Essential Oil, what is the purpose of this junk

[ShirikiUtundu]

Peppermint oil does help with headaches when applied to the forehead/temples. Otherwise I think it's all just aromatherapy and nothing else.

 

[Hikergirl]

I make my own air fresheners with them. I don't like the artificial smell of store bought stuff.
I also am a believer in using more natural approaches to relieving symptoms of certain conditions. I'm not sure if all the things I use are considered "essential" oils but they are oils and I use different ones for different things (skin care, sinus headaches, sleep) and yes they work or I wouldn't use them
I'm not under any illusion I am curing anything, I'm just treating my symptoms with them instead of using medication because I like to avoid taking it if I can.
Thought of another use- bug repellent. I don't like to hose myself down with DEET every time I'm outside so I use products made with essential oils.

 

[littlejimmy]

its supposed to be better than...

 

[easyas123]

Oh gosh - it's been a terribly long morning....this thread has made my afternoon!

 

[NotUrsula]

They are usually fine in low concentrations for uses like scenting the air, but be super-careful of concentrating them, especially for use as inhalants or in direct applications to the skin.

When dealing with plant extracts, remember that "natural" does not always mean beneficial. to humans, and especially to pets. There are a whole lot of "natural" poisons in the world, and they enter the bloodstream when rubbed onto the skin or inhaled as vapor. Sage oil, for instance, can contain high concentrations of thujone, a convulsant. The US Poison Control Center estimates that 12 drops of sage essential oil may contain enough thujone to kill a small child.

BTW, "essential" in this context refers to the chemistry of the oil (as the concentrated essence carrying the plant's scent), not how important or beneficial to health it may or may not be.

 

[DietCoke18]

It calms you down, dammit! Lol it makes the air smell nice if you are directly on top of it.

 

[bcla]

Depends on what it is. It really means the "essence" of something, like peppermint oil or orange oil. Mostly is just supposed to be relaxing to smell something familiar. Orange oil is used in termite control. Some oils have demonstrated antimicrobial properties. But nothing is a cure all.

 

[mrodgers]

Lavender helps me sleep, makes a great room freshener, I have made a pretty decent ant spray, and it does help with mosquito bites.

I have an essential oil that helps me sleep too, but it's not Lavender. It comes in a little cartridge and you inhale it with a battery operated vaporizer device,

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I think it harnesses your chi or synergizes your paradigms or does a detox or something.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Peppermint oil does help with headaches when applied to the forehead/temples.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

The founder of one of the bigger essential oil direct sales companies, a company that touts the health benefits and cure-all of their brand of oils, also caused a horrible thing to happen to his newborn because he wanted to prove that babies can stay underwater until they take their first breath. Fact: They cannot.

I don't trust anything these companies push, but some oils do smell good. I would only buy them from a store though.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Ok, in faireness, I do have a lavender aromatherapy stick I got at the Pennsylvania Flower Show, and it actually really kinda calms me down.

 

[Diznygrl]

I got a whole package of stuff from someone who sells it, and the little booklet that comes with it tells you all the miraculous ways each oil treats every ailment known to man. I don’t believe any of that nonsense, but they do smell nice when they’re diffused.

I sometimes use the peppermint oil when I have a mild headache and don’t want to take an Excedrin. Basically all it does is make your skin burn enough so that it somewhat distracts your brain from the pain of the headache, which is really still there lurking underneath the peppermint burn.

The peppermint oil really works for keeping the bees and wasps away from my hummingbird feeders though, so there’s that.

 

[DLgal]

Peppermint oil does help with headaches when applied to the forehead/temples. Otherwise I think it's all just aromatherapy and nothing else.

No, it doesn't. Inhaling peppermint oil can relieve headache pain. Applying it to your skin does nothing more than let it sit somewhere that you can smell it. You can get the same effect by chewing some peppermint gum of eating an altoid.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

No, it doesn't. Inhaling peppermint oil can relieve headache pain. Applying it to your skin does nothing more than let it sit somewhere that you can smell it. You can get the same effect by chewing some peppermint gum of eating an altoid.

Not true - it contains menthol which has long been used to treat aches, proven in scientific studies - long before the popularity of essential oils.

 

[serenitynow]

My grandmother always placed a small amount of Vick’s Vapor Rub on our forehead or temples when we had a headache. We used to joke about it behind her back, for believing in an old wives tale versus the wonder of Tylenol.

But guess what, it often works, due to the menthol in the formula and too much Tylenol is bad for you.

 

[DLgal]

Not true - it contains menthol which has long been used to treat aches, proven in scientific studies - long before the popularity of essential oils.

It's never worked for me in all my attempts at battling migraines over the last 35 years. Sucking on a mint helps more than anything topical ever has. It always just irritated my skin. I have had better luck with menthol relieving deep muscle pains, though.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

It's never worked for me in all my attempts at battling migraines over the last 35 years. Sucking on a mint helps more than anything topical ever has. It always just irritated my skin. I have had better luck with menthol relieving deep muscle pains, though.

A study that just came out in July reports the efficacy of applying peppermint oil intranasally to treat migraine. Check it out here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6647908/

 

[Hikergirl]

No, it doesn't. Inhaling peppermint oil can relieve headache pain. Applying it to your skin does nothing more than let it sit somewhere that you can smell it. You can get the same effect by chewing some peppermint gum of eating an altoid.

I took the pp's post as meaning the bolded.

My grandmother always placed a small amount of Vick’s Vapor Rub on our forehead or temples when we had a headache. We used to joke about it behind her back, for believing in an old wives tale versus the wonder of Tylenol.

But guess what, it often works, due to the menthol in the formula and too much Tylenol is bad for you.

LOL, Vicks was the answer anytime we got colds when we were little,
I still use it today when I have stuffy nose and headache. A little dab just under the nose.

 

[DLgal]

A study that just came out in July reports the efficacy of applying peppermint oil intranasally to treat migraine. Check it out here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6647908/

Thank you. I will read that. I had read that allowing it to go into your nasal passages via smelling or sucking on a mint would help with migraine and my experience with using mints to help with the pain has been fairly successful. I still have to take pain meds every time, but it helps me manage the pain so I can at least function during the 1-3 day migraine. I often suffer with intense head pain for 6-12 hours, even with meds, and a dull pain for another 24-36 hours after that. I always have altoids minis on hand. They also help with the nausea.

I don't think I could ever put peppermint oil into my nose directly, though. I have a lot of sinus issues and my nasal passages are very sensitive.