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I get asked often on the Using Essential Oils Safely facebook group about proof that misuse of essential oils can cause harm. This question is from concerned friends of people who ingest essential oils in their water frequently, or who use them without dilution and think they are doing a good thing.

Below you will find some quotes from people from the UEOS group who have commented on this thread sharing their experiences.

I have PERMANENT ESOPHAGEAL DAMAGE from ingesting Lemon EO from a mlm company. Verified by my doctor. - Shellie

I have written about mine on here but long story short, I was drinking lemon eo and peppermint eo in my water, and taking the LLV supplements all was well for about 5-6 months and then diarrhea started for 10 days to almost 2 weeks straight, got worse instead of better but when I stopped with the oil use, it went away. This is how I know it was the ingesting eo’s causing it. Hoping long term damage isn’t there somewhere. This happened due to me listening to those educated in marketing instead of real safety. -Vicki

Years ago I was struggling with constipation and became really sick. I actually couldn’t walk because of how bad the pain was in my back. I asked someone, who I thought knew a lot about essential oils, what I should do and they recommended I take three capsules full of oregano a day. After the first capsule I started getting an intense burning in my insides. I called the person who looked it up on the internet and realized it was supposed to be three drops in a capsule and not three capsules full. I started trying to eat as much as I could to hopefully soak up some of the oregano. I vomited a few minutes later a few times and felt better. Honestly the vomiting helped. My body new it was being poisoned and took care of itself! Plus I think I got rid of it quick enough that I don’t believe, at least not yet, that I have long term damage from it! -Retha

Last fall, when I started with oils, I read that lemongrass can help heal tissue - I have a stretched ligament in my foot that causes chronic pain. So the protocol was to rub undiluted lemongrass onto the affected area and “drive” it in with peppermint (undiluted) (1 drop each). I did that for 1 week (I think) before I could no longer bear to touch the area or even wear socks. My skin is still sensitive to the touch, and it feels terrible to have to tell my little kids not to touch me there (for some reason their little feet are attracted to my feet) every day… It’s been about 5 months since I stopped… -Leigh

I put oregano oil neat on a wart my son had and covered it up with a bandaid. I went outside for a few minutes and came in to see him crying because it burned. The bandaid was sort of melting from the oil. I felt so awful. It really gave me a greater respect and caution for the oils, but I wish it had happened to me and not him. -Kristen

I was told by a [X brand] rep that I should take [blend containing Eucalyptus, Laurel Leaf, Lemon, Melaleuca, Peppermint, Ravensara] sublingually two or three times a day. It caused my throat to swell and I still have breathing issues and it’s been over a month. Now I can’t use any of the oils that are in the breathe oil and I’ve had to use medication to open up my airway. It’s much better now but I can still feel that it is tighter and I struggle when I was outside playing in the snow with my kids, I can’t keep up with what my lungs need. -Jamie

My cousin, a [X brand] rep, told me to put [their] Peppermint neat on my temples and the back of my neck for a migraine. It stung like crazy and the fumes hurt my eyes! She also pointed out that peppermint from other companies was inferior and full of additives. According to her, [their brand] is the only oil that is pure and safe. -Sabrina

I used the peppermint on my temples too & it stung my eyes. -Allison

Was told to take a brand’s digestive blend for acid reflux. I had previously seen on a single packet of peppermint tea a warning about peppermint possibly causing trouble for acid reflux. When I noticed peppermint was an ingredient, I asked and was assured the brand’s oils were “pure” and thus no warnings apply to their products and that, on top of that statement, this blend was able to balance out all digestive issues. Needless to say, the digestive blend didn’t help and made it worse. -Stacey

I was taking a supplement that made me feel horrible for over a month, psoriasis worsened, systemic up itching, couldn’t sleep. I was told that was detox. -Tiffany

I became a [X brand] IPC and they told me to take “the bomb” when flu symptoms came on . . . the consists of 3 drops [thieves blend] blend, 3 drops lemon eo, 3 drops TTO, 3 drops oregano in a capsule. 3-4 times a day. It burns (me) all the way down. And all day long. Also, the oregano oil burned my hands.

Further, the instructed me to put (a thieves blend) on my kid’s feet for flu prevention. So by this time I had a roller bottle with 20 drops [blend containing Eucalyptus, Cinnamon, Clove, Rosemary, Orange] and filled the rest with fractionated coconut oil. I would roll a stripe on kid’s feet, rub it in and cover with socks. My 3 y/o put her hand down there one night to “help” me rub it in, and even though it was diluted the clove (I suspect) burned her tummy when her hand brushed against her tummy after she “helped” rub it in. There was a small bright red streak that was raising up- I just kept rubbing plan coconut oil (not fractionated) over it and it went down after a while.-Angie

Another to share was that I had the 5ml [blend containing Blue Chamomile, Blue Tansy, Camphor, Helichrysum, Osmanthus, Peppermint, Wintergreen] and put two drops on my right pointer finger to rub on my neck. The spot I put the two drops on my finger remained numb for about 4-5 days. This was because I was told this, and most of the EOs, should be used neat. Now I know better! -Stacey

That same thing happened to me , I was told (in a PM) by a popular blogger that sold [X brand] to take the flu bomb and it burned my insides really bad also. It was awful. When I let her know she refused to comment back in my PMs to her. It was too much EOs to be taking in capsules internally. -Lauralee

I joined this group and didn’t believe the things said about diluting… Until I applied an immune blend diluted 1:1 to my 2 y.o.’s feet and after only 3 days, he said “no feet” and started crying… His skin was peeling off his feet. Now, I believe it. I felt SO BAD! He wouldn’t even let me put straight carrier oil on his feet to help him heal. He’s fine now, but I’ve learned my lesson! -Jerusha

I had my bp raised dramatically by an oil combination that I was advised to take internally, also had major heartburn and internal burning from oregano in a capsule, burned my skin and my sons skin by putting oregano on without a carrier, got major heartburn for weeks from ingesting lemon in my water. -Vicki

I used one this morning, and the blend was deceptive. It led me to think it was diluted in almond oil. However, I used it twice, in different locations. The second place, I have a lot of nerve damage in my back. I’m not so sure I didn’t have some kind of adverse reaction to it, because my pain intensified. -Deirdre

I received my initial teaching about EOs from a [X brand] rep. She told me I could put [blend containing Eucalyptus, Cinnamon, Clove, Rosemary, Orange] directly on skin (a thieves like blend). I did that for everyone in the family including my then 11 year old daughter. She said it itched and hurt. I then tried diluting it, but it still caused her problems. I now realize I shouldn’t have used it on her topically at all due to the clove, cinnamon oils and even when I diluted it wasn’t diluted enough. I haven’t used that oil on her again and plan on waiting a few years before trying it heavily diluted on her. I now have a dilution chart and use it all the time. -Linda

I received a bottle of a supplement for omega oils from an established eo company. In addition to omega 3 oils it contains the following eos: clove, frankincense, thyme, cumin, orange, peppermint, ginger, caraway, German chamomile= 60mg. It is a liquid in a capsule. I started taking this before i knew it had eos in it. After 2 days of distress, I read the label. I never had any trouble taking omega 3 oils before so I did not know what to think?? I completely stopped this after I saw the eos. It gave bad indigestion and stomach aches and acid reflux. Enough said. I can write the company and discuss my concern, but of course they believe differently!! -Janet

Can there be an allergic reaction to an essential oil? I was concerned after my daughter put oregano oil on her arm, and appeared to break out in hives. I used olive oil on the area to dilute an wiped off and applied more olive oil over and over. We ended up having to take two Benadryl to calm the hives. She is fine now. But she didn’t just react where the oil touched, she got hives that went up her arm, all over her neck and down her belly. -Jamie

I was introduced to [X brand] at the end of December. I took their products as promoted by them for three weeks. I used lemon and orange drops in my water a couple times per day. I put 4 drops of lavender with 4 drops of Frankincense in my bath at night. I used 1-2 drops of frankincense in my water at night and I took their [X brand] pack vitamins (which include a blend of essential oils also). I also used a diffuser with oils in it and used various oils topically on occasion (usually mixed with coconut oil). After one week, I started feeling great. My long standing headaches were gone. I woke up early with energy. My allergies were diminished. Half way into week three, however, I started having a very rapid heart rate and insomnia. By Jan 23, I was so sick, my husband took me to the ER. I was totally confused and having paranoid delusions (not something that has ever happened to me before), my heart was racing, I was sobbing and hysterical, I was having pain and weakness everywhere, I was extremely thirsty, and I broke out with boils and rashes everywhere. They tested me for drugs and I tested positive for opiates. Looking back on the whole event, I can’t believe I didn’t also test positive for amphetamines. The doctors at the ER knew nothing about essential oils and thought I might be manic or something so they gave me Atavan and Zyprexa- that made the whole thing worse. Then I started having visual hallucinations. I did finally sleep somewhat. They let me go home with my husband the next day with instructions to avoid the oils (obviously). For the next two weeks, I went through what can only be described as drug withdrawal. Shakes, fevers, agitation, continuing paranoid delusions, rashes and boils, insomnia, muscle weakness, neuropathy in hands and feet. In short, a total nightmare. My heartless up line had the nerve to tell me nothing that was happening to me could have been caused by the [X brand] oils. I beg to differ. As a person who has never even been drunk, much less on drugs, I am positive that the oils caused my illness. What is unknown is whether the oils and supplements were tainted with additives. -Stephanie

I’m embarrassed to share this, but I hope it will help others be more informed: I bought some immune support eo to use on my family to keep us healthy and fight off illness. I had not learned much before starting to use eo’s. I’ve been applying the oil to our feet about once a day without using a carrier oil. I’m so glad that I learned enough to know what carrier oils are because my 3yo daughter got ahold of the bottle. She rubbed the eo all over her body and started screaming in pain a few minutes after I discovered what she had done. I grabbed some coconut oil and coated her body in it. I have learned two things from this experience. One, put all oils out of reach of children. Two, educate yourself before using essential oils. -Jessica

Also:

A near fatal case of high dose peppermint oil ingestion

Documented Side Effects, Injuries, and Deaths from Essential Oil Ingestion

(more to come)

For more information read:

• Properly Diluting Essential Oils

• Ingesting Essential Oils

• Inhaling Essential Oils