Essential Oils Safety: Start Here
A guide to the essential oil safety pages on this site: poisoning, children, pets, skin reactions, diffusers, pregnancy, medicines and quality, with what Poison Control says first.
Content last updated . This page has not been medically reviewed.
Swallowed essential oil is an emergency to report. If someone swallows an essential oil or a product containing one, use the Poison Control online tool or call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222; Poison Control says guidance is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day.[1] Call 911 for seizure, collapse or trouble breathing. See Essential Oil Poisoning: What to Do First and Poisoning: What to Do First. Do not try to make the person vomit.
This page is a map to the essential oil safety pages. The detail is there, not here. The usual route for aromatherapy is inhaling oils or applying them diluted to the skin.[2] This site gives no instructions to swallow essential oils.
What the official sources say in brief
- Poison Control says misuse of essential oils can cause serious poisoning, that many can cause rashes on the skin and that some can be poisonous if absorbed through the skin or swallowed.[1]
- It also says essential oil products are not well regulated and essential oils may interact with medications.[1]
- On benefit, NCCIH says that for insomnia we do not know whether aromatherapy helps because little rigorous research has been done on this topic.[2]
- Traditional use of essential oils is long, but Poison Control says few uses have been studied scientifically.[1]
Start with the essentials
- Essential Oil Safety: The Essentials
- Essential Oil Safety Quick Reference: Warning Signs and Whom to Call
- Essential Oils at a Glance: Evidence and Safety Table
By question
| Your question | Page |
|---|---|
| Swallowing | More about Swallowing → |
| Babies and children | More about Babies and children → |
| Camphor | More about Camphor → |
| Pets | More about Pets → |
| Skin rashes and allergy | More about Skin rashes and allergy → |
| Sun and citrus oils | More about Sun and citrus oils → |
| Diffusers and air | More about Diffusers and air → |
| Pregnancy | More about Pregnancy → |
| Seizure disorders | More about Seizure disorders → |
| Medicines | More about Medicines → |
| Storage and fire | More about Storage and fire → |
| Purity and labels | More about Purity and labels → |
| Homemade blends | More about Homemade blends → |
Cross-cutting guides
Child Swallowed a Supplement, Essential Oil or Herb and Pet and Animal Poisoning cover urgent situations. Safety by Remedy Type links the other remedy types.
What this page does not cover
It gives no dilution charts, no blend recipes and no amounts. Proper evidence not found in the sources we read here for any ranking of oils by safety, and this site does not rank them.
Frequently asked questions
Are essential oils poisonous?
Some can be. Poison Control says many essential oils can cause rashes on the skin and some can be poisonous if absorbed through the skin or swallowed.[1]
Which oils are most dangerous if swallowed?
Poison Control gives examples: even a small amount of camphor is dangerous if swallowed, and wintergreen oil is very dangerous if more than a tiny amount is swallowed.[1] Call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.
Are essential oils safe around children?
Poison Control says children have thin skin and immature livers, which might make them more susceptible to toxic effects, and advises keeping oils locked up out of sight and reach of children and pets.[1]
Can you be allergic to essential oils?
Poison Control says allergy is a very real possibility, most often as a skin rash, and that people can also react to other ingredients in a product.[1]
Do essential oils work?
Poison Control says few uses have been studied scientifically.[1] NCCIH says we do not know whether aromatherapy helps for insomnia because little rigorous research exists.[2] Evidence is insufficient for most claims we looked at.
References
- Poison Control (US). Essential oils: Poisonous when misused. Read 2026-10-23.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH). Aromatherapy. Read 2026-10-23.