Essential oils don’t really deserve the hate. Yes, anyone who imagines they can replace actual medicine is fucking stupid and also a horrible person if they do that to their own child, no doubt. But we shouldn’t act like they do absolutely nothing. Things like oils and herbs can be used to treat small problems and supplement medicine, and do work when used correctly for the correct problem.
That being said, I think that today’s antivaxxers are less stereotypical hippies and more christofascists and trads.
They’re actually an environmental nightmare. It takes 10000 pounds of rose petals to make a single pound of rose oil, for example. They are poisonous to aquatic life and house pets, flammable, lavender and tea tree oils are endocrine disruptors. I don’t know what problems you think they solve, but I only ever used peppermint oil when I worked in ER and someone rolled in who had shit their pants, a couple of drops inside a mask and you can continue working without throwing up.
Apparently some can be used in food too. Made some mint ice cream with a few drops of oil and it was soooo good. (you’ll have to make sure it’s food safe ofc)
Is the hate more of an American thing because of the association with MLMs and their inflated claims?
Here in the UK, they’re used for minor ailments, relaxation and general fragrancing. If you tried to advertise them as a cancer cure, you’d get into a lot of trouble. I don’t like the smell of lavender, but I love how good it is for sore throats and minor burns (stops blistering and scarring if you put it on as soon as you’ve finished cooling it).
Speaking of burns, I only got the memo recently, so for those who also missed it, the advice is now to use tepid water to cool a burn rather than cold (apparently because colder water will make the blood vessels constrict so the heat doesn’t leave as quickly).
Essential oils don’t really deserve the hate. Yes, anyone who imagines they can replace actual medicine is fucking stupid and also a horrible person if they do that to their own child, no doubt. But we shouldn’t act like they do absolutely nothing. Things like oils and herbs can be used to treat small problems and supplement medicine, and do work when used correctly for the correct problem.
That being said, I think that today’s antivaxxers are less stereotypical hippies and more christofascists and trads.
They’re actually an environmental nightmare. It takes 10000 pounds of rose petals to make a single pound of rose oil, for example. They are poisonous to aquatic life and house pets, flammable, lavender and tea tree oils are endocrine disruptors. I don’t know what problems you think they solve, but I only ever used peppermint oil when I worked in ER and someone rolled in who had shit their pants, a couple of drops inside a mask and you can continue working without throwing up.
I like them because they smell nice.
Apparently some can be used in food too. Made some mint ice cream with a few drops of oil and it was soooo good. (you’ll have to make sure it’s food safe ofc)
Is the hate more of an American thing because of the association with MLMs and their inflated claims?
Here in the UK, they’re used for minor ailments, relaxation and general fragrancing. If you tried to advertise them as a cancer cure, you’d get into a lot of trouble. I don’t like the smell of lavender, but I love how good it is for sore throats and minor burns (stops blistering and scarring if you put it on as soon as you’ve finished cooling it).
Speaking of burns, I only got the memo recently, so for those who also missed it, the advice is now to use tepid water to cool a burn rather than cold (apparently because colder water will make the blood vessels constrict so the heat doesn’t leave as quickly).