LAVENDER OIL
Flammability | 1 | |
Toxicity | 2 | |
Body Contact | 2 | |
Reactivity | 1 | |
Chronic | 2 | |
SCALE: Min/Nil=0 Low=1 Moderate=2 High=3 Extreme=4 |
Aromatic, carminative. Sometimes applied externally as an insect repellent. Chief use is
in perfumery. Volatile oil of the flowering tops of Lavandula officinalis Chaix.
"oil of lavender", "lavender absolute", "lavender oel", "Gold Cross Lavender Oil BP",
"David Craig Lavender Spike Oil"
Irritating to eyes.
HARMFUL - May cause lung damage if swallowed.
Considered an unlikely route of entry in commercial/industrial environments. Essential oils cause mild irritation of the mouth if taken orally, causing more saliva to be produced and a warm feeling. Large amounts affect the digestive system causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Sometimes urination may be affected, causing difficulty or pain in urinating, reduced urine output, blood in the urine, unconsciousness and shallow breathing. Lung swelling and inflammation are possible complications. Stupor, excitement and respiratory failure may result, as well as convulsions; the central nervous system may either be depressed or stimulated. The kidneys may be damaged, and swelling and severe clogging can occur in the lungs, skin and kidneys. Essential oils increase the rate of miscarriage, but in low doses do not usually cause an abortion. An estimated acceptable daily intake of up to 500 microgram per kilogram body weight was estimated for the terpene/ terpenoids, citral, geranyl acetate, citronellol, linalool and linaly acetate (expressed as citral). Twenty-third Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives Tech. Rep. Ser. Wld Hlth Org. No. 648, 1980.
This material can cause eye irritation and damage in some persons. The material may produce severe irritation to the eye causing pronounced inflammation. Repeated or prolonged exposure to irritants may produce conjunctivitis.
The material may cause skin irritation after prolonged or repeated exposure and may produce on contact skin redness, swelling, the production of vesicles, scaling and thickening of the skin. Essential oils irritate the skin and redden it, causing at first warmth and smarting, followed by some local loss of sensation. They have been used to treat chronic inflammatory conditions and to relieve neuralgia and rheumatic pain. Care should be taken to avoid blistering; these oils may also produce sensitization.
Inhalation may produce health damage*. There is some evidence to suggest that this material, if inhaled, can irritate the throat and lungs of some persons. Inhalation hazard is increased at higher temperatures. Acute effects from inhalation of high concentrations of vapor may be nose, throat and chest irritation with coughing, sneezing and possible nausea. Inhalation of essential oil volatiles may cause dizziness, rapid, shallow breathing, increased heart rate, respiratory irritation, loss of consciousness or convulsions. Urination may stop, and there may be swelling and inflammation of the lungs. The main effects of simple esters are irritation, stupor and insensibility. Headache, drowsiness, dizziness, coma and behavioral changes may occur. Respiratory symptoms may include irritation, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, throat inflammation, bronchitis, lung inflammation and pulmonary edema, sometimes delayed. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and cramps are observed. Liver and kidney damage may result from massive exposures.
There is some evidence that inhaling this product is more likely to cause a sensitization reaction in some persons compared to the general population. There is limited evidence that, skin contact with this product is more likely to cause a sensitization reaction in some persons compared to the general population. Intolerance to perfumes, by inhalation, may occur if the perfume contains a sensitising principal. Symptoms may vary from general illness, coughing, phlegm, wheezing, chest- tightness, headache, exertional dyspnoea, acute respiratory illness, hayfever, and other respiratory diseases (including asthma). Perfumes can induce hyper-reactivity of the respiratory tract without producing an IgE-mediated allergy or demonstrable respiratory obstruction. This was shown by placebo-controlled challenges of nine patients to "perfume mix". The same patients were also subject to perfume provocation, with or without a carbon filter mask, to ascertain whether breathing through a filter with active carbon would prevent symptoms. The patients breathed through the mouth, during the provocations, as a nose clamp was used to prevent nasal inhalation. The patient's earlier symptoms were verified; breathing through the carbon filter had no protective effect. The symptoms were not transmitted via the olfactory nerve but they may have been induced by trigeminal reflex via the respiratory tract or by the eyes. Cases of occupational asthma induced by perfume substances such as isoamyl acetate, limonene, cinnamaldehyde and benzaldehyde, tend to give persistent symptoms even though the exposure is below occupational exposure limits. Inhalation intolerance has also been produced in animals. The emissions of five fragrance products, for one hour, produced various combinations of sensory irritation, pulmonary irritation, decreases in expiratory airflow velocity as well as alterations of the functional observational battery indicative of neurotoxicity in mice. Neurotoxicity was found to be more severe after mice were repeatedly exposed to the fragrance products, being four brands of cologne and one brand of toilet water. Certain substances, commonly found in perfumes or perfumed products, produce hypersensitivity. Sensitising constituents have been classified as Class A (common sensitisers) or Class B (rare sensitisers) in a Japanese study (Nakayama 1998). Contact allergy to perfumes occurs with a relatively high incidence, such incidence only surpassed by nickel allergy in the community. In a Danish study, it was found that about 1.1% of the population was allergic to Peru balsam or "fragrance mix". There is no cure for perfume allergy. Once sensitised, exposure to even minute amounts of the perfume, gives rise to eruptions and eczema. These symptoms may be treated with steroid creams, although frequent recourse to this treatment produces unwanted side- effects.