Consuming olbas oil

[Beau2020]

I know this sounds gross but ever since a child my Nanna has always given me 2 drops of olbas oil in hot lemonade to cure a cold. I inhale the smell and then drink the remedy. I've done this since a child and I'm absolutely fine. She said that in the olden days (she's 95 and obviously still alive) the bottles used to tell you to consume it.

Obviously I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous to anyone reading this but as I've grown up doing this I've known no different and I've never felt weird after doing it or anything. I'm pregnant now and obviously don’t want to harm the baby if it could be potentially toxic or dangerous but I was wondering if anyone else has heard of this?

Please no insensitive comments, I'm quite aware that it may sound strange to you but this is what I've grown up with and me and my Nan are absolutely perfectly healthy.

I have never heard of this, but I'm self confessed addicted to olbas oil! I had it as a child and found it comforting, which translated to using it as an adult. It is not deemed safe during pregnancy unfortunately, which has been harder than expected for me haha. I'm so used to putting a drop on my pillow every night and especially now my sinuses are so blocked I'm really missing it!

My doctor said it is good and fine during pregnancy to smell on a pillow or tissue or something, but I probably wouldn’t swallow it without asking a doctor (and I would imagine they would also say to avoid this).

One teaspoon of eucalyptus oil ingested is fatal. No way I’d be swallowing olbas oil. Pregnant or not.

@catlover10 oh that's great to know, maybe I can have mine back!

It's highly toxic, you might want to stop ingesting it.

https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guidelineindex/EucalyptussOilPoisoning/

Yes Dobby, I have read a lot of research saying how certain oils can be fatal but as I say I've never had a bad experience with it and I've found it's always been a big comfort to me.

I think I'll stick to smelling it and not consuming whilst pregnant as I don't want to give another human any fatal risks of course

I used to inhale it a lot when pregnant, not sure why but I loved it! It does not to ingest though so I wouldn’t risk it.

So you know it’s toxic but will keep consuming it once you’re no longer pregnant?

@wolfie why would I not when I've never had a bad experience with it and it cures me? I have no issues with using it for myself. My Nan is 95 she's outlived a number of people who have never consumed it so I really don't think it has any serious consequences otherwise she wouldn't be here...

It's the clove oil that olbas oil contains that you need to be wary of.

It doesn’t cure you.
And just because it hasn’t made you ill yet does not make it a good idea.

It might not have harmed you but it could harm your baby...is it worth the risk?
It's actually highly toxic. There was a post doing the rounds of someone who accidentally ingested some and had to be hospitalised for observation as it's so poisonous.

All I am saying is that eucalyptus oil is one of the most toxic oils.
Tea tree oil is the only one you can safely ingest.

I am trained in this.

Although you have the evidence that you’ve ingested it previously in a drink, so possibly some of the oil sticks to the side of the mug.

I don’t have a bottle to hand to check if eucalyptus is present in olbas oil.

@wolfiefan I appreciate your comments but please tell me how you would know if it cures me or not particularly when you haven't even tried it. Please refrain from your unwanted opinion if it's constructive it's welcomed but just throwing unhelpful comments here is not needed, thanks.

Thanks to all those who have actually replied with helpful comments and literature. What I choose to do whilst not pregnant is nobody else worry :)

Sorry to piggy back on this thread but does smelling it clear your sinuses??? If so I am very interested!

It can’t cure a cold. You can’t actually be that daft??
Placebo.

@lh1987 yeah it sure does! It clears all my sinus and even relieves my headache.

It may not "cure" a cold but it certainly relieves all of the symptoms for me and makes it disappear a lot quicker.

@dobbythehouseelf I didn't know this about Tea tree oil, interesting

What Olbas Oil contains
The active substances (w/w) are:
Cajuput Oil 18.5%
Clove Oil 0.1%
Eucalyptus Oil 35.45%
Juniperberry Oil 2.7%
Levomenthol 4.1%
Methyl Salicylate 3.7%
Mint Oil, Partly Dementholised 35.45%

It also tells you to seek medical advice if it gets swallowed.

@Beau2020, thank you, some just ordered from Amazon. I wont drink it incase anyone is worried

And just to support the OP lots of people have 'Cures' for colds that work for them, for me it has always been a hot whiskey. Imagine if I had of suggested I was considering that in pregnancy, Mumsnet may have had a riot.

A drink of whisky wouldn't have a risk of you being hospitalised

I’d avoid certain essential oils if I was pregnant. Clive oil would be one.

Clove!

yeah it sure does! It clears all my sinus and even relieves my headache

So does sniffing it. Sinuses are clearing as I type...

Why amazon? You can buy it in the supermarket