Fish Oils and Frankincense Oil

[biglill]

I'm interested in whether anyone has experience of using either of these oils with their children. My Son is 14 months now with a brain injury caused by meningitis, he is severely delayed, unable to sit unsupported and has West Syndrome epilelpsy. I am starting to look at what I can do to supplement the physio etc we get offered to help 'bring him on'. I have read about people giving omega 3 fish oil to their children and heard people say that concentration etc improved, has anyone experience of this? Would it be suitable for a child of his age? Where do I get it from and how do I administer? Is there risks involved?

Now the frankincense oil, I was told recently that there are Mothers out there who believe that massaging their children with oils such as Frankincense has pretty much cured or at least improved their child's epilepsy or cerebral palsy, again I am worried about risks that could be involved and don't really know how to go about this. I know the obvious answer is to ask the paed but he was very sceptical when I mentioned other 'complimentary' therapies. (Like holding DS upside down in his yoga sessions!)

Hello there,

Did you pursue this approach?

We have a 22 month old, brain injury of undertermined origin (despite MRI/bloods etc) have just started fish oil 5ml per day, frankincense massage/aromatherapy, mild hyperbarics, homeopathy, cranial sacral myofacial therapy, and a whole host of physical, sensory and emotional activities to try and help our son.

Would be interested to hear how you are getting on?

Damien

Hi Damien

Research in to the effects of Boswellia extract (which frankincense is a type of) did find a statistically significant impovement in cognitive abilities of rats with induced epilepsy. A patent was filed last year (August 2014) for a specific non acidic composition of the extract. To my knowledge it hasnt been researched in humans yet, and the experiments on rats involved injection not aromatherapy.

All that being said, probably nothing to lose and as with most baby/toddler massage the benefit is most often a bonding one more than anything else. Personally I wouldnt pin too many hopes on it. I have to say this because I would hate for false hope.

If you want to pursue it more specifically I would speak to a paediatrition and ask them to find out more for you.

For the safety of using aromatherapy oils in dilutions safe enough for the very young ones, make sure your Aromatherapist is accredited and insured and knowledgeable about the essential oils, not just someone who has done a short course like a few evening classes and practises it as a 'beauty therapy' and calls themselves an aromatherapist. There is a huge difference.
I've found the folks at Findhorn very helpful.

I'm rurally based and not near enough for individual therapists' visits etc. apart from at an eye-wateringly high price, so over the last 20+years, I've learned to do a lot myself. I always checked Valerie Worwood's 'Fragrant Pharmacy' chapters on uses of aromatherapy oils for babies and children. Some IIRC were less than 1 drop of EO to 10ml carrier, (so needed to be made in a larger bottle) so do take a lot of care.

One rule of thumb in the absence of consensus for things like fish oil or no dosage given by the manufacturer is to use bodyweight. How much is an adult dose, how much does the average adult that's aimed at weigh? Then scale the dose by bodyweight.

For herb teas, adults are 1 cup 3 times per day, children are a third of a cup 3 times a day, but alter that on how big the child is.
"Children" as in under 5 years old appear to have been removed from a lot of herbal and other medicine labels, again, use a reputable practitioner, for example NIMH www.nimh.org.uk/

Always remember to do a test patch of anything you may be thinking of using on skin, apply it and leave for 48 hours.

I'm a big fan of using essences, either Bach, Bush Flower or Findhorn for preference and feel that they pose minimal threat to a child if the dosage is accidentally given wrongly as opposed to herbs or EO.

It's always difficult to single out what makes a difference to a child, mainly because we don't try a single thing at a time, test it, evaluate it and then move on to something else. All you need to do is ensure you're not causing any harm. Good luck with your quest, I hope you can find some things, or combinations of things to help your son, and that you can let other parents know what's worked for you

For the safety of using aromatherapy oils in dilutions safe enough for the very young ones, make sure your Aromatherapist is accredited and insured and knowledgeable about the essential oils, not just someone who has done a short course like a few evening classes and practises it as a 'beauty therapy' and calls themselves an aromatherapist. There is a huge difference.
I've found the folks at Findhorn very helpful.

I'm rurally based and not near enough for individual therapists' visits etc. apart from at an eye-wateringly high price, so over the last 20+years, I've learned to do a lot myself. I always checked Valerie Worwood's 'Fragrant Pharmacy' chapters on uses of aromatherapy oils for babies and children. Some IIRC were less than 1 drop of EO to 10ml carrier, (so needed to be made in a larger bottle) so do take a lot of care.

One rule of thumb in the absence of consensus for things like fish oil or no dosage given by the manufacturer is to use bodyweight. How much is an adult dose, how much does the average adult that's aimed at weigh? Then scale the dose by bodyweight.

For herb teas, adults are 1 cup 3 times per day, children are a third of a cup 3 times a day, but alter that on how big the child is.
"Children" as in under 5 years old appear to have been removed from a lot of herbal and other medicine labels, again, use a reputable practitioner, for example NIMH www.nimh.org.uk/

Always remember to do a test patch of anything you may be thinking of using on skin, apply it and leave for 48 hours.

I'm a big fan of using essences, either Bach, Bush Flower or Findhorn for preference and feel that they pose minimal threat to a child if the dosage is accidentally given wrongly as opposed to herbs or EO.

It's always difficult to single out what makes a difference to a child, mainly because we don't try a single thing at a time, test it, evaluate it and then move on to something else. All you need to do is ensure you're not causing any harm. Good luck with your quest, I hope you can find some things, or combinations of things to help your son, and that you can let other parents know what's worked for you