Please be aware that using Essential Oils do pose a risk, and should be used with caution. Many essential oils are not safe to be used around children, pregnant women, pets and others with sensitivities despite the claims of particular, unregulated companies.
If you decide to use Essential Oils in your home, please be sure to do your own research from resources that DO NOT sell EOs. We suggest contacting an aromatherapist, or a source that references Tisserand’s research and other peer reviewed, empirically validated research.
Everything on this planet is made of chemicals. Water is a chemical (hydrogen and oxygen). The air you breathe is a chemical (primarily nitrogen and oxygen, along with some other elemental chemicals). The idea sold by some companies that their oils are “chemical free” is patently false, and is based on a very egregious misunderstanding of science.
While some chemicals are naturally occurring, the idea that natural chemicals are safe and that synthetic ones are bad is a marketing ploy. Naturally occurring substances can poison and kill you just as quickly as synthetic ones – arsenic, for example, or water if you drink too much (water intoxication).
Many essential oils are not safe to be used around children, despite the claims of particular, unregulated companies. Essential oils can trigger asthma attacks, severe respiratory distress, racing heart rates, issues with kidney and liver function, chemical burns, and problems with blood thinning/clotting, just to name a few of the medical contraindications. There are also many that are known carcinogens.
The Learning About EOs website uses Robert Tisserand’s Essential Oil Safety, which is the most current science- and evidence-based resource with over 4000 citations. Robert Tisserand is considered to be the father of modern aromatherapy and is a huge advocate for safely using essential oils.
Sources:
http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/toddlers-safe-after-middleton-daycare-scare/19580257
http://www.poison.org/articles/2014-jun/essential-oils
http://www.learningabouteos.com/index.php/2014/02/07/essential-oils-and-children/
This is Health Canada’s guidelines for essential oil usage, which also uses Robert Tisserand’s book, Essential Oil Safety (note it says these approved uses are for 18+).http://webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca/nhpid-bdipsn/atReq.do?atid=aromatherap〈=eng#use1-ref