Sometimes used to treat colds, products based on plants and essential oils can present an allergic risk, recalls a UFC-Que Choisir investigation.
- According to the UFC-Que Choisir association, the use of essential oils for colds is not suitable for everyone.
- These products may cause allergies and are not recommended for pregnant women and young children.
- The common cold heals spontaneously within a few days.
The common cold is the winter illness. An adult can be contaminated several times a year, up to ten times for a child. To treat it, some people use essential oils and herbal products. “Their composition, however, exposes them to risks, particularly allergic risks, which it is better to be aware of.”warns the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir.
Cold: why should you avoid essential oils?
These are generally sprays, sticks or inhaled solutions, used to decongest the nose. The association warns of the lack of scientific data to prove the benefit of these products. Their effectiveness is “weak at best, based on traditional usage and not on solid evaluations“, according to UFC-Que Choisir. People who use it may, however, feel a sensation of decongestion of the nose, but the association believes that this is only ephemeral and linked to the strong odors given off by the products.
The UFC-Que Choisir warns about the composition of these products: they are made from plants such as thyme, camphor, menthol and even eucalyptus. All these plants contain terpenes, a natural substance.which can cause allergies and convulsive seizures.. HAS BFM TV, Caroline Majer, pharmacist, emphasizes that some people should avoid them. She cites those suffering from asthma and epilepsy, pregnant women and children under 6 years old. On its website, ANSES reminds that essential oils should not be used “for a prolonged period (beyond a few days) without medical advice”.
Essential oils, vasoconstrictors: how to treat a cold?
Essential oils are not the only products not recommended for colds. Last October, the National Medicines Safety Agency published a note about vasoconstrictor medications, intended to decongest the nose. She recommends “do not use oral forms of vasoconstrictor medications to relieve symptoms of colds, benign nasopharyngitis of viral origin”. Myocardial infarction and stroke may occur after using these medications. “The risk is very low, warns the ANSM. (…) The seriousness of these accidents and the persistence of the cases – despite the actions already put in place –, combined with the non-essential nature of vasoconstrictors, lead the ANSM to recommend against their use. The general public knows them under the names Actifed Rhume, Dolirhume, Humex Rhume, Rhinadvil Rhume.”
Colds heal spontaneously
The agency recalls that colds heal spontaneously after seven to ten days. To relieve symptoms, it is advisable to drink enough water, sleep with your head elevated, regularly ventilate the rooms and maintain a cool atmosphere. To unblock the nose, you must “moisten the inside of the nose with suitable washing solutions: physiological serum, thermal water or sea water sprays..
