Need info on Oil of Oregano

[saylorbee]

I came across some old postings about oil of oregano & staph infections. I believe that Saylor has another mild staph infection on her back. I bought a bottle of Oil of Oregano capsules tonight from the GNC store. I'm still not sure how much I'm supposed to put on her food? Should I give her an entire capsule or just a few drops? Do I need to apply this to her skin as well?

Has anyone had luck healing skin infections with this remedy? How long should I try giving the oil to my labby girl?

(I do have a vet appt. made for Friday so no need to yell at me about getting vet care)

Thanks so much!

[muttbutt]

I'm personally not crazy about oil of oregano. If you've ever taken it internally, it burns on the way down and in straight concentrations it can burn the skin.

Precautions

Do not use oregano essential oil, either topically or internally, while pregnant.

Nursing mothers should avoid applying the oil to their nipples, because it can be difficult to wash off and may be ingested inadvertently by their infants. During the weaning process, nursing mothers wishing to use a breast message oil that contains oregano essential oil as a method to reduce milk production should do so with caution and be sure that all the oil is removed before breast-feeding. Because of safety issues regarding breast milk and infant care, nursing mothers should always obtain the approval of an obstetrician and/or pediatrician before using oregano essential oil either topically or internally.

Topically, oregano essential oil may be irritating to the skin, especially mucous membranes, and can cause burning. Therefore, it should always be suitably diluted, and according to Tisserand and Balacs, never applied topically to mucous membranes in concentrations greater than 1%. They also caution that people with damaged or very sensitive skin as well as children less than two years of age should not use the oil.

Special care should be taken when using oregano essential oil internally, because many of the commercially available products are erroneously labeled and are not made from high grade oregano. In fact, many contain dangerous levels of thymol. Some experts caution that oregano essential oil should never be taken internally, while others suggest that it is safe for internal use provided that it is suitably diluted and its source and contents are verified; it must be extracted from high grade oregano and meet seven strict requirements.

Internal use (swallowed or as a rectal suppository) should be highly restricted (ie, a few drops only of the pure essential oil per dose, and limiting duration of use to a few days to weeks) This is because essential oils represent highly concentrated extracts through distillation compared to the whole crude plant (essential oils have 100's of times more essential oil per drop due to purification, than does fresh or dried oregano herb) And although therapeutic in small, short term doses, these oils are toxic to liver, kidneys and the nervous system if taken in excess.

Always be sure to use true oregano essential oil (containing less than 5% thymol) and not thymol oil, which should never be taken internally and used topically only with extreme caution after being diluted in a suitable carrier oil.

People with any medical condition should use oregano essential oil only after consulting with a physician.

Side Effects

The use of oregano essential oil can cause skin irritation, redness, and burning. If any of these negative side effects occur, discontinue use immediately.

When used either topically or internally to treat thrush, it has the potential to decrease a nursing mother's milk supply.

In low doses over a short period of time, oregano essential oil is considered generally safe. However, high doses may be toxic to the liver.

Taken from: http://www.answers.com/topic/oregano...oil?cat=health

[judeann]

I don't know about giving capsules. I think most of the people here who have used it have used the drops and put one or two drops on the food. Could you get drops instead of capsules? When I spoke to my vet about it this is what he rec. as it is so potent. To use it on the skin you'll probably need to dilute it so it won't burn. Did you find anything about this on your thread search? To find a high quality oil of oregano you may need to go to a health food store and I've seen it on line. I don't know if you saw this thread but it is one I started just to get info and some of the people who have used responded so maybe it will help. It has info about using it externally and internally.

http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/u...hlight=oregano

[saylorbee]

Thanks for the info. I had only read good reviews about oil of oregano before I bought it today. But I must say that after reading the most recent posts, I'm really freaked out about trying it. I would never forgive myself if this oil burns my baby girl.

I already opened the bottle..doubting I can return the capsules now. Well there goes more $ out the window!

[Heather]

I am a total fan of OoO and - like most other things - it works when used correctly. I would not even consider using it full strength and only buy the human grade NOW brand.

I don't use the capsules. I buy the pure oil and dilute it with a carrier oil- typically vitamine E oil. I use a 20% OoO:80% Vitamin E oil (again human grade). This is a 1:4 ratio. I use this formula for external applications- typically yeast infections that effect Annie's feet.

I have a bottle of premixed oil (again, obtained from the health food store for internal applications) and use that any time I have to use it orally. I have only given it orally for kennel cough.

FWIW, the Whole Dog Journal recommends the use of OoO for staph infections.

[Asquared]

Originally Posted by saylorbee

. I would never forgive myself if this oil burns my baby girl.

Just be very, very, careful. Try it in a small spot first if you are applying to the skin, and make sure to dilute it.

Here is what it did to my boy's leg. (the spot I was treating was the size of a dime)

[AnnLee&Me]

We had great results with Oil of Oregano. We diluted it 4 parts vitamin E oil to 1 part OoO and used it topically. You have to be really careful because it CAN burn. Diluted properly, I think it's safe...but that's just my opinion. It helped cleared up Annie's staph in a big way.

If you have any doubts as to what it feels like, put 2 or 3 drops under your tongue. That will give you quite a hefty amount of respect for the ol' OoO.

[RileyBean]

As Heather said, make sure it's diluted before you use it and as Asquared said test a small spot first. I've used it on myself however once I didn't dilute it as much as I should have...you really don't want to know what that feels like.

[ZenCat]

I also had a strong (unpleasant) reaction to Oil of Oregano (in myself, I have never tried it on my dogs due to my experience with it). If you choose to use it, be diligent in following the good advice you've been given

[Heather]

Originally Posted by Asquared

Just be very, very, careful. Try it in a small spot first if you are applying to the skin, and make sure to dilute it.

This is good advice about ANYTHING you put on yourself or your dog. As we are all different creatures different reactions are to be expected.

[honeymist]

Originally Posted by Jessamyn

We had great results with Oil of Oregano. We diluted it 4 parts vitamin E oil to 1 part OoO and used it topically. You have to be really careful because it CAN burn. Diluted properly, I think it's safe...but that's just my opinion. It helped cleared up Annie's staph in a big way.

Jessamyn - Can you tell me more about how you applied it to Annie's staph? How much, how often, etc? Brady's got a ton of staph sores (prob like 7 new ones, a few old ones mostly healed) on one side of his body (stomach and rib area).

[AnnLee&Me]

Originally Posted by Lesley10782

Jessamyn - Can you tell me more about how you applied it to Annie's staph? How much, how often, etc? Brady's got a ton of staph sores (prob like 7 new ones, a few old ones mostly healed) on one side of his body (stomach and rib area).

Of course. Like I said, I mixed 4 parts Vitamin E Oil with 1 part Oil of Oregano in little vial with a dropper (got them both at an "all natural" store). I stirred the oils together the best I could. We simply would squeeze some out onto our fingers and gently rub it onto the sore, coating it quite well, once a day. We did it before bed to avoid any mess or staining on the carpet and to give it time to soak in. She didn't really try to lick it off for whatever reason but even if your dog does, it shouldn't be any big deal.

Just remember to start in one small spot the first time and watch it to make sure your dog doesn't have any bad reaction. As you can tell from this thread, it does not work for everyone. Luckily, we had great results with it. Good luck!