# Essential Oil Questions?



## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

Does anyone have any questions they want me to ask about essential oils? o.o

I'm going to a workshop for essential oils on pets tomorrow. There is a representative there tomorrow from Young Living essential oils. I think there is a vet there too, but I forget. :lol: I'm going early to bug them with lots of questions on parrots before anyone gets there. Right now I'm very interested in if certain oils or medications can be used for parrots to increase nerve function in the body and oxygen flow in the bloodstream for my parrot's leg. I paid for it so any questions I can ask them and bug them with I'd like to get a lot answered.  I wrote up like 20 questions already. Like if frankincense can be used to increase oxygen flow in parrots and if it is safe or there are other fast acting medications or oils that can be used. Because right now there is nothing you can do for pulmonary edema when your parrots inhale Teflon.. it inflames their lungs and they fill with fluid and can basically drown. At the vets they give them oxygen and sometimes a medication that reduces inflammation or tries to flush the fluid out. I don't know how common it is to give that medication to parrots. So in an emergency if you can do something after getting them into fresh air to increase the oxygen flow right away before taking them to the vet... that would really improve their chances of survival.


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

Is lavender (not oil) safe to use in a bird's room? (Sorry, probably unrelated, but the birds room is painted lavender color and I was thinking about putting some in a vase.)


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

I would think fresh Lavender would be safe for your Fid. It's not overpowering a scent and beating up on the blooms is probably bird safe, too.


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

Okay! That's what I have read as well.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

At the Pet Workshop they had a Board certified- Holistic Nurse who was also a certified Healing Touch for Animals practitioner. They did the presenting on this topic and a few examples of different types of massages for larger animals like dogs like the "raindrop" one.

Right now I don't really support or condemn essential oils on parrots. I would research more about it if you're thinking about it though, especially toxic oils and amount of dilution for oils. If you use safe oils and dilute them properly it could be safe. If you use any oil at any dilution without researching, it is not safe. Also putting the diffuser on the other side of the room away from the parrot is the safest option.

What I learned from that workshop is for parrots always dilute, dilute, dilute everything. There are very few oils that can be placed directly on parrot skin and even those have to be diluted a lot with water. For me... I personally would never want to put anything on my parrot's skin or feathers because then it is directly absorbed into the body in a matter of seconds and some are not safe to ingest, our parrots love to preen areas we have just touched. Also you can *not* remove the oil by washing the skin or feathers off with water if they are having a bad reaction. Water actually makes the oil absorb *faster* into the body and will make it worse if they are having a bad reaction. You have to use a carrier oil to remove it, so if you are interested in oils... I would just stick with a diffuser where you can move them out of the room if you see them start to have any discomforts. To test oils out before diffusing them she said you could take a drop, rub it on your hands, and then wave your hands through the air a foot or two away from your parrot to see if it bothers them.

The safest way to get oils into your parrot is through a diffuser she said. She said just smelling it will give the same effects to the body and so they use diffusers with many of their human and animal patients. So for a small parrot she said a drop or less. Probably need to dilute that drop a little first. Also I asked, she said an air purifier probably wont affect the diffuser if you have both going at the same time. It might take a little out of the air, but the diffuser spreads the oil all throughout the room so it wouldn't hurt it that much.

You should test the oil for about 15 minutes or a half hour or less at first. See if your parrot has a bad reaction: coughing, panting, anxious, discomfort, pacing (well lots of pacing like they can't calm down), weakness. If they do get them out of the room the diffuser is in and into fresh air or far away from the diffusers range.

So Young Living has a Pet blend of oils... be careful to read *everything* that is on the back of them. One of the blends is just tea tree oil and another contains melaleuca oil(another name for tea tree oil). So two of the ten can kill parrots if they smell them in the air, in a diffuser, or with direct contact to the skin. It is also not recommended to use peppermint, wintergreen, or eucalyptus oils around them the presenter said.

So I asked because of their sensitivity to oils if I don't want to get this on them if I have essential oil on my hands what I should do. She said you can just wash the oil off with soap and water. You hands might smell like the oil because it has absorbed into your skin, but it shouldn't be on their surface layer of your skin, it is just still absorbing into your body. I'd probably wash my hands pretty well though if you are using an oil that is toxic to them just in case.

Some oils I asked her about for parrots and Kiwi's situation with her fused joint from scar tissue were:

Lavender oil is safe for parrots if you dilute it. It is used for calming and is good for skin conditions, it can also be helpful for muscular issues like scar tissue. The lavender plant could be helpful for night frights in parrots for it's calming aroma and is probably safer than the undiluted oil. People often put lavender sprigs around bird cages without any problems and lavender is in my 'tiel's herb salad she eats. So that might be helpful. Just maybe not too many sprigs because lavender can smell kind of strong.

Idaho Balsam Fir- For joints, muscle, tendons. But you have to test it out around parrots first with like a drop on your hands a foot or two away and wave it through the air for a little while.

These oils might be safe for parrots, but research should be done again: Raven Sarah oil, RC oil, Copaiba oil. Those three might also be good for cancer, tumors, and also parrots in a situation where they have been exposed to teflon. It looks like Copaiba might be safe since a holstic vet used it on a parrot for treatment: http://healthypets.mercola.com/site.../03/11/parrot-healed-with-essential-oils.aspx
Copaiba is usually used for pain and to reduce inflammation. Because of it's strong anti-inflammatory properties I would go with Copaiba if they were exposed to teflon and need to be rushed to a vet. It will hopefully help stop the inflammatory response Teflon started by irritating their lungs that triggers the lungs to start producing fluid that can drown them. As a diuretic it might also start taking some of the fluid out of the lungs, but usually diuretics can't treat edema very well. You could even diffuse it in the car on the way there. Also ask that the emergency vet or vet you are seeing has an oxygen tank ready and medication to reverse pulmonary edema or at least an anti-inflammatory medication. Ask if they need your parrots weight so they can start calculating the dose right away so they can inject it immediately.
Some more about Copaiba: http://oilhealthbenefits.com/copaiba-essential-oil/


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