What do you think about essential oils?

[ineeddrug]

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well..
Somehow, some of my facebook friends start posting lots about essential oils..

It starts with how those oils help feel his/her family better from cold and flu... and now they say that those oils can treat ANYTHING .. such as flu, anxiety, weight management, NV from chemo, skin care.. you name it.

Ok. I am not saying that essential oils do nothing. But what bothers me is that those 3-4 facebook friends are pharmacists, PA and nurse practitioners.

They are using their doctor degree to convice ppl that those essential oils can treat any disease!
I almost posted reply as “are you being Dr. Oz?”..

It is totally fine if they choose to use oils to family members. But why do you post.. “As a pharmacist,” “As NP, I recommend these essential oils for xxxx”.

What do you think?

 

[RxPreceptor]

Yeah, I agree, it almost seems childish how these RPhs, NPs, PAs, etc. are so easily swayed by marketing hype & Dr. Oz (I think people take his segments way too seriously; to me, he seems to promote alternatives as a means of entertainment & informing people about what else there is besides conventional medicine. Often, I think people misinterpret this as legit recommendations.)

Have I recommended a essential oil for someone before? Yes, lavender...because I read about it on Pharmacists letter natural database & the person was young, healthy, no meds, & wasn't looking for a quick fix benzo like tx (anxiety/stress related issue, not panic attack or anything too severe). I sure as hell did not glorify it as a be all end all like some of these advocates would but kept things realistic; it was worth a shot.

I see some RPhs recommend tea tree oil more than a fair share of times.
I personally find them a bit hard to recommend seeing how most people who ask are complete strangers with little to no background Hx to go off of (very very niche & person/scenario specific conditions)

 

[deleted480308]

I will bet those friends are “distributors” and part of the essential oil puramid.

I also doubt you will convince them, I will often try 1 conversation with someone who I think might have enough self respect to read up on it.....

 

[Digsbe]

I won't endorse them, but arguing with them doesn't sway them. In 2018 there are numerous people that believe vaccines are a big pharma scam that don't work and that essential oils and healing crystals can cure disease. My only thought on the subject is that they smell soothing and be an aromatherapy of sorts, but apart from scent that's it.

 

[owlegrad]

It’s just another way to spell snake oil. Why people waste money on fakery while complaining about the price of real medicine boggles my mind.

 

[spacecowgirl]

Google Gary Young (young living founder) and practicing medicine without a license, infanticide, cyanide. Regardless of my view of essential oils (they smell good), I would never buy anything associated with that charlatan.

 

[med77]

I had a classmate that peddled this stuff too. I just can't believe you can sit in an evidence-based medicine class and yet still believe that your essential oil will cure your depression. Now that being said, I'm not discounting all of them. I personally had some success using tea tree oil on sandfly bites in Australia not too long ago. Nothing else would work for me, and I got desperate. Tea tree oil also has helped with acne when I was a teen. I've heard lavender actually is relaxing, whether that's placebo or not. But I've never heard of any of these things curing things like depression. Only hear that from stay at home mommies with their pyramid schemes.

 

[Chriskahn]

I just started using essential oils in a diffuser that has color changing LEDs. It looks pretty and makes the room smell nice. Thats it though.

 

[Saiyo]

My parents bought some Lavender oil (not from a mlm) and say it helps them sleep alot better. Supposedly it helps with stress and relaxation, and I guess if it works for you it works for you. I'm currently testing it out and haven't made any conclusions yet, but maybe its a pavlov thing where I'll get tired since I associate the smell with bedtime?

 

[KennethCool]

These things are not harmless. Even short-term use of tea-tree oil is enough to generate an allergic reaction in a large segment of the population. Once you've developed the allergy, you will have a cross sensitivity to anything containing rosins (in foods, energy drinks, makeup, laundry soap, chewing gum, and paper products). Imagine having to buy specialty toilet paper for the rest of your life because you developed an allergy this stuff.

If you think this sounds like BS, get on pubmed. All of this is well documented.

 

[Dr. Pill]

These things are not harmless. Even short-term use of tea-tree oil is enough to generate an allergic reaction in a large segment of the population. Once you've developed the allergy, you will have a cross sensitivity to anything containing rosins (in foods, energy drinks, makeup, laundry soap, chewing gum, and paper products). Imagine having to buy specialty toilet paper for the rest of your life because you developed an allergy this stuff.

If you think this sounds like BS, get on pubmed. All of this is well documented.

Having trouble finding any studies showing negative effects regarding aromatherapy, can you link please. The issues with tea tree oil seem to be an allergy when applied topically which makes sense.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

well..
Somehow, some of my facebook friends start posting lots about essential oils..

It starts with how those oils help feel his/her family better from cold and flu... and now they say that those oils can treat ANYTHING .. such as flu, anxiety, weight management, NV from chemo, skin care.. you name it.

Ok. I am not saying that essential oils do nothing. But what bothers me is that those 3-4 facebook friends are pharmacists, PA and nurse practitioners.

They are using their doctor degree to convice ppl that those essential oils can treat any disease!
I almost posted reply as “are you being Dr. Oz?”..

It is totally fine if they choose to use oils to family members. But why do you post.. “As a pharmacist,” “As NP, I recommend these essential oils for xxxx”.

What do you think?

Just ask them which course they learned about essential oils in if they're posting "as a ___________"

 

[PharmDBro2017]

They smell good, and that’s all there is to them.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[rph3664]

These things are not harmless. Even short-term use of tea-tree oil is enough to generate an allergic reaction in a large segment of the population. Once you've developed the allergy, you will have a cross sensitivity to anything containing rosins (in foods, energy drinks, makeup, laundry soap, chewing gum, and paper products). Imagine having to buy specialty toilet paper for the rest of your life because you developed an allergy this stuff.

If you think this sounds like BS, get on pubmed. All of this is well documented.

When I worked in retail, 15-plus years ago, I had a dad come in with his small daughter who had been diagnosed with head lice, and he wanted to use natural remedies. He asked me about tea tree oil, and I told him that enough of that to get rid of her lice would also be poisonous to her, although some people add a few drops to a bottle of shampoo to keep them at bay. I recommended mayonnaise and told him how to use it.

 

[DavidIR]

There is no health benefits and many oils are actually toxic. That said, if they smell nice and you enjoy them and aren’t injesting them then why not!