Scientists find new evidence linking essential oils to seizures

Essential oil related seizures (EORS): A multi-center prospective study on essential oils and seizures in adults

Thomas Mathew
Gareth J Parrya

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2021.106626

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0920121121000796?dgcid=raven_sd_aip_email

 

https://academictimes.com/scientists-find-new-evidence-linking-essential-oils-to-seizures/

 

I don't partake. But some pwME do.

 

My basic viewpoint is if it's strong enough to have a positive effect on one's health, it's likely strong enough to also be able to have a negative effect for some people.

 

Coincidently the British MEA very recently published an item about a young woman who had had ME as a child but has recovered. Her parents are still fundraising for ME, including donating a percentage of profit from their aromatherapy business. Whilst it is good to hear positive stories and heartening that the parents continue to support ME now she is recovered and studying at university, it was most unfortunate that the MEA presented a story of recovery juxtaposed with what could be seen as a promotion of aromatherapy products.

Obviously this provoked a lot of controversy on their Facebook page. There was obviously concern that the MEA could be seen as promoting aromatherapy for ME, but also sadly a lot of negative comments and disbelief about someone reported as recovering from ME.

(I don’t seem to be able to find either the webpage with the short article or the Facebook post linking to it again, so am not sure they are still on line.)

 

I wonder if these seizures would come under dissociative seizures (as treated with CBT by Chalder).

 

I have used in the past ,in the early days of my sickness and found they caused a huge negative impact on my illness as did many household cleaners ,perfumes and any scented candle. I would not have them in the house now. Every symptom became ramped up very quickly in their presence. Thankfully I have never had a seizure .

 

My very first thought when I saw this as well. I'm assuming most would be, mostly depending on the attending physician and what their beliefs are. Damn the unhelpful illness beliefs really are pure projection, uh?

 

Just for future reference for anyone reading, this is a list of essential oils from wikipedia :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_essential_oils

When I think of essential oils I think of ones that smell nice e.g. lavender. But apparently there are quite a few that are used in cooking, and some appear in mouthwashes or other personal hygiene products.

The article in post #1 refers to eucalyptus and camphor. But I wonder if the other essential oils might have the same unwanted side-effects?

 

Which apparently are the common ingredients in Vicks and Tiger balm and similar stuff. So they are in pretty common usage, although unclear whether it's the burning that is the issue, or if the normal low-level vapors at room temperature can do the same.

 

No, the article is definitely talking about epileptic seizures.

Its actually quite interesting. I suppose we already know that intense light and noise can trigger seizures, and there's absolutely no reason to think our senses of smell might operate in an entirely different way.

 

It does also talk about non epileptic seizure patients experiences. My daughter started having non epileptic attacks and is probably coincidence but I did start using a diffuser with oils around the time they started. I will have to look back at the dates to be sure. I was trying the oils to help with her anxiety caused by chronic pain syndrome. They made her eyes sore so didn't get much use and seizures continued long after we stopped using the diffuser - interesting though.

 

The only way to clarify these issues would be to experimentally introduce the oils in an effort to induce seizures whilst comparing this to a control group scrupulously avoiding the oils. However would this be ethical?

 

Ugh, I went to a pharmacy the other day, and they had an essential oil diffuser billowing lavender. I had to flee. I've told them before that I have chemical and fragrance sensitivities, as many people with fibromyalgia do, but they still use this vile machine.

I know someone who has a terrible allergy to lavender. I wish businesses would stop using fragrance in their stores. Essential oils seem to have a health halo because some people really do benefit from them and enjoy the fragrance, but businesses shouldn't assume that everyone wants to be around essential oils.