Why does lavender give me a headache

Thanks for sharing, Paula! It must be awfully difficult getting along in today's world--everyone has scents in everything--even laundry detergent, shampoo We're so sorry to hear that, Tory!! That must be frustrating. We hope you are able to find relief soon! Same thing happened to me about 3 years ago. I can't be around anything with chemicals and I lose my voice within 5 minutes. I used essential oil peppermint to relieve it. I don't like taking any drugs.

Bad for our stomachs. Hi, Baahb Jim! We're sorry you didn't like this Wonder. Luckily, there are more than 1. We hope you visit again soon! Thanks for the feedback, Baahb Jim! Sometimes it helps us to reread the Wonder. You can also keep researching the topic at your library and online! That sounds like fun, Hannah! Have fun! We're glad you liked this Wonder! Hi, Gabe! We're glad you learned so many new things!

Visit again soon! Hi, William! We're glad you learned something new! That's a good thing that smells don't bother you! Welcome, Rachel! We're glad you learned something new while visiting Wonderopolis today. Thanks for sharing your connection, Jaden! We're sorry to hear that. Sometimes cinnamon can be really strong! We're glad you learned something new, Celina!

We encourage you to use the search feature to find Wonder related to cupcakes! Hi, Jennifer! That's a good question. It's not in their imagination. Sometimes the chemicals in the fragrance an trigger an allergic reaction.

Thanks for being the first comment, Michael! We're glad you stopped by Wonderopolis first thing this morning! We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature.

Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition. You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:. Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. Why do people get headaches from certain scents? Can "unscented" products still cause headaches? How can you treat scent-related headaches? Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Can you smell that?

I just recently experimented with a young living oil concoction a friend made for me because I was coughing my head off and had taken steroids and inhalers and all sort of meds with no relief. I took the cough syrup she made, was pretty icky, then I used this other rub on my chest. Also put some in boiling water in pot on stove.

Also took Thieves cough lozenges. Ended up win a horrific migraine. Found out from my friend that I definitely overdid it with the amounts I used. Plus toxins leaving your body cause headaches. Steroids and other meds the doctor gave me for the illness caused headaches as well. I will just have to try to use less from now on and see which EO is the trigger for headaches. I took another thieves cough drop this morning and ended up with another headache, so not sure about that combination that is in the cough drops.

I am all for more natural remedies but hate migraines. Oh, no, Lisa! You may want to steer clear of the EOs for a bit. My experience with other migraines triggers is that I become more sensitive for a bit after exposure. Best of luck to you. Hi Barbara, I am for the first time visiting your blog. I am essential oils fan only because I like a nice smell in my home.

I like to use lemon or Lavanda oil. Their smell is great. I think they are healthy. Thanks, Julia. They are potent and should be used sparingly, especially for those with sensitivities. So happy to have found this! I suspected the oil and then thought I must be crazy and paranoid. Glad I decided to do some research, such a relief that I may have found the culprit!

Hi Molly. Essential Oils are highly concentrated and potent products. I believe they should be used sparingly. Thank you so much for this article. I can almost time it to diffusing EO. High quality, Doterra ones too. So sad. We just need to remember that they are highly concentrated and highly potent.

Hi Barbara, I have been using essential oil for a few months and really like them. The peppermint gets rid of headaches instantly and diffusing lavender helps me relax and sleep. I like diffusers as you can control the amount you diffuse in water. I was travelling for work for 5 days and caught a nasty cold.

I watched a blog by Dr. Axe and he said for cold and flu to take a drop of oregano. So I did, and it was like being kicked the the head by a horse. Thank you for maintaining your blog and I hope that everyone uses oils with care. Natalie, I do hope your head pain is gone by now. And to do lots of homework. Thanks Barbara for this informative guide. I have not used essential oils yet but I heard a lot of good things about them. Most of the details you provided are new to me and I am glad to know this before buying any EOs.

Thanks Nora. My purpose is not to stop people from buying EOs. Rather I want people to be aware of their power and potency. Hello Barbara. Thanks for your comments, Augusta. The mind and the nervous system are very delicate and complex. I think as EOs come into more use, people are learning more and more about them. For all the good things they may do, they are still very strong, concentrated products that need to be used with caution. I purchased a diffuser and a couple of oils.

I started diffusing one yesterday afternoon, and then continued all day today. I ended up with the worst headache that I have had for a really long time. I finally realized it could be the oil in the diffuser, because nothing else was different, and shut it off. I googled this topic, found your post, and realized I could be very sensitive to the oils a blend of sandalwood, lemon, and vanilla. My headache is gradually subsiding, as the diffuser has been off for a while now.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts — I will have to experiment cautiously. I work in an office with three or four people who have recently started experimenting with essential oils on themselves as well as their children. I am sensitive to smells especially to perfumes and chemicals. One person comes in loaded with perfume and uses a scentsy melting pot occasionally although she is now limiting the use of this to when I am out of the office.

Yesterday, I had to leave work with a bad migraine because a coworker doused herself in these oils. Most companies have or should have rules spelled out in their policy handbooks regarding the use of strong scents in the workplace. I am currently looking into mine. Most co workers are thoughtful enough to stop using the offending smell once they are aware it causes problems for others, but some continue to do so thinking those with issues are just being finicky. Moving to another location is not effective because the offending wearers walk all over the office.

Very frustrating to have to deal with, as I would like to be recognized for my work product and not for complaining about an issue such as this. Bobbi, Thanks for visiting. Good luck. Oh my heart breaks for you. I hope you can get management to take your complaint seriously.

Thankfully that has never happened. I hope all works out for you. Thank you for this post, very informative. Janelle, So sorry you are having to endure those migraines. Believe me, I know how you feel. On the other hand — yay, you, for digging to find the answer! I am so glad to know I am not alone. I have had no problems with eons on skin, so I got a diffuser. OMG the migraines!!! When the diffuser goes off, they go away. I am generally very healthy and eat very high quality diet.

This threw me for a loop. The hard part is my friend is a doterra fanatic and she insists on dousing herself with oils. She insists on bringing her diffuser to my house. I have had a terrible year with horrible stress. I am wondering if this could pass eventually for me. Right now I can not be around diffusers with any oil in them. Thank you for this post. So glad to know I am not alone, but also sad to hear so many others have similar issues with sensitivities.

I have started experimenting with EOs and have found that I can get headaches or migraines from certain oils. I believe clove oil is the main culprit for me. Even in small amounts diluted on the skin it caused a migraine. I am also sensitive to MSG and some smells. So far I have found lemon, peppermint, lavender and a few others are fine, but am taking it slow and carefully. Thank you for sharing your experience in order to help others. I am wondering if the migraines were from more of a detox type reaction.

I see here a lot of comments and hope for possability to have an answer also, thanks the authors for sharing the information. Heather, i know some oils are more prone to give headaches than others if used too strongly. Ylang ylang is one for instance.

I find using them sparingly in diffusers with intermittent sprays can help too. Also size of room has a lot to do with it. Larger rooms tend to disperse the scent more than low ceilings and heavily walled rooms. I wanted to update that i now can use diffusers more than in the past so learning how to use them with right diffusers in right room helps me a lot.

In my last post in April, i could not do that. I, foolishly, got caught up in hope when I walked into a store and they told me the diffuser and peppermint helps headaches… bought it all up, because, hope. I tried the milder roll in on next day… same result. So, sorry, Teresa. I understand the hope part. I tried some pretty crazy things when I was having lots of migraines. Sometimes it can also depend on the brand of EO. Purity is important. I actually have found some peppermint that I can use, in very small, diluted doses.

I am so glad I found these comments. I am up at 3 in the morning with a splitting headache for the third day in a row. I now know that it is due to rubbing peppermint oil on my feet. I was told it would reduce snoring. My husband did the same thing. We have not been snoring as bad, but I cannot bear this headache. He has been fine. I can sympathize. Some of us are very sensitive to these oils. Thank you Barbara, by the end of the day I was running fever.

There should be more warning on the bottles for first time users about possible reactions…or the fact that these oils can be toxic if you use too much. Hi Ehsan, I would suggest checking the ingredients list. My wife started using oils and they seemed to help her headaches for a couple of days.

Now my wife has had migraines every night for the past week. Hi Roger, So sorry to hear about the problems you and your wife are having with essential oils.

The problem is that they are highly concentrated and highly potent. I find there are a few I can use in very small quantities. And there are others I have to stay away from. Started getting migraines ,?? EO use , and bad effects. I have a recently hired co-worker who occasionally uses oils in something that creates a significant aroma in the workplace. Fortunately I have a door to my office, so I can close it if I catch the scent quickly.

However, I do need to exit my office for meetings, etc. One particular aroma causes severe sinus and chest congestion for me. I have had a frontal headache now for over two months. I've had a CT of the brain done and a CT of the sinus cavity but nothing shows up. Could it possibly be the diffused oils? Absolutely, any strong scent can trigger headaches if you are prone to them. Try discontinuing diffusion.

Just because something is natural does not mean you can't be allergic to it or senstitive to it, the smell of some flowers gives me an instant headache. They give me headaches I'd suggest putting the diffuser away for awhile and let your home air clear out and see if the headaches stop.

It did for me. I still diffuse EO's on occasion, to freshen the house, relax after a tough day, or relieve any number of symptoms, but I do not diffuse all night anymore. I did a lot of research after I got started with oils. I use one of the "big" brand names of oils, as I do believe ingredients and process matter. I also purchased a very large encyclopedia type book called Essential Oils Desk Reference. Very informative, definitely not light reading! In it I learned no oil is meant to be diffused for hours on end.

In fact, each oil has a specific "diffuse time", inhalation time, etc. EO's have become so popular, and you can buy them and diffusers from so many places now. The drawback of this new widespread popularity is, if you're not a member of a group or have a direct sales rep to guide you, you may not get the best benefit from them. Best of luck in resolving your headaches. I'm no doctor, but take a break from the oils and see what happens. Of course they can cause headaches if you are sensitive to them.

Please stop diffusing and see if that helps you. Some EO companies are almost cult like in their devotion to their product. Please don't buy into the hype. It's like anything else. What works for one may not work for another. There are no absolutes. Additionally, and worse, it was the caused my female Burmese cat to develop asthma! I felt so bad. It was the trigger, so the asthma never resolved. There are many kinds of oils.. Pure essential oils can give you headaches but most likely it is the fragrance oils and diffuser oils that are the ones which are mostly to blame because these contain solvents and artificial "fragrance" chemicals in them.

I never diffuse either of these because their ingredients are toxic to inhale. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Lavender essential oil is one of the most popular and versatile essential oils used in aromatherapy.

Distilled from the plant Lavandula angustifolia , the oil promotes relaxation and believed to treat anxiety, fungal infections, allergies, depression , insomnia, eczema, nausea, and menstrual cramps. In essential oil practices, lavender is a multipurpose oil. It is purported to have anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antidepressant, antiseptic, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, as well as antispasmodic, analgesic, detoxifying, hypotensive, and sedative effects.

Lavender essential oil and its properties have been widely studied. Here's a look at the research. While there's currently a lack of large-scale clinical trials testing lavender's effects on people with anxiety , a number of studies show that the oil may offer some anti-anxiety benefits.

Several studies have tested lavender's anxiety-reducing effects in specific populations. In addition, a pilot study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice in indicates that lavender-essential-oil-based aromatherapy may help soothe anxiety in high-risk postpartum women.

In an experiment involving 28 women who had given birth in the previous 18 months, researchers found that four weeks of twice-weekly, minute-long aromatherapy sessions helped alleviate depression in addition to lowering anxiety levels. There's also some evidence that ingesting lavender oil may help relieve anxiety. A more recent review of the literature found 5 studies , , , and showed benefits ins participants with moderate to severe anxiety.

Several studies have shown lavender essential oil may help promote sleep and fight insomnia. A study published in the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine found a combination of sleep hygiene techniques and lavender essential oil therapy helped college students get a better night's sleep than sleep hygiene alone.

The study of 79 students with self-reported sleep problems also found inhaling lavender at bedtime improved daytime energy and vibrancy.