Contact Dermatitis. 2002 Nov;47(5):288-92. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0536.2002.470506.x.
ABSTRACT
Essential or fragrant oils are volatile odourous mixtures of organic chemical compounds that are widely used in aromatherapy and in the perfume industry. Because of their frequent use, allergy to essential oils is being increasingly recognized. We report 2 cases of multiple allergies to essential oils in professional aromatherapists. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to analyse the oils in order to identify a common allergen responsible for the contact dermatitis. In both the cases, alpha- and beta-pinene were found to be the most common constituent in the oils and thus appeared to be key allergens. alpha-pinene was confirmed as an allergen on repeat patch testing with pure alpha-pinene in both cases. 12 controls tested were negative for the same. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was found to be an extremely useful tool that could be utilized in investigating multiple allergies to essential oils.
PMID:12534533 | DOI:10.1034/j.1600-0536.2002.470506.x
About The Author
Patrick Blanchard MD
Meet Dr. Blanchard
Dr. Blanchard’s medical practice is an embodiment of Integrative health which brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. Conveniently located in sunny Florida and over the internet with ValiseMD’s secure HIPPA compliant telXmed servers. Since 1994, patients with a wide range of challenging medical problems have achieved optimum health using the best of natural medicine, judiciously combined with high-tech innovations. Breakthroughs are often achieved even after patients have consulted mainstream specialists and holistic practitioners.
Dr. Blanchard is founder and CEO of ValiseMD, Inc. He is board certified in Family Medicine since 1994 and awarded Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2001. He received the ‘Teacher of the Year’ award from the University of Kansas School of Medicine at completion of his residency in Family Medicine. He completed a fellowship at Wake Forest University in the field of vascular neurosonology. He holds a medical patent in the field of Gastroenterology. He holds an unrestricted license to practice medicine and surgery in Florida. He started his medical career as a Emergency Medical Technician, then as a Paramedic and later a Medical Doctor.
