Babies and Children:
Orientation–
Please take a moment to listen to your animated instructor orient you to this section on babies and children.
We will hold this class in the Ship’s Healing Bay. Grab your notebook and a beverage, and join us. When you arrive and settle in, read the chapter, watch the videos, and claim your downloads at the bottom of the page.
Always use common sense and err on the side of
caution when working with babies and children.
Hydrosols and Floral Waters For Children-
Safety is the primary concern when using any product on children. When possible, use high-quality, fresh hydrosols externally (floral waters) for babies instead of essential oils. The hydrosols must be fresh and made from high-quality water and plant materials safe for children. Hydrosols are milder than essential oils and match a child’s delicate constitution.
The recipes below use hydrosols, if available, instead of essential oils if the child is three or under.
Cautions:
Some essential oils are safe for children after age 3 in tiny, dilute amounts. Never leave your essential oils near your children; they can be toxic if taken internally. Do not use essential oils yourself while breastfeeding. Keep your essential oils in bottles with child-proof caps. Test extremely dilute blends on small areas of older children’s skin before overall application to reveal any sensitivities or allergies they may have. This practice of cautiously testing is worth the time, as reactions can be traumatic for the child and parent. Never give children essential oils orally.
Peppermint, Eucalyptus, and Ravintsara have caused rare problems, and Tisserand and Young advise that they are used sparingly. His chart is included here.
The safety issue is, however, not precisely clear-cut, as some essential oils are inherently very mild, significantly when diluted to 0.1% and arguably safer than alternative commercial products for children.
Here is another chart by the Tisserand Institute on
Dilution Recommendations (for external use or diffused in the air). This excludes peppermint, eucalyptus and ravintsara from the chart above.
Traditionally, small amounts of the “safer essential oils” have been used with children. Some midwives and nurses prudently use essential oils in their practice with young children. There is a sliding spectrum of thought and practice – depending on the child’s age, the blend’s concentration, the issue being treated, and the safety of the particular essential oil. This is where it becomes obvious aromatherapy is both art and science. The practitioner’s training, thoughtfulness, and skill level come into effect.
Video- Essential Oils and Babies and Children
Essential Oils–
Aromatherapists who use essential oils on children follow strict precautions regarding low dosages and safe oils. For instance, fruit essential oils are used as food flavourings in our food chain, and a drop of two of orange or mandarin peel oil diluted to .01- 1% would be considered safe, applied topically, for a child over six months old who does not have allergies. Meanwhile, oregano, eucalyptus, and peppermint are preferable as hydrosols in children until age 6.
So common sense is advised, but always err on the side of caution.
When using essential oils in the bath, always disperse them with high-fat milk or carrier oil and stir them into the water thoroughly to avoid burns.
Children have an acute sense of smell and perceive scents differently than adults. Smells children like are often simple, mild, familiar scents, such as orange, tangerine, lemon, and bergamot.
The following recipes are adapted from Ryman 1991: Never use on children under three months of age.
Colic: Add two drops of Roman Chamomile EO to 5 tbsp almond oil. Rub the tummy clockwise to dispel gas. You can also use the hydrosols of ginger, dill, or fennel.
Cradle Cap: Rub onto the head. 5 Tbsp. Almond, 1 Tbsp. Jojoba, two drops of either Roman Chamomile EO, rose EO, neroli EO, lavender EO, or sandalwood EO. Hydrosols would make lovely substitutes if you have them. The hydrosols would be used undiluted.
Sniffles: Add 2-4 drops of lavender or tea tree to a vaporizer or bowl of water.
Calming Bath: To 1 Tbsp. Of full-fat milk, add one drop of Roman chamomile e.o. or tangerine e.o. Be sure to disperse the mixture well into the water so it does not burn the child.
Alternatively, 1 Tbsp. Hydrosol of Roman chamomile or lavender would be beautiful in the bathwater.
Insomnia: Lavender, Roman chamomile, or tangerine in the diffuser.
Chicken Pox:
Tea Tree 3 drops
Roman Chamomile 3 drops
Lavender 3 drops
Bergamot 3 drops.
Add 50 ml rosewater or cooled chamomile tea and mix well. Spray on with a spray bottle or paint on with a soft paintbrush. Please do not use it on children under three years old. Please do not use it once the pox has scabbed, as the moist mixture may delay healing by causing the scabs to fall off.
Ear Infections:
Warm mullein-infused oil or olive oil to body temperature. Add one drop of lavender EO and one drop of pressed garlic oil from a clove. Put into the ear. Cover with cotton. Rub 2% tea tree and lavender EO mixed with olive or mullein oils behind ears up to 5 times daily.
Head Lice:
Use an electronic lice comb to kill off lice (recommended by a former student with children). Use this in conjunction with lice shampoo to kill off the eggs.
Essential oils are not very practical for head lice.
Eczema:
There are red scaly patches on the cheeks and behind the ears. Never use wool. Do not use products with lanolin. Use very gentle detergents and body washes. They may have borderline milk or gluten sensitivities.
Eczema Massage oil: For children over the age of 5.
Avocado carrier 20 ml.
Caulophyllum carrier 10 ml
10 ml carrot tissue carrier
10 ml calendula infused carrier
Three drops geranium e.o.
3 drops lavender e.o.
2 drops bergamot e.o.
Coughs: For children over six, vaporize cedar, e.o., or eucalyptus—smithii, e.o. lavender e.o., marjoram, e.o., tea-tree e.o..
Croup: Infection of the larynx. Symptoms are a harsh, barking cough and runny nose. Croup Inhalation: The child must be over the age of 3 years- 2 drops marjoram, e.o., one drop
rosewood, e.o., one drop.
Hay Fever: (allergic rhinitis)-Over the age of 10-
Vaporize eucalyptus smithii e.o. and rosewood e.o.
Hyperactivity: Over the age of 3-
Explore diet, colourings, additives, refined food, or personal sensitivities such as gluten, sugar, etc. Also, is there something emotional the child is taking on? Could you make sure of regular, consistent bedtimes?
Massage calendula-infused oil with 0.5% of the essential oils- bergamot, Roman chamomile, mandarin, lavender, sandalwood, rose, or ylang.
Bathe with two drops of sandalwood essential oils and one drop each of frankincense and Roman chamomile oils, first dispersed in 2 tbsp full-fat milk or cream and then put into the water.
Bathing Wounds: Over the age of 3-
Add four drops of lavender or tea tree essential oils to 50 ml of warm boiled water. Dip the cloth into this and wipe the wounds. Please do not get the wounds wet after they have started scabbing.
Bandages: Over the age of 3.
Apply one drop of lavender or tea tree oil to the bandage before applying it to disinfect and speed recovery. This is best for fresh wounds that have not yet been scabbed over.
Digestive: Over the age of 3 months for hydrosols.
Rub into tummy for flatulence.
Roman chamomile, coriander, peppermint, spearmint, marjoram, ginger, or lovage hydrosols.
Please take a look at your Practical Potion Downloads below for more goodies.
Skin Disturbances-
Here is an attractive Abstract about Borage Oil and Infants’ Skin
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8095744/Abstract
Gamma-linolenic acid applied externally to the skin is vital in maintaining average water loss and promoting recovery in patients suffering from Infantile Seborrheic Dermatitis.
Could you do a patch test on the client before using borage? If it does not irritate them, it is helpful for certain types of dermatitis in youngsters.