We are continuing to present our “Top 10 Worst Injuries from Essential Oils” from the 2014 injury reports. The list featured below contains the top five worst cases. This is Part Two of a two-part series.

Learn more and help spread information on safety and the costs of misuse.

Stop the unsafe use of essential oils! Save yourself, your friends and family, babies, and animals.

See Part 1 for cases 6-10.

Here are summaries with direct quotes from the testimonials we received (please excuse the grammar). Most, if not all, of these were due to bad advice and misinformation.

Top 10 Worst Injuries from Essential Oils (Part Two):

5. Oral use. Due to ingesting a “lot of” oils—multiple drops multiple times a day—of Lemon and Grapefruit in water, one person now has been diagnosed with stomach problems, chronic digestive upset, and is looking at possible gallbladder removal.

4. Diluted blend on baby’s feet slows breathing. “blends X & XX were used on separate occasions on my son at 13mo. The blend was very diluted (topical on his feet), he was 13mo, and I was informed it was ‘safe’. His throat started closing on him and his breathing slowed to a very dangerous level. After further research, I found out they both contained eucalyptus & Rosemary, both unsafe for kids under six. We had applied it & diffused it around him before his reaction, so it wasn’t his first exposure to it. Very scary holding your child while they are helpless.”

3. Undiluted topical and oral use causes rashes.  “It took months to accumulate in my system, but once the rashes started, I could no longer use any oils without the rash coming back. I was told by XX Reps that I was detoxing and that I should use more oils. I was told to try different oils for the rash. I was told to take sulfur. I was told that it’s impossible to be allergic to the oils. I was told that I must have a defective gene which is causing the rash.”

Please don’t buy this and other myths. The essential oil chemistry expert Dr. Robert Pappas previously addressed this, as well as other myths, on his Facebook page for Essential Oil University.

2. Vaginal yeast infection leads to permanent scarring. “Was advised by a consultant to soak a tampon in tea tree oil, insert it before bed, wear it overnight and by the morning my yeast infection would be cleared up. Before bed that evening I put 5 drops of Tea Tree Oil on the tip of a tampon (I was worried about soaking the tampon as she instructed & using too much), I inserted the tampon and soon noticed a warm sensation. I called the representative as she told me it was normal and how I knew it was working. I went to bed and woke up about 6-7 hours later feeling like napalm had been poured into my vagina. I could not remove the tampon myself the pain was so bad. A neighbor drove me to the nearest hospital; They removed the tampon immediately and treated me for chemical burns with a prescription of burn jelly to continue using for the next 10 days, and more antibiotics to prevent the burn from becoming infected. At the 30 days check the tissue had scabbed over & partially healed. The 60 day exam the scabs were all gone but he noted I may have scars remaining and at the 90 day exam he told me scarring was present and would likely not completely heal.“

1. Undiluted blend to six-month-old’s chest resulted in two febrile seizures. “…Fever was only 99 and stopped breathing, foamed at the mouth; after 10 min violent seizing, turned purple and stopped breathing. Companies need to start warning about the seizure effects with wintergreen, eucalyptus, fennel, etc! My son doesn’t have epilepsy or any medical conditions. Once I removed his shirt and washed his skin at the hospital 45 min later he stopped seizing and returned to normal.”

We were downright shocked by some of these cases. They’re getting worse, and the saddest part is, they’re totally avoidable with proper aromatherapy education.

We have to stop this from happening. You can help.

Share essential oil safety information with your friends! You never know who has been fed incorrect or incomplete information. Please make sure that your essential oil education originates from a qualified aromatherapy professional. There are a lot of voices of reason in this situation. Make sure you’re listening to them!