Essential Oil Overkill

[Kayauhs]

Our facility is using essential oils like they are the second coming of Jesus. We have no policy and procedure, no regulations, no MSDS, nothing. Some shifts soak the resident's skin, no carrier oils, soak their bedding, clothing and other personal items.

We've got nurses bringing their own supply of essential oils FROM HOME and putting them on the patients!! No where in nursing would that ever be allowed.

It's making the nursing staff sick. According to the FDA, once you put these essential oils on the skin of the patient, it's considered a drug.

What is the answer here? The popularity of essential oils and the unbelievable backlash if you question if they work or not is getting old for me very quickly.

(Just FYI essential oils are completely unregulated and they are a 4 BILLION dollar industry).

Does your facility use essential oils? What's the policy on this?

For What it's Worth: You cannot find ANY essential oils listed in the drug handbook. Think about that.

[Beth1978]

Viva, I am horribly allergic to lavender too. Nurses technically aren't even supposed to wear perfume, who thought up this policy to put it all over patients? Essential oils placed on skin without a carrier oil can cause skin irritation. OP, can you bring up that fact with management? I doubt a facility-aquired wound as a result of an unordered oil applied to skin would look good to your state surveyors.

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

Where in the world do you work? Sounds like a cluster. To me, the answer is complaining to management and getting policies in place to forbid their use.

I recently mentioned in another thread that I'm completely fascinated by the recent rise in EO popularity. I'm all for diffusing a nice oil here or there just for calming/relaxation/pleasant-smelling-air purposes, but the fact that they're being ingested or rubbed onto the various parts of the body for medical ailments is really bizarre to me. And in my limited experience, people who are into them are REALLY passionate and die-hard about them. I somehow missed the advent of this cultural phenomena but I've come to suspect the fact that EOs are tied to multi-level marketing schemes that convince (mostly) women, many of whom are financially struggling mothers, that they will change their lives by selling them and preaching their benefits is directly related to this uptick in interest.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

When we use essential oils at work--which admittedly isn't often--they are used only as aromatherapy. Oils are never applied topically. Instead, the oil is put on a small cotton puff and given to the patient to sniff at their discretion. The use of oils for aromatherapy are also optional.

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

Use carefully around pets. They can be deadly.

[StrwbryblndRN]

I am a fan of EO, but do not think it is a place for nurses to use on patients. The risk of allergy or reaction is

too great.

It is hard to contain the smell in an area if too much is used.

I love lavender oil, I use it frequently (at home). However, I once had a patient use it for

his own use. I had no problem with it but the scent permeated the hallway. And after he was discharged the

scent was hard to remove from the room. I have had another patient use thieves (diluted) in her room.

But she used it sparingly and it did not permeate. Either way, it should be restricted. Just like perfumes, not

everyone knows how to keep it to a minimum.

[djh123]

I take some herbal supplements, so I'm not against herbal 'stuff' per se at all, but this just sounds utterly ridiculous, and I don't see how anyone - mgt., let alone State, would be ok with it.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Every staff member who is at all affected by the scents needs to break down Employee Health's door. Then pay risk management a visit. After all if it is as noxious as it sounds, the scents are putting pts at risk. I mean really... scents are banned/dangerous if they are in a pretty spray bottle -- but beneficial if they come as oil in a pretty vial with an Earth Mother type picture on the label?

And the nurses bringing their OWN oils?? **facepalm**

[audreysmagic, RN]

I'm in the "the health benefits are probably woo" club, though some aromatherapy seems to have calming effects on some people. I keep them around solely because I enjoy the smell and my asthma is triggered by most perfumes (but I do okay with natural products). Still, I'd never use them as a medication or treatment (for myself or anyone else), and I kind of hate that in even buying them, I risk getting lumped in with the people who do. And I'm very careful about using them around others, because you never know how anyone else reacts to scents.

[audreysmagic, RN]

Use carefully around pets. They can be deadly.

Yes, agreed - I encourage anyone who uses them at home to make sure they know which oils are and aren't safe to use around their pets. There are a couple smells I adore but don't use in any diffusers at home because they're toxic to cats.

[Crystal-Wings, LVN]

I can't imagine all the residents enjoy them either. Imagine being confined to your bed and unable to communicate that your neighbor's essential oils are bothering you. That's just awful.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

We have essential oils, they were rolled out a couple years ago but I've never used them for patients. Seems like a silly fad if you ask me. Offerings were lavender, peppermint, orange and maybe rosemary. Frankly, the only smell I like is orange. Peppermint I can't stand because it is the go-to for a code brown! I don't really know anyone on my unit that uses them for patients and I don't even know who supplies them. We never put them on people, they were meant to be put on a cotton ball in a med cup to help with nausea, sleep, stress. I worked with a pool nurse that uses them at another hospital and takes the time to document before and after. Forget that the pain med documentation is too much, I'm not going to document essential oils on top of that. Like an OP said some people have asthma or allergies or don't like the scent. I can't stand rosemary or lavender. I like orange or jasmine. I usually use the orange to refresh myself if I think of it and if there is even a vial around. lol

[andrea3434]

We have lavender patches that patients can stick on their skin if they want (usually only they can smell them once placed unless you are really close). We offer them if someone is anxious and wishes to try it.

I like certain oils myself but would never diffuse them in public areas or put them on myself before going to work.