Essential Oils- Benefits, Side Effects, & Safety Tips

Please note that I am not a doctor and the information contained in this article should not be considered medical advice. I am including a list of articles and studies at the end of this article that include sources of the information contained in this article. Please consult with your doctor or pharmacist with any medical questions and concerns that you may have.

What are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are highly concentrated oils extracted from flowers, leaves, roots, and other parts of plants, usually by steam distillation (a process that involves applying steam until the oil vaporizes). People use essential oils for many reasons including: insomnia, acne treatment, stress and pain management and congestion. There are many different types of oils, each with their own benefits.

There are many ways to use essential oils including: inhalation (through a diffuser, steam inhalation or applying a drop or two of the oil to a cotton ball, tissue, or handkerchief and placing it nearby, or even in a plug in air freshener) or topical use (massage/spa treatment, compress, soap, lotion, shampoo, bath salts, and candles). Essential oils typically are added to a carrier oil for topical use through massage or used in a diffuser. Essential oils typically should not be taken internally.

Benefits of Essential Oils

Things That Essential Oils Can Be Used For:

Sleeping Problems
Pain management
Reduction of anxiety and stress
Natural air freshener
Cleaning products
Weight loss
Digestion
Acne
Muscle spasms
High blood pressure

There are many other uses for essential oils, these are just the most commonly used.

A Survey of Essential Oil Users

While researching this article I came across many other surveys/trials/papers on benefits/side effects of using these oils, so I decided to conduct my own.

From the responses I received, most had been using essential oils for several months up to six years with success in treating anxiety, depression, headaches, nausea, insomnia, pain management and muscle aches/inflammation. Oils most frequently used were peppermint, lavender, and eucalyptus. Many used products with mixed oils including soaps, creams, and shower gels, as well as oils used in diffusers.

Most indicated there had been no side effects for them. However, a few reported that the oils had no effect and two reported adverse reactions.

The two that reported adverse reactions stated that their children (one a toddler and the other a teenager) became aggressive and experienced mood swings while using lavender essential oils. I always thought lavender was calming, but I also came across another account online of someone having a similar response as well.

Most of my respondents reported the best results from massaging in the essential oil or through a diffuser. One also mentioned having great results though a rollerball on the stomach to relieve nausea. Another respondent also used a soap made from a combination of essential oils in the morning and a topical cream from essential oils in the evening for eczema treatment and was showing significant progress. Another respondent raved over how well a topical cream containing essential oils helped her migraines. Both respondents with adverse reactions to the essential oils were using diffusers.

As a user myself of essential oils with success and several friends that had success with essential oils, I decided to dig deeper after these results and see if anyone else had experienced side effects.

Side Effects to Essential Oils

I had always been told that essential oils are perfectly safe and had no side effects. Upon research I discovered that in most cases this is true, but like with any medication there is always a risk of side effects.

Amanda Lattin, chair of aromatherapy at the American College of Healthcare Sciences, says how a person reacts to aromatherapy is very individualized. “It’s absolutely true that what works for one person may not work for another, or could even have the opposite effect.”

Side effects vary from oil to oil, but some cases have been reported. And while rare, several people have reported chemical burns, allergic reactions, respiratory issues, and other side effects from essential oil use.

The Atlantic Institute for Aromatherapy collected online injury reports from essential oil usage to treat vaginal yeast infections. Since Fall of 2013, it has found more than 268, ranging from mild rashes and anaphylactic shock to internal chemical burns. In 2017 alone, 55 people, including five children and two pregnant women, reported serious reactions.

Some essential oils have been known to make the skin sensitive to the sun. Many citrus oils contain furocoumarins, which can cause chemical burns when exposed to the sun’s UV rays. Bergamot, typically used as a natural antiseptic, has been frequently known to make skin particularly sensitive to the sun. It is recommended to avoid sunlight for 12 hours after using it on your skin, even if it’s diluted.

Rachael Armstrong, a 44-year-old mother of five from Omaha, NE, after weeks of rubbing grapefruit oil on her feet as an appetite suppressant and spiking her water and laundry detergent with lemon oil, she developed a severe sensitivity to the sun that left her with blisters and welts after just a few minutes exposed to its rays.

If an essential oil is found in a skin or hair care product, use it according to label directions. Stop using it immediately if a rash or other skin reaction occurs and gently wash it off. A patch test should always be done when using a new essential oil to see if you are allergic to the oil. Individuals can have allergic reactions to essential oils, just like any other medicines and products. One person can be allergic to something even if others don’t have an allergic reaction.

Patch tests allow you to see how your skin reacts to a particular oil before full exposure. Follow the steps below to perform a patch test to determine how your skin will react or if you have any allergies to the product.

Wash your arm with unscented soap.
Pat dry.
Rub a few drops of diluted essential oil into the cleaned and dried spot on your arm.
Wait 24 hours.
Remove the gauze.

If the skin patch is red, itchy, blistering, or swollen, you have had an adverse reaction to the oil and should discontinue use. If you experience discomfort before the 24-hour period ends, immediately wash the area with soap and warm water and do not use the product any further.

Safety Tips for Using Essential Oils

Contrary to what several essential oil companies recommend, the oils generally should not be swallowed. The body absorbs more this way, boosting the chance that they will interact with medications or cause an allergic or toxic reaction. Continuous exposure to small amounts (a few drops a day in a water bottle) can lead to fatigue and headaches. In larger amounts, certain oils like tea tree oil, wintergreen, and camphor can lead to throat swelling, a racing heart, vomiting, and even seizures, says the Tennessee Poison Center, which saw the number of toxic essential oil exposures double from 2011 to 2015.

Drinking from the bottle of oil of wintergreen can be deadly. Because oil of wintergreen is rapidly absorbed, children can become dangerously ill very quickly. Swallowing oil of wintergreen is said to be similar to swallowing a large number of adult aspirin. A teaspoon of wintergreen oil can cause rapid labored breathing, fever and — in severe cases — organ failure and death.

Eucalyptus can be used for its soothing effects when inhaled if you have a cold or cough. If swallowed, eucalyptus oil can cause seizures. If a large amount of sage oil is ingested, this oil can cause restlessness, vomiting, vertigo, rapid heart rate, tremors, seizures, and kidney damage.

A teaspoon of camphor oil can cause seizures in children under 5 if swallowed, according to Nena Bowman, managing director of the Tennessee Poison Center. Even as little as half a teaspoon of eucalyptus, lavender and tea tree oils can cause sedation and difficulty breathing in little ones, Dr. Bowman said.

If someone swallows an essential oil, or a product containing essential oils, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away. Poison Control will help you figure out if this could be dangerous and will tell you exactly what to do.

Essential oils like eucalyptus and peppermint contain compounds called phenol that can irritate the respiratory tract if inhaled, particularly in babies. Peppermint especially should never be used on infants or small children as it can cause life-threatening breathing problems.

Never diffuse essential oils in classrooms or in public spaces. Don’t diffuse essential oils around infants under 6 months old. When diffusing oils, use these safety precautions:

Follow proper dilution guidelines.
Make sure you diffuse in a well-ventilated area.
Diffuse for no longer than 30-minutes at a time.

For pregnant women, even oils used on the skin can enter the placenta and impact an unborn baby. Swallowing pennyroyal can lead to miscarriage. Sage oil, which is often used for its calming properties and skin benefits shouldn’t be used by pregnant women as some evidence suggests it could induce contractions.

Joie Power, PhD, a neuropsychologist and aromatherapist, said, “Essential oils, properly used, are safe and effective for many routine issues, but I continue to hear of bad, even dangerous, reactions from people who are grossly misusing them,” says Power. “People are being hurt by following some of the inappropriate advice that’s being given out there.”

People like, Stacey Haluka, a 47-year-old from Ontario, Canada who was introduced to essential oils during an in-home presentation. The “wellness advocate” stated that essential oils are harmless natural remedies that can treat everything from minor skin irritations and mood swings to autism. The wellness advocate said they were so pure that they could be safely ingested and liberally applied. She infused her water with citrus oils for detoxification and used lavender on her skin to relieve stress. She developed a rash on her forearm and was told by a salesperson to rub frankincense oil on it, which she did. After a few months, Haluka noticed raised welts on her abdomen and the back of her neck. This progressed to swollen eyes and oozing blister on her face. She was diagnosed by emergency room doctors with a severe toxic reaction to essential oils and put on steroids.

Unlike prescription and over-the-counter drugs, the makers of essential oils do not have to prove to the Food and Drug Administration that their products are safe and effective, or even that they contain what they say they do on the label. By law, oil makers are not allowed to advertise that their products can prevent or treat disease. However, over the past five years, the F.D.A. has issued more than half a dozen warning letters to companies, including two of the largest – doTerra and Young Living, marketing cosmetic products containing essential oils, or the oils themselves.

Since essential oils are generally are not regulated, it can be hard to know exactly what is in the bottle – what species of plant, what concentration of active ingredient, or whether there are any contaminants.

When purchasing an essential oil from a reputable brand the label should include:

the plant’s Latin name
country of origin
date of production

Brands should also have more information on their websites, including details about the tests they conduct to ensure their products meet certain standards.

Reading labels and using the product as directed on the label, getting your products from a reliable source, and patch testing are recommended for safety in the use of essential oils.

Always read up on your state’s current regulations and notices to keep up to date and before purchasing new products as these are always changing and the rules are not all the same state to state.