lavender oil & boys

[Guest guest]

This article was published on the BBC News website

about two weeks ago:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6318043.stm

 

Apparently there is a small concern about exposing

boys to lavender oil.

 

Liz

[Guest guest]

This seems to only apply to children who use it all the time. We just have a

bottle of lavender oil that we put on the kids before a long road trip or other

stressful things. We used to use lavender lotion on both kids before bed every

night, though. We stopped that several months ago when we found out all the icky

stuff they put in baby lotion!! That is scary though, how they sell the stuff

and tell people to put it on their kids all the time.

 

ERB <bakwin wrote: This article

was published on the BBC News website

about two weeks ago:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6318043.stm

 

Apparently there is a small concern about exposing

boys to lavender oil.

 

Liz

 

 

 

 

 

Kadee Sedtal

 

Brain: " Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering? "

Pinky: " I think so, Brain, but if the plural of mouse is mice, wouldn't the

plural of spouse be spice? "

 

 

Check out my new , Classical 2 at

http://launch.classical2/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate

in the Answers Food & Drink Q & A.

 

 

[Guest guest]

and tea tree oil according to the report I saw in the paper!

 

-

ERB

Wednesday, February 14, 2007 2:08 PM

lavender oil & boys

 

 

This article was published on the BBC News website

about two weeks ago:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6318043.stm

 

Apparently there is a small concern about exposing

boys to lavender oil.

 

Liz

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Here is an interesting article pertaining to this issue:

 

http://www.cure-guide.com/Natural_Health_Newsletter/Lavender_Dangers/

lavender_dangers.html

 

Concerns about Tea Tree Oil and Lavender

 

Randall Neustaedter OMD

 

A series of three cases of breast enlargement in prepubertal boys led clinicians

to search

for a cause (1). They discovered that each of the boys had been using topical

applications

of products that contained lavender and tea tree oils. The symptom resolved when

the

boys stopped using these products.

 

Particulars of the cases included a 4 year-old boy whose mother applied an

herbal lotion

containing lavender, a 7 year-old boy who used a lavender-scented soap and skin

lotion,

and a 10 year-old boy who used a shampoo and styling gel that contained tea tree

oil and

lavender. Breast swelling is not a normal symptom in young boys and usually is

caused by

an internal or external estrogen source.

 

This led the clinicians to research the effects of the oils on human cells. They

tested the

two oils on breast cancer cells with estrogen and androgen receptors. They found

that the

oils did have estrogenic effects and also blocked the male hormone androgen,

both of

which could have caused the breast swelling in these boys.

 

Lavender (lavandula) and tea tree oil (melaleuca) are often added to lotions and

bath

products for children. Parents should be aware of the estrogen-like effects of

these, and

many other products. Petroleum derived perfumes and pesticides, plastics, and

soy

products all exhibit estrogen effects. The skin is a very good absorbent

membrane for

drugs and chemicals, so parents need to be cautious about the products they use

on their

children's skin. Babies are especially susceptible to the disruptive and toxic

effects of

drugs and harmful chemicals applied to the skin in lotions and sunscreens,

because their

immature livers have difficulty metabolizing these chemicals. Parents should

therefore use

safe sunscreens (zinc oxide), organic shampoos, lotions, and soaps, and stay

away from

prolonged use of products that contain lavender and tea tree oil.

 

Henley DV, et al. Prepubertal gynecomastia linked to lavender and tea tree oils.

New

England Journal of Medicine Feb 1, 2007; 356:479-485.

 

Defending tea tree oil

 

In response to the newsletter article I wrote reporting on the suspected

connection

between lavender and tea tree oils and the occurrence of breast swelling in

three young

boys, I received the following text from a manufacturer of tea tree oil

products. I have

edited the response and not attributed it, because it was not intended for mass

distribution. However, I feel it is important to present as many perspectives as

possible on

this issue so that consumers can make informed decisions.

 

Here is the response.

 

When we first received word of this study, we contacted Dr. Derek Henley, the

lead author

of the research, who works at the National Institute of Environmental Health

Sciences. Dr.

Henley told us that this issue first came to his attention when Dr. Clifford

Bloch, a pediatric

endocrinologist in Denver, Colorado, reported that he had treated three young

boys within

a short period of time who had symptoms of prepubertal gynecomastia (enlarged

breast

tissue in young boys). Bloch thought that was unusual because he normally only

sees

about one case of prepubertal gynecomastia a year. In the course of his

treatment of these

patients, Bloch discovered that all of the boys had been using products that

contained

lavender oil. Bloch told us that the source of lavender oil for one of the boys

had been a

Paul Mitchell hair gel and shampoo that contained both lavender oil AND tea tree

oil. For

some unknown reason Bloch decided to include tea tree oil in his write-up even

though

lavender oil was the only common ingredient used in the products of all three

boys. We

did a chemical analysis of the Paul Mitchell hair gel and shampoo in question

and found

that tea tree oil was barely detectable in the hair gel and a very low

concentration in the

shampoo.

 

When they received this information from Bloch, Henley and Kenneth Korach, both

researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,

performed test tube

experiments of the effects of lavender oil on breast cancer cells. They also

decided to test

tea tree oil because of Dr. Bloch's request. They observed that both oils

exhibited

estrogen-like qualities on the cells. At the annual meeting of the National

Endocrine

Society held in Boston in June 2006, Henley reported the results of the

research, which was

subsequently published on February 1, 2007. What Henley's report failed to

mention is

that there are literally thousands of harmless natural oils and other natural

plant

substances that exhibit similar estrogen-like qualities when applied directly to

a cell

culture. Just a few common examples of products that have similar effects as tea

tree oil in

similar tests are: soy, hops, garbanzo beans, red clover, lentils, flaxseed,

sunflower seeds,

alfalfa sprouts, licorice, and ginseng.

 

Dr. Henley told us that while he was being interviewed by reporters about the

report, he

had the definite impression that they were trying to get him to say that

lavender oil and

tea tree oil cause gynecomastia so that they could publish a headline that these

products

should not be used. Henley told us that he was concerned about how the stories

had come

out as they just took portions of what he said instead of publishing everything

he said.

Henley emphasized to us that the research does not conclude that either lavender

oil or

tea tree oil are the direct cause of the gynecomastia in the young boys, but

that there may

be a correlation. He pointed out that the only common ingredient among all of

the

products used by the patients was lavender oil and that only one boy had used a

product

that contained both lavender oil and tea tree oil. In his report Henley

cautioned patients of

prepubertal gynecomastia to avoid repeat exposure to these essential oils, but

in our

phone interview he said there is not nearly enough evidence to indicate that

people should

stop using products with lavender oil or tea tree oil, even young boys.

 

We believe that these news reports based on this very simple cell culture assay

are very

misleading.

 

First, the study does not support a scientific conclusion because there is no

connection

between the cell culture on tea tree oil and the one boy who used a hair gel and

shampoo

containing tea tree oil. Both products also had lavender oil, and when tested in

a lab the

tea tree oil content was virtually undetectable in the hair gel and at very low

concentrations in the shampoo, which Dr. Henley informed us was Paul Mitchell

Tea Tree

Shampoo.

 

Second, thousands of plant-derived compounds have the same estrogen-like impact

in a

cell culture, including food products that millions of people around the world

ingest every

day like soy, hops, garbanzo beans, red clover, lentils, flaxseed, sunflower

seeds, alfalfa

sprouts, licorice, ginseng and many others.

 

Third, rather than use the coincidental story of a single boy, it seems that it

would be

more appropriate and much more responsible to report the results of millions of

users of

Melaleuca Oil. Considering the millions of products sold with tea tree oil each

year, if there

was any truth at all to this unsupported theory it seems that Melaleuca would

see a

common occurrence of prepubertal gynecomastia in young boys. Instead we have

never

received a single report! Not one! Ever!

 

Fourth, all 3 boys lived in the Denver area, yet no other environmental or

health factors

were considered.

 

Fifth, the study reports that there are other components in these products that

may

contribute the gynecomastia that were not tested, including other essential oils

in the

products the boys were using. The only common essential oil in these products

was

lavender oil, yet the researchers chose to include tea tree oil in their report

and tested no

other ingredients in these products.

 

It seems very odd to us that tea tree oil was even mentioned in this story. It

appears that

lavender oil is the only common substance used by the three boys in question. It

appears

that the only reason that tea tree oil was mentioned in the story was because

the source of

lavender for one of the three boys was Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Hair Gel and

Shampoo. There

does not appear to be any evidence whatsoever that the symptoms of that one boy

had

anything to do with tea tree oil.

 

It is absurd to us why, when one young boy presents with gynecomastia, and it is

learned

he used a Paul Mitchell shampoo and hair gel, it is suspected that tea tree oil

caused his

condition. That shampoo has many other ingredients other than tea tree oil,

including

lavender! In fact, all three boys had used products containing lavender. We can

understand

why lavender would be suspect, but it is an almost impossible leap of judgment

to

conclude that tea tree oil had anything to do with the problem.

 

That said, it is difficult to shut off or change a story once it gets started.

Nevertheless,

perhaps the most convincing data that we have is that after selling over 123

million

bottles of product containing Melaleuca Oil, we have never had a single case of

gynecomastia reported to us. It is apparent that the researchers in this case

got more than

a bit carried away in their effort to link tea tree oil to the story there

appears to be no

relationship whatsoever.

[Guest guest]

I know I am going to regret asking this because it will probably mean that I end

up switching to baby products that are whatever-free and 2x the price (haha),

but what kinds of things are in them that are bad?

 

Kadee M <abbey_road3012 wrote: This seems to only apply to

children who use it all the time. We just have a bottle of lavender oil that we

put on the kids before a long road trip or other stressful things. We used to

use lavender lotion on both kids before bed every night, though. We stopped that

several months ago when we found out all the icky stuff they put in baby

lotion!! That is scary though, how they sell the stuff and tell people to put it

on their kids all the time.

 

ERB <bakwin wrote: This article was published on the BBC News

website

about two weeks ago:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6318043.stm

 

Apparently there is a small concern about exposing

boys to lavender oil.

 

Liz

 

 

 

 

Kadee Sedtal

 

Brain: " Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering? "

Pinky: " I think so, Brain, but if the plural of mouse is mice, wouldn't the

plural of spouse be spice? "

 

Check out my new , Classical 2 at

http://launch.classical2/

 

 

Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate

in the Answers Food & Drink Q & A.

 

 

[Guest guest]

The scary stuff in shampoos referred to are things like sodium lauryl

sulphate, and many other chemicals.

 

If you want to check it out try this website by the gov't of Nova

Scotia, it is my favourite source for checking product safety.

 

http://lesstoxicguide.ca/index.asp?fetch=personal#found

 

I started getting more particular about shampoos and other personal

products when my girlfriend got metastic breast cancer at age 40.

 

Now if you follow T Colin Campbell's philosophy (The China Study) of

eating vegan to avoid cancer maybe it doesn't matter what we put on

our hair, but I figure I am going for the safer hair products anyway,

especially for my children.

 

Regards,

 

Christine

 

, L Friend <mountain_laurel1183

wrote:

>

> I know I am going to regret asking this because it will probably

mean that I end up switching to baby products that are whatever-free

and 2x the price (haha), but what kinds of things are in them that

are bad?

>

> Kadee M <abbey_road3012

[Guest guest]

Right, it may not matter but there's no harm in going the safer route. An ounce

of prevention...

 

cmacpoulin <macpoulin wrote: The

scary stuff in shampoos referred to are things like sodium lauryl

sulphate, and many other chemicals.

 

If you want to check it out try this website by the gov't of Nova

Scotia, it is my favourite source for checking product safety.

 

http://lesstoxicguide.ca/index.asp?fetch=personal#found

 

I started getting more particular about shampoos and other personal

products when my girlfriend got metastic breast cancer at age 40.

 

Now if you follow T Colin Campbell's philosophy (The China Study) of

eating vegan to avoid cancer maybe it doesn't matter what we put on

our hair, but I figure I am going for the safer hair products anyway,

especially for my children.

 

Regards,

 

Christine

 

, L Friend <mountain_laurel1183

wrote:

>

> I know I am going to regret asking this because it will probably

mean that I end up switching to baby products that are whatever-free

and 2x the price (haha), but what kinds of things are in them that

are bad?

>

> Kadee M <abbey_road3012

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kadee Sedtal

 

Brain: " Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering? "

Pinky: " I think so, Brain, but if the plural of mouse is mice, wouldn't the

plural of spouse be spice? "

 

 

Check out my new , Classical 2 at

http://launch.classical2/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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