Over the years We at the Medic Shack and my good friend Cat of The Herbal Prepper have “cultivated” the illusion that we “hate EO’s” Nothing could be farther from the truth I like EO’s and use them when I have them on hand. My “technical” issue with them is they have a short shelf life. My main issue is certain manufactures method of marketing by preying on peoples fears and faith.
Now that that is out of the way lets get in to the meat of the matter.
Certain oils have been proven to work against MRSA. The first one that comes to mind is Tea Tree, this oil is one of natures true gifts, In UNOFFICIAL testing, I have found that Tea Tree oil is one that works against TOPICAL MRSA. I and a physician friend of mine made a tea tree ointment, of tea tree oil, coconut oil and a beeswax base. And another with the same ingredients except of the tea tree oil and applied to the wounds of patients at a local rehab hospital. The was done with the full knowledge and cooperation of the patients. Applying ointments to 2 groups of patients. Both groups tested positive and colonized MRSA. One group got the tea tree oil the other a scented oil 3 X a day. Within 7 days the group that got the tea tree oil wounds started normal healing and no MRSA was isolated. The other group had no change
.Ingestion of EO’s
This will start a bar fight faster than grabbing the butt of another man’s wife. Some group advocate daily ingestion of certain oils and some even advocate it for children, I for the most part do not advocate ingestion. These oils are Hyper Concentrated.. Most are toxic and highly reactive to the skin, IE Chemical Burns.
Just because something is natural or derived from something natural, doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you. Arsenic, a deadly poison, is a natural substance; as is bitter almond essential oil, also a deadly poison because it is comprised of hydrocyanic acid (a.k.a. cyanide). For example, an old remedy for ocular wellness was to drink 2-4 cups of sage tea a day, for up to 6 months, to improve vision or eye problems. Now, there are multilevel marketing companies advocating undiluted drops of Clary sage oil, applied directly to the eye ball. This application is far too invasive, and can cause blindness (Koeppen). “You should never assume that any particular essential oil has the exact same medicinal properties as its original plant form…they are so concentrated, they can work very differently” .
There are two specific articles that are included in the literature cited section, “Nutmeg Poisoning” and “A Near Fatal Case of High Dose Peppermint Oil Ingestion – Lessons Learnt”, as overdose information. Eucalyptus oil is another popular ingredient in multilevel marketing blends. “When taken internally, eucalyptus oil is toxic, and ingestion of as little as 3.5 ml has been reported to be fatally toxic” (Khan, Ikhlas, pp 272)
With the rise of aromatherapy as a healing form, it collides with the modern instant gratification. Add in the slick marketing of certain manufactures it makes our life as alternative healers even harder than it is
The International Federation of Aromatherapists states that “No Aromatherapist shall use essential oils for internal ingestion or internal application, nor shall any Aromatherapist advocate or promote such use of essential oils”.
We don’t hate EO’s. We just hate the way they are misused and mis marketed by a group of greedy manufacturers
On The Medic Shack website, I have a listing of most of the EO’s and what they do. We all have our “pet”products and I am no different with a few of mine.
http://www.themedicshack.net/essential-oils-and-herbs/
Since I make a bit of “medicinal” alcohol.(Seriously It is medicinal! Tinctures ya know!)
I am wanting to try my hand at some steam distillation. There are a few kits on the market. Here is one, (Not endorsing this company it was the first to pop up on Google!)
http://www.sciencecompany.com/-P16939.aspx?gclid=CM_Co7LviMkCFZJbfgodx4cEyQ
Essential oils have a rightful and needful place in the preppers medicine chest. Just the limitation and hazards need to be known and understood in advance.