精油中毒呈上升趋势，以下是你需要知道的

精油中毒呈上升趋势，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.

精油是人们治疗各种疾病的首选，从轻微感染到压力。但新的数据表明，当人们转向这些芳香、易挥发的植物提取物时，他们的健康正面临越来越大的风险。

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.

根据新南威尔士州中毒中心的记录，来自澳大利亚的一项新分析显示，近年来，精油中毒事件数量有所增加，该中心接到的儿童中毒电话超过一半。

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.

悉尼大学(University of Sydney)的研究人员确定了4412例在2014年7月至2018年6月期间接触精油的病例，并将其分为时间、精油类型、随时间的变化以及受影响个体的特征。

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.

他们发现，从2014年到2015年，代表潜在中毒的个人或家长给该中心打了1011个电话。2017年至2018年，这一数字增长了16%以上，达到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.

大多数的中毒事件(80%)纯属意外，他们误把药瓶当成另一种药物，比如止咳糖浆。只有大约2%的人是根据错误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.

也许最令人担忧的是，在63%的病例中，受影响的人年龄在15岁以下。

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.

研究人员在他们的报告中写道:“中毒的开始可能很快，少量(最低5毫升)会对儿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.

总体数字可能不是很大，尤其是与包括实际药物在内的涉及其他物质的病例相比。

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，今年早些时候发布的一项基于该中心数据的研究发现，在2007年至2017年期间，超过9.5万名患者因服用扑热息痛(扑热息痛)入院，这一数字也显示出一个令人担忧的上升趋势。

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.

在这两个数字背后是我们需要记住的一个背景，一个关于每种治疗的流行程度，我们营销它们的方式，以及它们各自的益处的可能性。

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骗了。“香精”指的是油的挥发性，通常在蒸汽蒸馏过程中，通过加热特定的植物性物质来去除。

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.

这意味着一种芬芳的植物，如薰衣草、薄荷或桉树，其芳香化合物被浓缩成一种形式，然后用于燃油燃烧器和汽化器。

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

它们可能闻起来很香，但是最近精油作为一种天然的药物替代品引起了人们越来越多的兴趣。

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.

将炒作和品牌从证据中剥离出来并非易事。一些油，如金缕梅和百里酚，似乎确实有防腐或抗寄生虫的特性。而舒缓的气味，不管其生物活性如何，都可能有助于缓解心理上的压力。

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。最常见的精油产生皮肤刺激或接触性皮炎。其他的则含有一种叫做内分泌干扰物的天然化合物，它有可能以我们不希望的方式干扰我们的荷尔蒙。

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.

但研究人员发现，呼叫中心的人中，不到一半是桉树精油。仅仅服用几毫升就会导致胃痛、恶心，在某些情况下甚至抽搐。

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.

由精油中毒导致的死亡极为罕见，但已有记录。2012年，一项针对71例不良反应的系统性综述发现，仅有一例80岁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.

就像自然疗法经常出现的情况一样，人们很容易在夸大益处的同时忽视风险。在世界各地，被视为另类的医学正处于监管的“十字路口”，在没有控制感和权威感的情况下，寻求科学批准的好处。

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

因此，知道如何将精油作为一种医疗手段加以分类和管理，说起来容易做起来难。

The researchers have some places we could start.

研究人员有一些我们可以着手的地方。

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.

他们写道:“流量限制器和儿童专用瓶盖是可取的，但只有当精油量超过15毫升时，容器才需要这样的瓶盖。”

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

在个人层面上，我们都可以从简单地将精油视为潜在的危险物质开始。

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

研究人员建议:“安全储存很重要，我们建议将精油与口服药物分开保存，以防止治疗错误。”

This research was published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

这项研究发表在《澳大利亚医学杂志》上。