Community Chat

[FlowerBear]

Dog Poisoned by the Diffuser

Just read this on Facebook

Saturday night I got home late and my dog didn't recognize me. Being a nanny I thought I woke him up and he was having a night terror. Sunday, he was still acting weird. I realized that I had been running my new diffuser and decided to turn it off. Sunday afternoon, he was feeling better.

Today at work, my dog sitter said that he wouldn't come out from under the bed. It was very odd as he is a happy dog.

I came from work early and again, he was very confused about who I was.

So I took him to emergency vet.

It turns out that the tea tree oil I was using in the diffuser is toxic for dogs. Thankfully the test showed that his liver was ok but we weren't out of the woods yet. He was given fluids under his skin to get the toxins out.

The vet and the poison control are saying that they see these cases often now that the popularity of essential oil is growing.

Please make sure that the essential oils you are burning are not toxic for your pets. 

Here is a list of essential oils not to use if you have a dog at home

1. Anise (Pimpinella anisum)
2. Birch (Betula)
3. Bitter Almond (Prunus dulcis)
4. Boldo (Peumus boldus)
5. Calamus (Acorus calamus)
6. Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora)
7. Cassia (Cassia fistula)
8. Chenopodium (Chenopodium album)
9. Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum)
10. Garlic (Allium sativum)
11. Goosefoot (Chenopodium murale)
12. Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
13. Hyssop (Hyssopus sp. with the exception of Decumbens)
14. Juniper (Juniperus sp. with the exception of Juniper Berry)
15. Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)
16. Mustard (Brassica juncea)
17. Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
18. Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)
19. Red or White Thyme
20. Rue (Ruta graveolens)
21. Santolina (Santolina chamaecyparissus)
22. Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
23. Savory (Satureja)
24. Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
25. Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca alternifolia)
26. Terebinth (Pistacia palaestina)
27. Thuja (Thuja occidentalis)
28. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
29. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
30. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Please share this story as it may save someones precious furry family member!

[piperbay]

Thank you very much for posting this, especially in great detail. I am sure you will be saving the lives of our furry friends!  

[D Kay]

Thank you for posting this.  I wonder if the same thing applies to plugins where the sent is not diffused?  I have some cinnamon/clove plugins that now I am afraid to use.

[wagirl]

Same can be said for cats too. My stripey girl got very sick from a plug in wall diffuser that was near her kennel--had to be infused 2 times with fluids, as her fever was very high along with  injections of steroids to get her thru it. Spent a week running back and forth to the vet and many hundreds of $$ too. Keep that stuff far away from animals====

[Karie2022]

Thanks for this..I already knew this as I was concerned when I first started with essential oils...now I only run my diffuser in my office with the door closed and don't allow my dog or cats in there.

[ROMARY]

I have mentioned on these threads at least 2 times:

A guest veterinarian on a TV show, at least twice, (on two shows) mentioned strong warnings regarding plug in essential oil air fresheners.......

Very toxic to dogs and cats.

I can only imagine re: birds and newborn babies.

Just because it's a pure essential oil, it doesn't mean that it's safe for pets to continuously inhale.  Some herbs and essential oils are very toxic.

Most/many people just don't pay any attention, I'm guessing.

Wishing all pets, babies, and people safety first.

[Eager2Learn]

Please, don't forget about cats when using essential oils.

I had one of the diffusers that you put water and eos in, and warm with a candle. I only used it at night, with our bedroom doors closed.

I noticed a few days that my cat had runny eyes, kept rubbing at them with her paws, and then later it would clear up. Then I realized that she was stepping into my bathroom sink (where I poured out the diffuser water in the mornings). I stopped using it, and no more problems with my cat's eyes. 

We were lucky. I later learned that cats can not metabolize essential oils. 

[ROMARY]

Seriously, we all (in the US and world) should have automatically known this.

There needs to be more widespread warnings and education regarding plug-in fragrances and diffusers.

The common person, obviously, doesn't know about the dangers simply because we (as a whole) haven't been properly informed/educated.

EDITED:

The only reason why I know....... is that I feel nauseated and my lungs slightly 'flutter' each time I pass a house that is reeking of that particular chemical that is used in dryer sheets and/or strong detergents.  

Then I begin to think of how that precious newborn or child feels, smelling that odor in their bedding, pillow cases, etc.

Another thing that I've often mentioned is the fact that, around here, in my neighborhood we've been noticing that the strongest chemical odors (dryer sheets, detergents) reek out of houses that have newborns and fairly newly born children.

Saying just yesterday..........'OMG, that family just had a new baby, and can you smell that strong odor?'........We were walking across the street, and the odor was very strong.

Again, keep your newborns, children, and pets safe.

It's our responsibility.  

[ROMARY]

Really pushing the envelope here:

Could it be that some chemicals (dryer sheets, etc.), herbs, diffusers, plug-in's are making people cr*zy?

Or maybe not able to use common sense.

It would be interesting to find the herbs/chemicals that could cause our minds to not think and not use common sense.

Something that affects that part of our brains.

We just cannot figure out the reasoning behind using strong chemicals/odors when a newborn arrives into a home.  

Well, I said it!

[Spurt]

@FlowerBear 

Thanks for the warning!!!

I think it will only be a matter of time when we get warnings about laundry detergents and dryer sheets and fabric softeners with all these strong chemicals to make clothes "smell nice" and that would include dog and cat beds that can be laundered and dried in dryers too, also blankets and throws your pets like to sleep on.....Dye-free and fragrance free are safer for your pets....

When my neighbor uses Gain and does her laundry you can smell the perfumed odor coming out of her dryer vent a long distance away....