Hey Everyone!! New podcast up for you all today! We always need to have the conversation about safely using essential oils. This serves as a great reminder that we have these powerful and therapeutic tools at our fingertips, so using them safely is key!
On today's podcast, we discuss:
Here is the link for the survey! Please let us know about what you want us to talk about!
Here are the show notes for today's podcast:
Intro: 00:00 Welcome to essential oil healthcare radio. I am frank, I am a certified physician assistant and I'm Jackie Ritz. I'm an herbalist and lover of essential oils and we would love to bring to you this podcast about herbs, essential oils, supplements, all these ways that you can live a natural life. So stay tuned and listen to us and we'll be bringing to you lots of content on essential
Intro: 00:21 Oils, using herbs, using natural remedies to take care of yourself and your family.
Frank: 00:36 Hey everyone, Frank and Jackie Ritz. There was such an oil, healthcare radio and today we are going to talk about essential oils, safety, boring. You should probably tell everybody exactly how you feel. Sorry, I don't really like talking about this. That's, that's that internal monologue by the way that you're supposed to keep that,
Jackie: 00:55 oh sorry.
Frank: 00:56 But anyway, in really is critical that we make sure that we talk about essential oils safety. The reason why is because there are people who are pretty wild west out there and we've seen some pretty wild things that people are doing with essential oils and it kind of makes us cringe because essential oils absolutely have a place in health and wellness and they need to be utilized with prudent understanding. That way we can make sure that we are using them in the capacity in which they are designed. That way we can make sure that they're safe and effective. Before we start all of this, I want to make sure that what you started off with a disclaimer is that not all essential oils are the same. Make sure you do your research on the type of essential oils that you're considering to purchase because there are some that are chock full of a lot of different ingredients that you may not necessarily care for and those things may in fact harm you or caused problems. The other thing I don't want to make sure that I say is that just like the rest of the time that we're on our podcast, we're not here to diagnose or treat or prevent or cure anything that's for doctors to do. And so we want to make sure that you run, run
Jackie: 02:01 by anything that you have any questions about. We'll be having to ask you to answer any questions by, you know, you really want to make sure that you talked to your healthcare provider because that's the person that you should be walking hand in hand with when it comes to ensuring the best for your health and wellness. And so without any further ado, I'm gonna turn it over to Jackie. We're going to get started with some essential oil safety stuff. So yeah, like French said, most important safety tip that we could give you is to buy high quality essential oils. If you heard on later Po, earlier podcast, I definitely wasn't following that advice. Six, seven years ago, I was buying my oils on Amazon and I was buying crappy oils. And so I wasn't seeing was it labeled that way? I was, that was the said Le Crappy. I did the French. Yes it was. Oh, so you use common sense and get the best quality essential oils you can find around you. If you have a brand
Jackie: 03:00 yet that you fallen in love with you, we love Doterra and we can help you get plugged into using doterra essential oils. Just let us know if that's something that you're interested in. Um, but they are very powerful. Somebody let you know, I don't mean to cut you off. Oh, that would, that, that would actually be really good. Just wondering. Um, you could go to my website, the Paleo mama.com. Um, contact me form. We'll link it below. So you just have to click. You don't have to go searching and just send me a message that you're interested in getting started with essential oils with doterra. So really important to remember that essential oils are very, very powerful and we do need to use some responsibility when we are applying them and using them. Um, they are very concentrated. They're very, um, like what is it, 70 times more potent than it's herbal counterpart.
Jackie: 03:52 So it's really important to remember that a little bit goes a long way. Um, and so we're going to talk about some safety guidelines that we follow. Um, this does not take place of your own and individualized learning that we want to encourage you to do and it's not comprehensive by any means. Um, but it will give you a very good start to using your essential oils and starting your own journey. So, um, remember that essential oils are safe, they are effective when used properly, and it only takes a tiny amount to create a really powerful therapeutic effect on your body. Um, so let's talk about location. We never want to hear that you are putting oils in your eyes, in your ears, up your nose, and on your private area.
Frank: 04:53 Sensitive areas is, is the way that we mucous membranes and sensitive. I hate that word by the way of areas. That's a better word. The belt if you will.
Jackie: 05:02 Okay. So yeah, don't ever put oils there. Okay. So what do we do if we do put them there? Do we go rush and wash them off in the sink?
Frank: 05:11 No. Because water will actually spread oil guys, water and oil do not Max. They never do. So what you need to do is, the reason why you don't use water and oils is because it will just simply kind of like spread the oil around and maybe increase the discomfort that you're actually experiencing. So utilize a non polar substance, meaning a soap or an oil itself, like a carrier oil. Yeah. And something like that. Because that will actually consider to be a diluted version of being able to actually alleviate some of the discomfort that may be experienced if you get it onto a sensitive area.
Jackie: 05:46 Because I remember you used wintergreen one time and then you went to the bathroom.
Frank: 05:50 Yeah, I didn't realize wintergreen was still on my fingers.
Jackie: 05:53 So this could happen to her. I have never, I would never do that. I would never put oils there. Well it can happen and so if it does go wash it off really quick with some fractionated coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil, and don't use water because it will actually drive the oils faster into your skin. So remember that many oils run hot. Um, so there are some oils that are hotter than others. Um, so when you put them on your skin, it could actually cause a lot of pain, right? Talk about that.
Frank: 06:32 So the oil is that we were talking in consideration our stuff like Cassia or cinnamon or Oregano or time, some of the other herbs like that, right? Pepper, black pepper is not a good one to put on your skin. That because that can be considered, you know, hot. Then there's the ones that have increased sensation so they can like cool the skin or just let you know, oh, by the way, I'm here.
Jackie: 06:55 So lime or peppermint
Frank: 06:57 and wintergreen and Eucalyptus and ginger and lemon grass. So these ones will end even cedar. What these ones, we'll let you know that they're on the skin. And so we definitely want to make sure that you actually increase the consideration for dilution. Uh, you know, one to two drops in five to 10 milligrams or excuse me, middle leaders of a fractionated coconut oil or some other, um, you know, some other kind of a carrier oil that you can use. It should definitely be considered if you're going to be using them on younger children or you're going to be using them on the elderly. Absolutely. Go with, uh, diluting first before you even consider using them.
Jackie: 07:36 Yeah, so I mean, I use a very simple dilution method. I know there's like a whole science, like percentages and all that starts out there guys that you can absolutely Google it. But here's what I do. Um, for anyone underneath under one or an elderly or somebody with a compromised immune system or health, I recommend one table pregnant women, pregnant women, I recommend a tablespoon of fractionated coconut oil per drop. Okay. Um, for kids who are over one, between one and six, I recommend about a tablespoon per two drops. And then for kids who are over six to, you know, adulthood, then you want to use about a drop per teaspoon. But it's always recommended to dilute the oils. Diluting actually sounds like a bad word, doesn't it? Like it sounds like we're taking away the power of the essential oil. Is that true?
Frank: 08:35 Not at all. So what it does, it just actually it actually does a couple of things. When you, when you open up an essential oil, the reason why you're actually getting that like really great aromas because that's related to also something called flash off. And so when you dilute in oil quote unquote dilute oil, you were actually decreasing the amount of flash off, but you are not taking any of the real benefit of the therapeutic version of the oil and so less is more. Um, one quick thing that I want to say is that doterra.com does in fact have a, uh, you know, a suggested usage charts, uh, that will actually speak about, uh, individuals of certain ages and how often you should actually consider using those essential oil. It's a please go to doterra.com and look for the suggested usage chart
Jackie: 09:19 as well. So use common sense as well. Um, we recommend to keep all your essential oils out of reach of children. There's some that actually have like the kids cap on where they can't get off, although my kids figured out how to get rid of, how to get through those caps really quickly. Um, so make sure that you keep them out of their reach. You know, you don't want your, your kids getting into them. It could be clove or a hot oil that could really, really burned their skin. So keep them away from the children. Um, and, and don't let them, if you have babies, I don't, I don't personally let my kids like play with the bottles of oil suck on the bottles of oil. None of that is recommended, so just keep them out of their reach. Um, and this is just a pretty good standard precaution that I just wanted to mention. Um, if you know you've never used any essential oil before, like a new one that you get, we recommend doing a patch test first. And so a patch test is where you just take a drop of the oil put about if you're an adult. Put about a teaspoon or half a teaspoon of carrier oil and put it onto an area of your skin and weight
Frank: 10:28 and nonsensitive area of your nonsense, like something that like is exposed. Um, normally when you're wearing a tee shirt or something like that. So thanks again
Jackie: 10:37 and just see how your body reacts over the next 12 to 24 hours. Um, just see if you have an allergic reaction, um, and just see how that area looks, you know, um, so make sure that you always do that if you are,
Frank: 10:52 here's a, here's a pro tip, by the way, instead of using one entire drop of an essential oil grab a toothpick, and you can actually poke the toothpick either around the, uh, it's, it's, it's the plastic cap that sits inside of the essential oil bottle. You can run it around that plastic cow and then just touch it to your skin and you'll be able to get a much smaller version of that essential oil. Um, you know, that way you can do it now if that actually causes any type of an irritation or you have some sensitivity to it, just go with the aroma instead. Don't even worry about using a topically just because it's been recommended to you. Or do you think it's a great idea if it causes sensitivity, put it in a diffuser instead. Inhale the benefits instead of putting it on your skin?
Jackie: 11:35 Yeah, so it begs the question, you know, why do some people react to certain essential oils? Um, and so there is a negative response or reaction to using some essential oils that some people can have and it manifests as a skin discomfort or an um, and so most likely the common cause of this is somebody has put it on their skin without diluting. Okay. Without using a carrier oil. Um, this can be something that's temporary that just kind of goes away in an hour, but it can also linger. And so here's a few things that you want to make sure of, um, as to why this kind of response might happen. One, it's the undiluted use of essential oils. Maybe it's a hot oil, like we mentioned, clove, or maybe it's a sensational oil like peppermint or wintergreen. Um, this can kind of trigger a, both a temporary or it could be a longterm relationship to the oil.
Jackie: 12:39 So you want to make sure that, you know what oils are warm or hot and you want to always dilute. So we are actually strong proponents of always diluting every oil. Um, like I said in a previous podcast, I'm cheap and frugal and so I want my essential oils to last as long as possible. So, and for safety, you know, recommendations, I don't want to put an oil straight on my skin without using a carrier oil, like fractionated coconut oil. So always dilute. And then also certain individuals might already have allergies to certain plants. And so if you have a known allergy, although the use of oil might not trigger a reaction, make sure that you do a patch test like we mentioned, and just avoid contact altogether, even with the oil that is derived from that plan. Um, but how about some talk about essential oils with children? My husband's really good at, you know, putting oils on our kids. So I'm going to let him take this one over.
Frank: 13:44 I would say that you want to make sure that, uh, you know, you look at the ratio of skin size, right? Like, so, oh gosh, when I was practicing as a PA before we got involved with home based businesses, I had unfortunately here have parents that we're putting, you know, different types of steroid creams on kids by the recommendations of the doctors. And unfortunately they would like slather this stuff on to them from their neck down, you know, so realize that the surface area of a two year old is going to be much different than my 235 pound body. I have a much larger surface area. So way less is even better when it comes to kids utilize dilution with children every single time.
Jackie: 14:24 By the way, he was 260 pounds about four months ago.
Frank: 14:28 Well, I appreciate that, but I'm just, I feel better. It's the best way to say it. Um, so getting back to, you know, skin, or I should say skin and skin types, excuse me, the amount of surface area that, uh, that, uh, that a child has versus an adult, you know, we're definitely going to have to use more. So, or excuse me, we're gonna have to use more dilution. Okay. The next thing is, is like try the bottoms of the feet. The reason why the bottoms of the feet are nice is because they are actually thicker skin down there. And so it really does a good job of like allowing that oil to more penetrate slower, um, into the body. And it actually makes it a really good way of being able to consider using it because it, uh, it's not, it's not skin that gets easily irritated, right.
Frank: 15:12 Uh, or easily, easily addressed with, with something like an oil or something like that. So, um, like I said, excuse me, the, the toothpick trick is really good. Um, you can use a toothpick of it where you're getting like a quarter of a drop or maybe a half of a drop and then just dilute more as really the best way to do it. And the fuse, I mean that is like one of the best ways to use oils around your kids and do the research. There are certain oils that are on the fence in terms of the types of oils that they are, the, the age of use of children and all that sort of stuff. Do your research. It's very important to make sure that you are confident about the usage of those essential oils around your little ones because we want to make sure that you're always safe and very effective, which leads us in.
Jackie: 15:58 So a chat about using essential oils while you're pregnant. Um, and so just a little history I want to give you as to my opinion on this that I'll move into is that I had three miscarriages and so anytime I'm talking to a woman about essential oils in there, pregnant, I, I'm, I'm very careful about it. I don't know her history. I don't know if she has a rocky uterus like I do and unstable uterus. Um, I don't know all that. Um, and so I strongly advise if you're pregnant to really consult with a health practitioner who is educated in the use of essential oils. Um, there's some essential oils in ways to use essential oils that I would never use as a pregnant woman. You know, in my first trimester, I would never recommend internal usage of essential oils. Um, there are some essential oils that are known to, you know, thin the blood like wintergreen. Um, so I would never encourage using wintergreen or using blends that contain winter, winter green, um, as in deep blue if you're pregnant. But, um, there's strong opinions on both sides of this. And so I don't know you, I don't know your uterus, I don't know your history. So I encourage you to really dig deep and do the research. I know it's a lot harder than somebody just telling you what to do, but I want to empower you to find that information out for yourself and do what you are comfortable doing.
Frank: 17:36 Yeah, just make sure, uh, research is key. And then having a healthcare provider that you can speak with about essential oil use a, if you are pregnant or you're considering getting pregnant, that's extremely important. So we just want to make sure that you are aware that moving on essential oils during sun exposure. So there are cold pressed citrus oils that we never recommend that anybody within a 12 hour window applied directly to their skin and then go out and actually get a, you know, sun exposure because it can actually cause something called photo sensitivity because it reacts to the ultraviolet rays that are inside of natural light and then actually may cause a discoloration of the skin. And so we just make sure that do not utilize things like grapefruit or lemon or lime or Bergamot or wild orange because you could in fact see some changing of the color of your skin because of the UV light.
Frank: 18:32 Okay. And then lastly is the use of essential oils with prescription medications. Um, there is really, it's a, this is going to be a very, very good talk with a medical provider that is experienced with essential oil use. Okay. Um, you want to let them know what all of the different stuff, romance and all of the different health care things that you want to do. You want to make sure that you speak with somebody, get a list of those prescription medications and then bounce the list of essential oils that you are considering using along with them. Okay. We want to make sure that you understand that that is a very good conversation that you need to have, uh, without care provider. Not only essential oils, but if you're considering using some of the supplements that are available in Doterra as well, make sure that you speak with somebody who understands that there, there is a possibility of interaction, but you want to make sure that you washed it all out so you can make the best choices that you possibly can.
Jackie: 19:34 Well, that's pretty much it. I mean I can't think of anything else. I think that we, I hope that we covered everything. The reason why is because, um, we want to make sure that you're using these safe and effectively. One last thing, I guess in terms of reactivity is have a plan and they don't like it. Say that if you are to utilize a new essential oil or something like that, you know, you need to have that. What if protocol on if I use it and I a, it causes a reaction of some sort, then what do you do about it? Okay, so half quarter of like an urgency plan if you will, uh, utilizing essential oils and stuff like that. By all means, seek medical attention if you feel that it's necessary. We want to make sure that you're using these safe and effective way.
Jackie: 20:15 So thanks so much guys for listening to this safety chat. Um, save this episode and use it anytime you need a refresh course on it. I mean, we all could totally need that every now and then or send it to somebody who's new to using essential oils will hope that you enjoyed this podcast. Make sure that you guys give us some love on our iTunes page. Yep.
Outro: 20:39 Whatever you're listening to. However, by pause being, I don't know what you're listening to, we're on all of those types of media, so please show us that love, love to see it, and also on this in the show notes, we are going to have a survey. If you have an idea for a future podcast episode, drop a suggestion into the little box right there and we will cover it for you if it's something that is interesting. So without further ado, I am frank. This is Jackie. This is essential oil healthcare radio. We're signing off now until we talked to you again next week and we cannot wait to see you on our very next podcast.
Hey everyone! We hope you have had a wonderful Christmas Holiday season! We are about done with our break and want to bring a...
Today on the podcast we talk about what hormone disruptors are and what essential oils to use for hormone health. We also touch on...
Hey everyone! This will be a fun podcast! We are going to open up into our life and family a bit and describe our...