Is Diffusing Essential Oils Safe For Your Lungs?

According to recent studies, the demand for essential oils is estimated to drastically increase from 226.9 kilotons to 404.2 kilotons between 2018 and 2025. 

If you don’t know much about essential oils, you must be puzzled about “what are essential oils.”

Essential oils are concentrated hydrophobic liquids. They contain VOC (volatile organic compounds) from plants. Essential oils are known after the name of the plant they are extracted from such as lavender, peppermint, and tea tree oil.

In this write-up, we will be talking about essential oil diffusers.

Also known as aromatherapy diffusers, they are used to disperse essential oils into the air. These devices break down essential oils into smaller molecules and create a pleasant effect in the surroundings.

To put it in a nutshell, diffusers fill the targeted space with tiny, breathable particles of essential oils.

Benefits of Essential Oil Diffusers

There are some reasons why essential oil diffusers are preferred. They offer the following perks,

• Versatility and convenience
• Relieve pain and cramps
• Heal skin conditions
• Relieve congestion
• Promote healthy sleep patterns
• Boost your mood
• Improves clarity and focus

Do they have any medicinal impact?

Essential oil diffusers carry a lot of medicinal benefits. They can reduce stress, cure fungal infections, and assist in maintaining your sleep patterns.

Studies have shown that lavender’s anxiety-reducing effects can lessen anxiety and improve mood in a dental treatment waiting room.

This liquefied form of essence, distilled from plants, can be used for numerous medicinal uses.

Apart from the benefits, essential oil diffusers also carry some side effects. They can cause irritation or burning. Essential oils are also not rendered safe for people with asthma.

Here we will take a detailed look at the effects of essential oil diffusers on the lungs – are they safe for the lungs or not?

Is Diffusing Essential Oils Safe for Your Lungs?

When you are using essential oil diffusers, you must be concerned about what you are breathing is healthy for your respiratory system or not, especially for your lungs.

Doctors and scientists have conducted experiments worldwide to study the effects of essential oil diffusers on the lungs. However, they haven’t found any concrete data to answer this question.

We will discuss their impact by breaking down the situation of people exposed to it.

If you have healthy lungs,

With people having healthy lungs, there is no sufficient evidence of essential oils promoting lung health. So, if the scent of essential oils helps you boost your mood, you don’t have to worry about its effect on your lungs.

They have no therapeutic benefits for the lungs, neither have they shown any drawbacks. A small dosage of essential oils diffusing through your respiratory system and entering your lungs wouldn’t harm them at all.

To accumulate all the possibilities in one sentence – if you don’t have any existing lungs ailment, it is well enough for you to use an essential oil diffuser.

If you have a lung issue,

If you are suffering from any restrictive (such as fibrosis) or obstructive lung disease (asthma or COPD), you need to be cautious while using essential oil diffusers. 

Essential oils contain VOC, and they can easily trigger irritation in the lungs of asthmatic patients. They can aggrandize the symptoms of your disease by causing airway inflammation.

Some specific compounds present in essential oils have adverse effects on the respiratory system – such as diffused eucalyptus and lavender contain benzene, toluene, and terpene. Terpene is known to have adverse effects on the respiratory system, such as causing shortness of breath, wheezing, and chest tightness.

There are some key factors that trigger asthma. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study in which they highlighted these factors. Along with tobacco smoke, mites, pets, and air contaminants, they also include fragrances. Essential oils have strong odors – consequently, they can trigger asthma.

The diffused essential oils can contaminate the indoor air quality with pollutants, which can trigger allergic reactions of the respiratory system -consequently affecting the lungs. These pollutants are more dangerous for children than for adults.

Is there any remedy for its side effects?

Doctors have repeatedly pointed the lack of regulation while using essential oils. When you are buying essential oils, you know nothing about their concentration.

At times, you might be in need of exposure to a diluted solution. All the same, the one that you are getting might be concentrated. Besides, you are not sure whether all the purchases which you have made had the same concentration. It can vary from purchase to purchase.

An easy way to get rid of such situations is to use essential oil diffusers prescribed by your pulmonologist. If you are using one already, you can get it checked by your physician.  

Is there any evidence that essential oil diffusers help asthma?

You might have heard it can make asthmatic patients feel better. After reading so many adverse effects of essential oil diffuser on the lungs, you might be thinking “Can it be true.”

Obliquely, Yes!

If you are suffering from stress-induced asthma, stress reduction efforts can reduce the frequency of asthmatic attacks. Diffusing essential oils is sure to reduce stress. So, it can be a reason that you are feeling calmer and you are breathing comfortably.

Under such situations, doctors usually allow you to continue using an essential oil diffuser with the requisite of taking your medications regularly.

You can use an essential oil diffuser as a complement but not as a substitute.

Bottom Line

Essential oil diffusers can help improve many conditions. However, when it comes to the lungs, you need to be careful. Though these oils are natural, they contain VOC. They can have adverse effects on the lungs, particularly unhealthy lungs.

If you want to avoid the repercussions of using essential oil diffusers, you should use them by the recommendation of a pulmonologist. When you use it for medicinal intentions, always use it as an adjunct for your medications and never a substitute.