# Essential Oils - Safe for Infants?



## cynthia mosher (Aug 20, 1999)

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Essential oils safe for infants?

This topic was originally posted in this forum: Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Author Topic: Essential oils safe for infants?
logansmom
Member posted 07-31-2001 08:11 AM
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I make my own baby wipes using a recipe I got online that called for the use of lavender essential oil for its antiseptic properties (and yummy scent!). It is about time I ordered more oil, and would like a change of fragrance, but I still want something that is antiseptic and safe for my 9 month-old's skin.
Any suggestions?

Katrina

madison
Member posted 08-01-2001 02:37 PM
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I've seen it in lots of homemade babywipe recipes - I suppose it depends on how much you use? I have a recipe at home I was planning on using. Hope someone who *knows* the answer answers your question!

OceanMomma
Member posted 08-07-2001 04:40 PM
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Hiya
The whole aromatherapy thing is very cloudy. There's like so much mis information out there. People write whole books of c**p about it. They're very pretty books & sound wonderful but they are basically novels. Which I can tell you I was slutted when I found out. A whole heap of people will vehenemanetly ( sp ? ) deny this so it's really your call. I can point you to a web site if you wish.

The BIGGEST risk you run is causing skin sensitisation. The more you use an oil, the more likely this is to happen. With babies you have to be extra careful since they have such delicate skin. Think how many times you wipe their butt every day. Also do you have any atopic genes in your family ie is the baby related to anyone with asthma, excema, psoriasis, hayfever etc. ? coz that can contribute significantly to a skin sensitivity happening.

I use just plain water on Saffron. If I think she's having a slightly red butt, I use the tinsiest, insiest bit of cider vinegar in the water with a tiny bit of tea tree dissolved in it. By tiny I mean like about 1 drop per 100ml of vinegar. So the sum total of essential oil she is getting is probably a hundred thousandth of a drop. You could use lavender in this situation as well. So far we've been using this method for 2 months & I'd say I do the vinegar thing maybe once very 2 weeks, if that, & we're sweet.

If I want a yummy scent I just put a bit of lavender or other yummy essential oil blend on something with heat & I can pretend & not risk giving her something she doesn't want !!! Besides bf babies smell so beautiful anyway I really don't need to cover up her smell

lampe
Member posted 08-08-2001 06:02 AM
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Lavender is a great oil, use it sparingly mixed with a carrier oil, like grape seed or almond. About 3 drops to a palm full of carrier. May I suggest Young Living Essential Oils? They are organic and oxigenate the areas and are far superior to what is sold in the health food stores. They have a web site. check them out to learn more about the oils and how to use them.
I have found that my whole family benenfits from using essential oils. We use them daily. I use them with my dd and have since her birth, she is 18 mos.

Good luck,

beth

ps. oops - i have my little one here so it's harder to concentrate and write...another oil that has antiseptic properties is frankincense use a few drops with a carrier oil for your wipes i think that will work.

[This message has been edited by lampe (edited 08-08-2001).]

OceanMomma
Member posted 08-08-2001 12:53 PM
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Argh!!!!! not young living essential oils. The oils themselves I think may be OK now quality wise but from memory are quite expensive. You can get better oils far cheaper on line.
I must add tho' that I don't live in the US. But I used to be on an aromatherapy email list that was primarily based in the US & there was a whole heap of ho har about the company. They recommend some very dodgy practises like raindrop therapy for example & things like neat essential oils down ears to cure deafness, neat oils for cancer & so on. All a bit dubious if you ask me...

I knew a lady who was a massage therapist who suddenly got the most terrible excema. Tried everything for ages & it kept getting worse. Eventually she traced it to lavender oil. Whilst it is supposed to be a safe oil , she was using it x number of times per day on clients & was putting in in anti-excema potions ( coz it's recommened for excema ) & so on. So my point being even a safe oil can cause problems & just coz it's natural it doesn't necessarily mean it's safe. Then there's the problem of adulteration & basically, unless the person you buy it off has a gc which they had done themselves of the oil, you can never be sure & oils like lavender are very often adulterated. It think I read some where that france sells more lavender oil than it produces at the stills for example.

I know this sounds all very negative but it's just a case of buyer beware & treating the oils with respect. As I said before, if you want a beautiful smell, you can always use an aroma lamp. I can post you some reputable sellers to be trying on line if you wish who sell properly tested organic oils.

lampe
Member posted 08-09-2001 12:17 PM
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OceanMomma
I need to respond to your post. I don't want to offend you and I hope I don't. But I need to let you know what I have found.

I am a Licensed Massage Therapist. Over the past decade of working as a therapist I have tried almost all the oils (essential and regular) on the market. My experience after discovering the Young Living oils is they work! How else can I explain the difference in regular clients with chronic neck and low back pain within weeks of using the Young Living oils not having the symptoms? Nothing else in their lives changed, I researched this. I have seen it in my own body. My chronic fatigue symptoms disappeared after two raindrop therapy treatments. Even with my dd (now 18 mos.) I use an oil called peace and calming, when she is too wound up I place two drops on her feet and in a matter of minutes my dd is quietly sitting with me reading a book.

You are right these oils are expensive. You don't need much of the oil to experience results. So in the long run, in my humble opinion it's worth it.

Thnaks for reading,

Beth

mdl
Member posted 08-09-2001 12:54 PM
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I just finished reading a book called "Aromatherapy for Babies and Children" Shirley Price and Penny Price Parr and found it very helpful. Almost everything they suggest is diluted either in a carrier oil or lotion. They don't have a recipe for baby wipes per se, but there are many, many oils (which they describe) with antiseptic properties. Regardless, you should always "skin test" an oil before trying a new one.
I think frankinsense is a little expensive for most people to use for baby wipes, at least compared to lavender or tea tree oil.

I've used Young Living oils and in fact started learning about EO from the experience. However, the more I've learned about Gary Young the more concerned I am about patronizing his business. More for his business practices than for the quality of his oils. Most "authorities" I've run across which describe how to look for theraputic grade EOs recommend trying different oils from several sources because some folks do better at certain oils than others.

All in all I've really enjoyed working with EOs and have found them very helpful both because they smell great and make me feel good, but also to deal with minor things with my kids from temper tantrums to ear aches.

OceanMomma
Member posted 08-09-2001 05:22 PM
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Hey Lampe!
Don't worry you didn't offend me. The reason I left the aromatherapy list is coz things used to get quite heated & it got just a bit tedious after a while. I used to get the list digest so I couldn't even delete them as they came in

If you note in my original post, I said it was her call ie this is what I know, but it's really up to you to do what you want since there are differing opinions out there.

The reason I said something about GY & YLEOs was coz it was the cause of a whole heap of the flame wars on my list. There is an archive of all the posts from the idma list on the subject of GY & YLEOs here :

http://acemake.com/pickups/4GY96-97.zip

I suggest you download them & have a read. It's a bit of a wade thru but worthwhile.

Also on the subject of use of oils, skin sensitisation & so on, I suggest you have a read of some of the articles here :

http://users.erols.com/sisakson/pages/agoindex.htm

Enjoy

babymom
Member posted 08-09-2001 09:08 PM
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Lampe,
I was reading your post about how 2 raindrop therapy treatments helped eliminate your chronic fatigue symptoms. I have CFIDs and wanted to know what raindrop therapy treatments are and if they are safe to do while nursing my ds.

Thanks so much.

lampe
Member posted 08-10-2001 10:49 AM
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Thanks OceanMomma, I will read the info and learn some more. I love to keep on learning about eo's and other stuff!!
Babymom, Hi! Sorry to hear you have CFIDS - Ugh and how difficult for you with a little one! Raindrop therapy uses 10 different oils plus a carrier oil. Each oil is applied separately dropping the oils directly onto the spine and working them in with light strokes, ( fyi: never put pressure onto the spine!) this treatment brings the body into balance and rids the body of the toxins that hibernate in the spinal column. You tend to smell like a pizza parlor when finished but it's worth the odor. Here are the oils used: valor, Thyme, Oregano, Cypress, Birch, Basil, Peppermint, Marjoram, Aroma Siez, Ortho Ease plus the carrier oil ( almond oil is a good one). Let me ask my doctor about the breastfeeding and having a raindrop therapy session. I'll let you know in a few days. Hope this helps answer some quesitons..

Take care,

Beth

lampe
Member posted 08-16-2001 01:52 PM
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Babymom, sorry it took awhile.....
more info.- my doc told me that while some of the oils for the raindrop therapy are okay to use while breastfeeding (oregano, basil...) there are some oils that are combo oils and these would not be recommended at this time.
hope this helps
Beth


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