied method of tapping your brain. Specifically, your amygdala, the seat of emotionally based memory. So essential oils can be used to alter mood and aid recall of emotional events. They can also be used to help you learn stuff - sniff some rosemary while studying, and you may recall more on your test if you sniff some rosemary during your test.
Some essential oils are good for soothing skin irritation from topical allergies. Lavender and German chamomile are common ones for this. But if you’re allergic to a plant, you run a very high risk of being allergic to its essential oil, so care is warranted.
Some essential oils are good for clearing out nasal congestion from allergies or colds. I’m partial to a combo of grapefruit and eucalyptus for this.
Peppermint essential oil in a great quantity of water, shaken before every sip (remember, not water soluble) is good for upset stomachs, except when it makes them worse. Live and learn. I’ve also had great luck with it - diluted - rubbed on the temples to relieve headaches.
Which leads me to the most important part of this post: essential oils should be well diluted before you put them on your skin. Yes, even peppermint and lavender. We used to say you could use peppermint and lavender “neat” (undiluted) but that’s no longer recommended. Whether it’s because there’s more adulteration in lavender essential oil today, or because every other lotion, potion, soap and shampoo has lavender in it and we’re being overexposed, skin irritation from lavender is increasing in recent years. And peppermint essential oil contains menthol, which at low doses gives skin a cool sensation, and at high doses can cause chemical burns.
Essential oils can be diluted in actual oils, called carrier oils (olive, canola, jojoba, etc.), or in lotion before being applied to the skin. They can be put into a little milk or epsom salts and then into a bath. But never, never, never put them directly on your skin undiluted.