The Dark Side Of Essential Oils: Jeopardizing Kids

Be it allergy or depression, natural remedies are always popular and preferable among parents as compared to artificial creams or medications. Most of these natural remedies are natural oils used in various treatments.

According to a poison center in Tennessee, kids are at higher risks of ingesting or improperly dosing on essential oils. But how can this be harmful? It is! Accidental poisoning from essential oils can be dangerous for children.

Health Day reports that in last five years, toxic exposure to different kinds of oils used in a myriad of homeopathic and aromatic products has doubled. It's only logical to wonder why are oils poisonous if they are natural?

According to The Parents, Vanderbilt University Medical Center's certified specialist, Dr. Justin Loden reported that "the dose makes the poison, so all essential oils are potentially harmful." He added that when children try swallowing oil but end up choking on it, a little dose of it peeks its way into the lungs. This is the normative cause of pneumonia. Only half a teaspoon of oil can make one choke.

Parents should note that all oils carry this risk, especially clove, lavender, camphor, thyme, eucalyptus, tea and wintergreen oils. As far as ingestion is concerned, the risk of poisoning can be greatly reduced by avoiding overuse of oils.

An overdose of oil, a tea-spoon, can cause terrible symptoms for the victim. The mild effects include agitation, chemical burns, breathing problems whereas the severe effects range from hallucinations and seizures to liver failure and even swelling of the brain.

It's very important for parents to keep their oil stored in enclosed cabinets, away from the reach of little kids who have a tendency of exploring every shelf and corner. Natural oil may be healthy but only if taken in small quantities. Even in a lot of food, one should avoid pouring in a lot of oil. The lesser the healthier!