Reading
As the FNP, DNP in an outpatient clinic, you are seeing a mother and a father with their two children who are age 3 and 6 years. The visit is an urgent care situation whereby the mother used essential oils for massage on her two children.
However, the mother used 8% concentration or four times the recommended dosage for children 3–6 years old. Both children experienced wide-spread allergic contact dermatitis from the massage and oils.
Vitals are stable. The children tell you that they are very itchy, but they liked the smell. The mother exclaims, “I don’t know what the problem is… I use this oil on my clients all the time when I practice massage in the clinic… Are they allergic to the oils?
Question
Please answer the following questions in your home journal regarding Maribel and her new diagnosis.
- Examine the safety and efficacy of essential oil use in children for massage—provide two scholarly citations.
- Discuss two concerns of the safety of essential oil use in the pediatric population. Consider how you would then provide health promotion and accident prevention teaching for the parents.
- Discuss how you would manage the care of the children and your approach to using this as a teachable moment for the parents.