EOs in the Eyes

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Hi Ron and other good folks,

 

> EO's are irritants to the eyes in undiluted form. But tiny amounts of mild

> oils like Lavender, if rubbed into the eye, will generally be washed away by

> tears. If a significant amount is placed in the eye, the best thing to do is

> to use VEGETABLE OIL, not water, as an eye bath, to remove the ess. oil.

> Repeat a few times. This works very well and is quite non-irritant.

 

There are two valid schools of thought on this. First, essential oils

are not water-soluable so using water (or rose hydrosol) will flush the

EO from the eye ... but a fatty carrier, like vegetable, will dilute the

EO which reduces the concentration - thus (hypothetically) reduce the

opportunity for area irritation. So - seems to me immediate flushing

with water followed by a flush with a vegetable oil sounds OK.

 

> EO's can be used as effective eye drops, but must be used at a low

> concentration. That is why waters of distillation can be used. One method I

> have used with clients on numerous occasions (including young children) is

> the following:

 

Again, a different slant, the only distilled or otherwise extracted

plant product I'd consider using in any living critter's eyes is Rose

Hydrosol - use it straight. It's the best way to cure conjunctivitis -

and I'm talking about in hours instead of the days it takes to cure it

with antibiotics. I've proven this to many folks. Tastes good too -

and good for you .. ;-)

 

> Saline solution 100mL , Essential oils 4 to 8 drops (for

> conjunctivitis, I often use equal amounts of Spike Lavender and Roman

> Chamomile) mixed into 1 to 2mL of " Disper " emulsifier (a natural emulsifier

> for EO's based on Lecithin). Add the blend to saline. Use as eye drops or a

> an eye bath. Discard after one week, or reheat to just boiling point, to

> make sure no bugs grow in the preparation....

>

> Regards, Ron Guba

 

The other part of this thread was whether a child should be taken to a

doctor or just have the eyes flushed ... and it mentioned the reactions

the eye was having to the EO. We can check any medical oriented book of

symptoms or otherwise and see that the eye will react to foreign

invasion. This reaction can range from tears to completely closing

itself and forming a pus-like crust along the ridge of the eye-lid. The

child's eye likely responded in a defensive manner against the invasion

of linalol and linalol acetate, both of which can easily irritate mucus

membranes and certainly irritate an eyeball. As to whether the child

should be seen by a doctor, if you gotta ask it's not a bad idea to take

them to a doctor. This might benefit the parent more than the child.

 

That's my take on it - and y'all keep smiling,

 

Butch http://www.AV-AT.com