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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Epilepsy / December 2003Essential Oils
I'm trying to find information on essential oils and their effects on Epileptics. I know that Rosemary is a major no-no, and that it is highly likely to trigger a fit in the majority of us. However I suspect that there are others that are equally as obnoxious, does anyone have any knowledge of any oters or personal experiences? I ask as I am attending a course on Massage, Anatomy & Physiology, and I will be coming into contact with various oils. I did contact my GP before starting the course and he advised me that there was not a problem with any essential oils - I've learned different since joining. So much for checking with the 'experts'. Regards Rick > I'm trying to find information on essential oils and their effects on > Epileptics. I know that Rosemary is a major no-no, and that it is highly > likely to trigger a fit in the majority of us. WHAT? You KNOW that? How? Mary > I did contact my GP before > starting the course and he advised me that there was not a problem with any > essential oils - I've learned different since joining. So much for checking > with the 'experts'. It sounds to me as though you believe who you want to believe ... Mary > Regards > Rick >ubject: Re: Essential Oils >From: "Mary Fisher" someone.else@zetnet.co.uk [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >> Regards >> Rick I have never had problem with rosemary for years I deep conditioned my hair with Weleda rosemary oil and put on dry hair fo rshine every day, I know this is blended with other things but I have never heard of essiential oils being bad for people with epilepsy. Here's a paper you might be interested in.... (this is a citation from PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed) 1: J Neurol. 1999 Aug;246(8):667-70. Plant-induced seizures: reappearance of an old problem. Burkhard PR, Burkhardt K, Haenggeli CA, Landis T. Department of Neurology, University Hospital, CH-1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland, Pierre.Burkhard@hcuge.ch Several plant-derived essential oils have been known for over a century to have epileptogenic properties. We report three healthy patients, two adults and one child, who suffered from an isolated generalized tonic-clonic seizure and a generalized tonic status, respectively, related to the absorption of several of these oils for therapeutic purposes. No other cause of epilepsy was found, and outcome was good in the two adult cases, but the course has been less favorable in the child. A survey of the literature shows essential oils of 11 plants to be powerful convulsants (eucalyptus, fennel, hyssop, pennyroyal, rosemary, sage, savin, tansy, thuja, turpentine, and wormwood) due to their content of highly reactive monoterpene ketones, such as camphor, pinocamphone, thujone, cineole, pulegone, sabinylacetate, and fenchone. Our three cases strongly support the concept of plant-related toxic seizure. Nowadays the wide use of these compounds in certain unconventional medicines makes this severe complication again > > I'm trying to find information on essential oils and their effects on > > Epileptics. I know that Rosemary is a major no-no, and that it is highly [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Regards > > Rick The link below goes to the General Website doorway? It would be easier to key the specific article link (I didn't do a search, I get too much mail to spend time on all those). A sample of *3 (below) is not likely a large enough sample to base a lot of experience on, rather than anecdotal evidence. Usually pills etc. use double-blind and other test methods to confirm or remove any links between a therapy and the response of the patient. Two out of 3 being cured on a selected (not blind) sample, isn't really scientifically valid. // > Here's a paper you might be interested in.... > (this is a citation from PubMed [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Several plant-derived essential oils have been known for over a century to have > epileptogenic properties. We report three healthy patients, two adults and one > child, who suffered from an isolated generalized tonic-clonic seizure and a ****G.*** an Isolated **** ONLY ONE?? Seizure experienced by them each? Unless they were confirmed to Really have seizures, a glass of water might have 'cured' them... i.e. it might have been in Self Remission.. and not result of Any medications or herbs. // > generalized tonic status, respectively, ***related to the absorption*** of several of > these oils for therapeutic purposes. (****G> How did they determine the seizures were Related to several of these oils??? No 'other causes of my seizures' were found in 1993, except possibly the Encephalitis I had in 1979 (*14 years previous). The Monoxide Gas provided by our new furnace, discovered 3 months after Onset of my seizures, was an 'incidental solution', whose Replacement **halted the frequency of seizures and hospitalizations caused by my seizures at Onset in Jan. of 1993 through March, and ~5 seizures at various times from 1993 to Dec. 97.) **** /// No other cause of epilepsy was found, and > outcome was good in the two adult cases, but the course has been less favorable > in the child. A survey of the literature shows essential oils of 11 plants to be ********************************* > powerful convulsants (eucalyptus, fennel, hyssop, pennyroyal, rosemary, sage, > savin, tansy, thuja, turpentine, and wormwood) due to their content of highly ********************** > reactive monoterpene ketones, such as camphor, pinocamphone, thujone, ******************************************* > cineole, pulegone, sabinylacetate, and fenchone. Our three cases strongly support the > concept of plant-related toxic seizure. Nowadays the wide use of these compounds > in certain unconventional medicines makes this severe complication again ******* G We need a Chemist here... My wife routinely uses fennel, rosemary and sage in cooking and baking... What's "terpene? I need that so I can tell what a Monoterpene is above. Ketone is a Protein (as in the Ketogenic Diet), but I don't remember any of the 135? elements forming compounds of terpene. That doesn't mean the elements can't Combine to form compounds, and Other compounds following that, I don't recognize any except for camphor. The others Sound impressive, but Sounding impressive and controlling Some of the 12? seizure types are 2 different things. I get an Aura and, if I'm not removed from the area, a Full Complex Partial Seizure, if I'm exposed to Lemon Odour or Lemon Juice... A powerful convulsant? or (more likely) due to the fact that Natural Gas here has Lemon added to it so that Gas Leaks (and monoxide) can be more readily located and detected. The initial C.P. seizures I had (above) in 1993 were caused by the Monoxide from Natural Gas... I realize that *Some of the seizure types might be aggravated (or even caused?) by other conditions and other causes than my limited example. But the same way that MY Aura of lemon causes 'all known seizures' is not necessarily a Scientific basis to target the other seizure types, so too 'This Compound, or food source, is the Cause of *your seizures' is a limited, and unlikely cause of the many seizure types, represented by the posters who frequent this group... I guess that's an Oblique way of saying I agree with Mary (below). The sample offered was too small to generalize to a larger volume of our other szr. types... G./ > > -- > > > I'm trying to find information on essential oils and their effects on [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > > I did contact my GP before > > > starting the course and he advised me that there was not a problem with any > > > essential oils - I've learned different since joining. So much for checking > > > with the 'experts'. > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > > Regards > > > Rick >******* G We need a Chemist here... My wife routinely uses fennel, >rosemary and sage in cooking and baking... (CHEMIST> AFAIK the herbs themselves are OK. The aromatic oils are *extremely* concentrated extracts which would have toxic effects if taken by mouth. A parallel is that chocolates are edible - pure caffeine is not - except maybe at 6:30 a.m when I stagger out of bed :-) >What's "terpene? I need that >so I can tell what a Monoterpene is above. Ketone is a Protein (as in the >Ketogenic Diet), but I don't remember any of the 135? elements forming >compounds of terpene. Monoterpenes are variants built around two 5 carbon segments each with a basic isoprene structure of CH2=C(CH3)-CH=CH2. (NB this gives a massive number of possible right and left handed forms, let alone variants.) Polyterpenes have these segments linked up, in varying numbers of units. Alpha-terpinene is the chemical in lemon oil which gives it its characteristic smell. Menthol is also a terpene. Ketones are any compound containing a carbon/oxygen double bonded as in propanone. . CH3 . | . C=O <<<< . | . CH3 Ketone bodies (familiar to Atkins dieters) aren't bodies at all, but are the left over parts of fat molecules which we don't have the enzymes to digest completely. the Ketogenic diet relies somehow upon the large concentration of ketone bodies produced but AFAIK they still don't know how it works (change in acidity of blood?) </CHEMIST>  SignatureMalcolm > >******* G We need a Chemist here... My wife routinely uses fennel, > >rosemary and sage in cooking and baking... [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > </CHEMIST> Thanks, Malcolm! I never could get the hang of organic chemistry ... but what you say rings true. Especially when you say that not everything is known ... Mary To get the article you most likely have to purchase it from the publisher or run down to your local university medial library and photocopy it there if they'll let you. I provided a link to PubMed since it's a nice resource for medical research literature on almost any topic and is the main one medical researchers use. I provided the article citation primarily for the literature review on the subject and also since it provides a list of essential oils which might provoke a seizure that the original poster might find relevant. The article provides a nice table of about 11 essential oils and their epileptogenic compounds along with references to research on each of these compounds. Case reports are a valid tool in science and medicine to underscore the presentation of an event. In this case the authors provide descriptions of seizures and outcomes occurring in two adults and in one child as a way of highlighting the effects of overdose of some commonly used essential oil products. Obviously the three case reports are not the only reports of essential oil use resulting in seizures. The authors provide references going back to 1889 as well as point out animal research looking at the properties of the monoturpene compounds with respect to seizures. > The link below goes to the General Website doorway? It would be easier to > key the specific article link (I didn't do a search, I get too much mail to [quoted text clipped - 112 lines] > > > > Regards > > > > Rick > A powerful convulsant? or (more likely) due to the fact that Natural Gas > here has Lemon added to it so that Gas Leaks (and monoxide) can be more > readily located and detected. Where's here? I didn't know that lemon was added to natural gase. I'm not challenging, just interested and wondering if it's added to natural gas in UK. Mary > > A powerful convulsant? or (more likely) due to the fact that Natural Gas > > here has Lemon added to it so that Gas Leaks (and monoxide) can be more > > readily located and detected. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Mary North America. Sour gas (from the Oil Field) usually smells like Sulphur, but during the refining it becomes colourless and odourless (like carbon monoxide too). [O.T. If you ever hear Stock Quotes on 'sweet Texas Crude' prices, that's Crude Oil that's free of sulphur or has had it removed./end O.T.] Lemon odour is added during final stages of refining, and was what used to 'freak out' my daughter's Budgies at 3AM (or the Monoxide itself, but they tore up the cage during Baking with lemon also). Those and canaries used to be taken into the Coal mines in 18-1900s for that reason. I'd be surprised if it's NOT added 'over there too' for above reasons. If you can find a UK site that has Company reports for BP, or Exxon UK or Esso? UK (Exxon is the Parent), there's likely something hidden somewhere in there. (I don't remember if North Sea Natural Gas is supposed to be 'sweet' (no sulphur) or sour (sulphur), but when it's refined, and if you're using it, it's likely added. You don't *normally smell it while it's burning **properly, that's the Value of adding it... ) *Our 2 Budgies probably saved our lives when we had a defective furnace in 1997. I had my last 2 seizures, and trips to hospital, January 1998 before the problem was found and the furnace replaced. They've since 'moved on the greener perches'.... :-< :-< But they saved our lives. G./ > > > A powerful convulsant? or (more likely) due to the fact that Natural > Gas [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > > North America. ALL of north America? > Sour gas (from the Oil Field) usually smells like Sulphur, > but during the refining it becomes colourless and odourless (like carbon > monoxide too). Oh. I've smelt the sulphurous odour in Iceland but didn't ralise that our natural gas would be the same. Our old (pre-natural gas) town gas smelt a bit like that. I know that our natural gas has an odour added so that leaks would be detected. > [O.T. If you ever hear Stock Quotes on 'sweet Texas Crude' > prices, that's Crude Oil that's free of sulphur or has had it removed./end > O.T.] No, never heard that at all ... > Lemon odour is added during final stages of refining, and was what used to > 'freak out' my daughter's Budgies at 3AM (or the Monoxide itself, but they > tore up the cage during Baking with lemon also). Those and canaries used to > be taken into the Coal mines in 18-1900s for that reason. Canaries were taken into British coal mines. Never heard of budgies being taken. But it was before my time ... > I'd be surprised > if it's NOT added 'over there too' for above reasons. Well, I don't KNOW. But our domestic natural gascertainly doesn't smell of lemon. I can't describe what it does smell like though. > If you can find a UK > site that has Company reports for BP, or Exxon UK or Esso? UK (Exxon is the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > added. You don't *normally smell it while it's burning **properly, that's > the Value of adding it... ) I have shares in the British gas company so get the repots - and read them - and can't recall ever reading about lemon additives. I suspect that north sea gas is what you call 'sweet'. Perhaps I'll ask the company. It's a most interesting topic. > *Our 2 Budgies probably saved our lives when we had a defective furnace in > 1997. I had my last 2 seizures, and trips to hospital, January 1998 before > the problem was found and the furnace replaced. They've since 'moved on the > greener perches'.... :-< :-< But they saved our lives. G./ I'm sorry for the budgies but pleased that you're still around. Thanks for the information. Mary Mary Fisher quoted someone: (I've lost the attribution) >> A powerful convulsant? or (more likely) due to the fact that Natural Gas >>here has Lemon added to it so that Gas Leaks (and monoxide) can be more >>readily located and detected. and then asked: > Where's here? I didn't know that lemon was added to natural gas. I'm not > challenging, just interested and wondering if it's added to natural gas in > UK. It's not lemon that's added, but one of a family of sulfur-containing chemicals called mercaptans. t-butyl mercaptan has a characteristic odor at very low concentrations. You'll only smell it if there is a gas leak. The odorant is consumed when the gas is burned. Carbon monoxide is odorless. Liz (another chemist) > Mary Fisher quoted someone: (I've lost the attribution) > >> A powerful convulsant? or (more likely) due to the fact that Natural Gas [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > is odorless. > Liz (another chemist) When the gas wasn't being properly burned (defective furnace, earlier posts), there was a distinctive odour *after the budgies had awoken us at 3AM (when the problems were occurring). When the gas wasn't being properly burned (as you listed above - gas leak, but this was incomplete combustion and venting by the [formerly oil burning] furnace), I had first seizure January 1993 and February (hospitalized twice), then sporadically at other times through 1997 as we tinkered with medications/ levels, until we got a mix that worked. The Neuro said he was surprised if I were going to have seizures following the Encephalitis, that they didn't present through the 1980s. Although I had Encephalitis in 1979 that produced the original Right Temporal Lobe damage, and the severe memory dysfunction, the seizures didn't start until above dates (1993). G./ Did you try a search under the General (U.S.) Ep. Foundation of America? http://efa.org . You might find something there or via Google if you search e.g. Oils & seizures or Aromas & triggers, for example. My Right Temporal Lobe seizures used to include an Aura that was a strong Lemon odour or taste. During the ~4 years it took while I was getting controlled, I got a 'reverse effect' where strong Lemon aroma or taste could start an Aura and dizzy swirling sensation that I used to get ahead of a Complex Partial (Right temporal lobe) seizure. The Aura of the Left T.Lobe is supposed to be acrid or eggy. If the seizure auras aren't listed (which odours or tastes might appear) on the efa site above, there might be something under Julie's Idaho website under the First Aid for Seizures chart, if you can find an older post of her's. I think there was a listing of some of the possible auras there too. Note those above are the "AROMA" of the particular triggers. I wasn't referring e.g. to applying a lemon scented 'essential oil' and its effect on the skin. I expect in my case the aroma would be enough to Kick off an Aura start (that's happened at shopping centres in the past to me). G./ > I'm trying to find information on essential oils and their effects on > Epileptics. I know that Rosemary is a major no-no, and that it is highly [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Regards > Rick >I'm trying to find information on essential oils and their effects on >Epileptics. I know that Rosemary is a major no-no, and that it is highly >likely to trigger a fit in the majority of us. However I suspect that there >are others that are equally as obnoxious, does anyone have any knowledge of >any oters or personal experiences? Mainly Rosemary, Fennel, Evening Primrose Oil and Sage, but also a number of other weird ones which I wouldn't use anyway. Remembered (hopefully correctly) from a candle shop where we had several long discussions about this and the owner obtained out a fairly large tome and also a safety sheet from Meadows (?) Oils. Don't go away, let me check.... try: http://www.tlcinabottle.co.uk/safety_advice.html and http://www.essentialoils.co.za/epilepsy.htm SignatureMalcolm > >I'm trying to find information on essential oils and their effects on > >Epileptics. I know that Rosemary is a major no-no, and that it is highly [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Mainly Rosemary, Fennel, Evening Primrose Oil and Sage, but also a > number of other weird ones which I wouldn't use anyway. **** What? you Threw out all your Ylang Ylang?? :-o I don't recall any reactions (soon after or longer after) using Peppermint, Cinnamon, Fennel, Basil, Sage.. but My type of seizures could be different from what they are referring to. Many sites that call something 'Epilepsy', might refer to Grand Mal type seizures as that, but not regard C.P. or S.P. ones in the same group... I mostly went to look to confirm that Strawberries and Chocolate were excluded... G./ > Remembered (hopefully correctly) from a candle shop where we had several > long discussions about this and the owner obtained out a fairly large [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > -- > Malcolm Hi Malcolm, Many thanks for this information it has been most helpful, and I will pass on the information and links to others on my course. Regards Rick > >I'm trying to find information on essential oils and their effects on > >Epileptics. I know that Rosemary is a major no-no, and that it is highly [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > http://www.essentialoils.co.za/epilepsy.htm Howdy! I've been out of town for a while! I've read all of the posts in this thread and I have to go with Mary's first response. Highly likely to trigger a fit in the majority of us? That's gobbledegook! What exactly does "highly likely" mean in this context? "Majority of us" what is "majority"? 51% What was the size of their test group? What parameters were used to determine what the qualifications were used to choose their candidates? How many of us are effected by chemical reactions within our systems? How many of those people are effected by introduction of the chemicals via the resperatory system? How many of those people are effected by introduction of the chemicals via the digestive system? How many of those people are effected by introduction of the chemical via the dermal system? I'VE never had a problem with rosemary, how about everybody else who posts to this group? I use nasal snuff. Do you have any idea how many different essences and oils are used in the production of the various snuff types? I've never had any sort of reaction. BTW: introduction of the oils through the mucus membranes is a lot easier than introducing it though the skin! I mean... c'mon... SignatureDave ???? "Noli illigitemi carborundum decendus" http://www.howdydave.com > I'm trying to find information on essential oils and their effects on > Epileptics. I know that Rosemary is a major no-no, and that it is highly [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Regards > Rick Dave ©¿©¬ <dave@_nospam_howdydave.com> wrote >I'VE never had a problem with rosemary, how about everybody else who posts >to this group? I think she's a very nice girl and we've had some fun times together ;-) More seriously, the only one which worries me is Evening Primrose Oil as I've heard so many bad things about it re epilepsy. I only use the oils to make the place smell nice any way. I got fed up with parents being shown around the lab and them saying "It smells just like the lab I used at school." So I went round liberally sprinkling lavender oil around the wooden floor. Later on, any really *really* silly comment in class earned a child a smudge of oil on the inside of their exercise book, thereby stinking out their cases and all their other books and belongings for a week :-) Cruel, aren't I? SignatureMalcolm |
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