精油中毒呈上升趨勢，以下是你需要知道的

精油中毒呈上升趨勢，以下是你需要知道的

Essential oils are a popular choice for people keen to remedy a wide variety of ailments, from minor infections to stress. But new data indicate that people are increasingly putting their health at risk when they turn to these fragrant, volatile plant extracts.

精油是人們治療各種疾病的首選，從輕微感染到壓力。但新的數(shù)據(jù)表明，當人們轉向這些芳香、易揮發(fā)的植物提取物時，他們的健康正面臨越來越大的風險。

A new analysis from Australia, based on records from a poisons centre in the state of New South Wales, has revealed an increase in the number of essential oil poisonings in recent years, with more than half of calls to the centre regarding children.

根據(jù)新南威爾士州中毒中心的記錄，來自澳大利亞的一項新分析顯示，近年來，精油中毒事件數(shù)量有所增加，該中心接到的兒童中毒電話超過一半。

University of Sydney researchers identified 4,412 cases of essential oil exposure dating between July 2014 and June 2018, and broke them down into times, type of oil, changes over time, and the characteristics of the affected individual.

悉尼大學(University of Sydney)的研究人員確定了4412例在2014年7月至2018年6月期間接觸精油的病例，并將其分為時間、精油類型、隨時間的變化以及受影響個體的特征。

They found that from 2014 to 2015, 1,011 calls were made to the centre by individuals or parents representing a potential poisoning. In 2017 to 2018, that number was up by more than 16 percent, to 1,177 cases.

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，從2014年到2015年，代表潛在中毒的個人或家長給該中心打了1011個電話。2017年至2018年，這一數(shù)字增長了16%以上，達到1177例。

Most of the poisonings – 80 percent – were purely accidental, mistaking the bottle for another pharmaceutical like a cough syrup. Only around 2 percent resulted from intentionally taking the essential oil based on misinformation.

大多數(shù)的中毒事件(80%)純屬意外，他們誤把藥瓶當成另一種藥物，比如止咳糖漿。只有大約2%的人是根據(jù)錯誤信息而故意服用精油的。

Perhaps most concerning was that in 63 percent of cases, the person who was affected was under the age of 15.

也許最令人擔憂的是，在63%的病例中，受影響的人年齡在15歲以下。

The onset of toxicity can be rapid, and small quantities (as little as 5 millilitres) can cause life-threatening toxicity in children, the researchers write in their report.

研究人員在他們的報告中寫道:“中毒的開始可能很快，少量(最低5毫升)會對兒童造成危及生命的毒性。”

The overall numbers might not seem huge, especially when compared with cases involving other substances, including actual medications.

總體數(shù)字可能不是很大，尤其是與包括實際藥物在內的涉及其他物質的病例相比。

For example, a study released earlier this year based on data from the same centre found more than 95,000 hospital admissions were the result of paracetamol (acetaminophen) ingestion between 2007 and 2017 – a number that also revealed an alarming upward trend.

例如，今年早些時候發(fā)布的一項基于該中心數(shù)據(jù)的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在2007年至2017年期間，超過9.5萬名患者因服用撲熱息痛(撲熱息痛)入院，這一數(shù)字也顯示出一個令人擔憂的上升趨勢。

Behind both of these numbers is a context we need to keep in mind, one concerning the prevalence of each treatment, the way we market them, and the likelihood of their respective benefits.

在這兩個數(shù)字背后是我們需要記住的一個背景，一個關于每種治療的流行程度，我們營銷它們的方式，以及它們各自的益處的可能性。

Being essential doesn't make the oils important, so don't let the description fool you. The 'essence' refers to the volatility of the oils, which are removed by heating particular botanicals, often in a steam distillation process.

精油本身并不重要，所以不要被它的描述欺騙了。“香精”指的是油的揮發(fā)性，通常在蒸汽蒸餾過程中，通過加熱特定的植物性物質來去除。

That means a fragrant plant, such as lavender, peppermint, or eucalyptus, has its aromatic compounds concentrated into a form which is then sold for use in oil burners and vaporisers.

這意味著一種芬芳的植物，如薰衣草、薄荷或桉樹，其芳香化合物被濃縮成一種形式，然后用于燃油燃燒器和汽化器。

They might smell nice, but recently essential oils have attracted increasing interest as a natural-seeming alternative to actual pharmaceuticals.

它們可能聞起來很香，但是最近精油作為一種天然的藥物替代品引起了人們越來越多的興趣。

Pulling apart the hype and branding from the evidence is no simple task. Some oils, like witch hazel and thymol, do seem to have antiseptic or anti-parasitic qualities. And soothing scents, regardless of bioactivity, might help alleviate stress for psychological reasons.

將炒作和品牌從證據(jù)中剝離出來并非易事。一些油，如金縷梅和百里酚，似乎確實有防腐或抗寄生蟲的特性。而舒緩的氣味，不管其生物活性如何，都可能有助于緩解心理上的壓力。

Not all oils are of equal concern, either. Most commonly essential oils produce skin irritations or contact dermatitis. Others contain naturally occurring compounds known as endocrine disruptors, which have the potential to interfere with our hormones in unwanted ways.

也不是所有的油都是同等重要的。最常見的精油產生皮膚刺激或接觸性皮炎。其他的則含有一種叫做內分泌干擾物的天然化合物，它有可能以我們不希望的方式干擾我們的荷爾蒙。

But the researchers found just under half of the calls made to the centre were for eucalyptus essential oils. Taking just a few millilitres can result in stomach pains, nausea, and in some cases, even convulsions.

但研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，呼叫中心的人中，不到一半是桉樹精油。僅僅服用幾毫升就會導致胃痛、惡心，在某些情況下甚至抽搐。

Deaths from essential oil poisoning are extremely rare, but have been recorded. A systematic review conducted in 2012 of 71 cases of adverse effects found a single confirmed case of an 80-year-old male dying from wintergreen poisoning.

由精油中毒導致的死亡極為罕見，但已有記錄。2012年，一項針對71例不良反應的系統(tǒng)性綜述發(fā)現(xiàn)，僅有一例80歲男性死于鹿蹄草中毒。

As is often the case with natural remedies, it can be easy to oversell the benefits while downplaying the risks. Around the world, medicine regarded as alternative sits at a "crossroad" of regulation, seeking the benefit of science's stamp of approval without the sense of control and authority.

就像自然療法經常出現(xiàn)的情況一樣，人們很容易在夸大益處的同時忽視風險。在世界各地，被視為另類的醫(yī)學正處于監(jiān)管的“十字路口”，在沒有控制感和權威感的情況下，尋求科學批準的好處。

Knowing just how to categorise and regulate the use of essential oils as a medical treatment is therefore easier said than done.

因此，知道如何將精油作為一種醫(yī)療手段加以分類和管理，說起來容易做起來難。

The researchers have some places we could start.

研究人員有一些我們可以著手的地方。

Flow restrictors and child-resistant closures would be desirable, but containers are only required to have such closures when the essential oil volume exceeds 15 millilitres, they write.

他們寫道:“流量限制器和兒童專用瓶蓋是可取的，但只有當精油量超過15毫升時，容器才需要這樣的瓶蓋。”

On an individual level, we can all start by simply seeing essential oils as potentially dangerous substances.

在個人層面上，我們都可以從簡單地將精油視為潛在的危險物質開始。

Safe storage is important, and we recommend that essential oils be kept separate from oral medications to prevent therapeutic errors, the researchers advise.

研究人員建議:“安全儲存很重要，我們建議將精油與口服藥物分開保存，以防止治療錯誤。”

This research was published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

這項研究發(fā)表在《澳大利亞醫(yī)學雜志》上。