Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a tall evergreen tree from Australia, and its narrow, leathery leaves carry an essential oil with a fresh, cooling smell that is hard to confuse with anything else. Most of that smell comes from cineole, also called eucalyptol, which makes up a large part of eucalyptus oil. In many families, eucalyptus means a small orange bottle of tincture for gargling, a box of dried leaves for steaming over a pot of hot water, or a few drops of oil in a bowl of hot water when someone in the house has a cold. Russian and Ukrainian manufacturers usually work with the leaves of one particular species, Eucalyptus viminalis.

Eucalyptus comes in several forms, and they are not interchangeable: a tincture made with alcohol, dried leaves for infusions, a pure essential oil, nose drops with eucalyptus oil and Chlorophyllipt, a product made from eucalyptus leaf extract. Taken in order: when each form is used, how to gargle and steam with eucalyptus safely, why the oil is never swallowed, who should not use eucalyptus at all, and which forms are sold on USA Apteka.

When eucalyptus is used: tincture, oil, leaf and tablets

Each form has its own leaflet or description, and the uses differ.

The eucalyptus tincture sold on USA Apteka is made from eucalyptus leaves in 70% alcohol. Its leaflet lists irritation of the upper airways, the back of the nose and throat and the mouth, including irritated gums and sores in the mouth, damage to the skin, and mild nervous states such as irritability and trouble falling asleep. The tincture is used diluted, for gargling, rinsing and steam inhalations, and in some cases by mouth, as its leaflet describes.

The dried eucalyptus leaf is used for steam inhalations and gargling. The European Medicines Agency describes eucalyptus leaf, as a tea or for steam inhalation, as a traditional herbal product for relief of a chest cold with throat irritation in adults and teenagers. The word traditional is important here: the description rests on long use, not on strong studies in people.

Eucalyptus oil is a concentrated essential oil. The same agency describes it as a traditional product for relief of a chest cold and of local muscle aches, when it is inhaled or rubbed on the skin in diluted form, and again this rests on long use. The leaflet of the tincture lists germs whose growth eucalyptus slows down, but those are laboratory findings, not proof that eucalyptus clears anything up in a person.

Chlorophyllipt, the eucalyptus-based product most people know as tablets to dissolve in the mouth, a spray or a solution for gargling, has its own page: Chlorophyllipt. Eucalyptus oil is also one of the ingredients of nose drops such as Sanorin with eucalyptus oil, which are used only according to their own leaflet. Whatever the form, a doctor should see anyone whose sore throat, stuffy nose or heavy chest comes with shortness of breath, a high temperature or thick yellow or green mucus.

How to use eucalyptus correctly: gargling, steam, by mouth and on the skin

The amounts, the number of times a day and the length of use are given in the leaflet or on the pack of each product, and they differ from one product to another. What follows are practical details that make using them safer.

For gargling, the tincture is never used undiluted: a few drops are mixed into a glass of warm water, as the leaflet says, the throat and mouth are rinsed, and the liquid is spat out. Because the tincture contains alcohol, it is meant for adults. For steam inhalations, the dried leaves are brewed with boiling water according to the pack, or a few drops of tincture or oil are added to a bowl of hot water. The face stays at a safe distance from the water, the eyes are kept closed and outside the steam, as the agency advises for the oil, and the session lasts a few minutes. Steam over a pot of hot water is not for small children because of the risk of burns.

An infusion of the leaves for gargling is made with boiling water, covered, left to steep, strained and cooled until it is warm. The proportions and the steeping time are printed on the pack of leaves, and a fresh infusion is made each day.

By mouth, only the products whose leaflet allows it are taken, in the amount given there. The Russian reference Vidal also suggests checking tolerance before a course: a small amount is tried first, and if there is no allergic reaction after several hours, the course can begin.

On the skin, the essential oil is always diluted first, in a few drops of a carrier oil or a cream, as the product description says. The agency advises against putting eucalyptus oil on broken or irritated skin. A small test on the inside of the wrist a day before helps to see how the skin reacts.

The most important rule concerns swallowing. Poison Control, the US national poison center, warns that eucalyptus oil should never be swallowed and that a teaspoon or less of undiluted oil can be fatal. Signs usually appear within 30 minutes and include nausea, vomiting, belly pain, dizziness, slurred speech and drowsiness, and in serious cases seizures and loss of consciousness. If a child or an adult swallows eucalyptus oil, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or 911 right away, without waiting for signs to appear.

If the discomfort does not get better within a week of using eucalyptus, the European monograph advises seeing a doctor.

Contraindications to eucalyptus: allergic reactions, children, pregnancy and other limits

Eucalyptus is a plant, but it is not suitable for everyone, and its leaflets and the European monographs give a fairly long list of limits.

Who should not use eucalyptus tincture, according to its leaflet:

• people with asthma or a tendency to spasms of the airways;
• people with irritation of the stomach, intestines or bile ducts;
• people with serious liver conditions;
• anyone with an individual sensitivity to eucalyptus.

The Russian reference for eucalyptus leaf products adds thinning and dryness of the lining of the upper airways and asks for caution when the digestive glands produce too much secretion.

Children need special care, and the limits depend on the form:

• products with alcohol, including the tincture, are not used under 18;
• the leaf is not used at all under 30 months, because preparations with cineole can cause a spasm of the vocal cords in small children, and the European monograph does not recommend it under 12;
• the oil is not used under 24 months or in children who have ever had seizures, with or without a high temperature, and Poison Control also advises against giving eucalyptus oil to children under 2.

During pregnancy and breastfeeding, products of eucalyptus leaf that contain alcohol are not used, and the European monograph does not recommend the oil either, because there is not enough data. Poison Control gives the same advice for the oil.

Side effects are mostly allergic reactions. Large amounts taken by mouth can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and muscle cramps, and frequent or long steam inhalations can dry out the lining of the airways. Eucalyptus is kept out of the eyes, especially the tincture, the oil and Chlorophyllipt.

The European monograph also advises seeing a doctor if shortness of breath, a high temperature or thick, pus-like mucus appears. A child with a high temperature, noisy breathing or a chest cold that lasts more than a few days should be seen by a pediatrician.

Eucalyptus on USA Apteka: forms and storage

On USA Apteka, eucalyptus comes in several forms:

• eucalyptus tincture in 25 ml and 30 ml bottles, made with 70% alcohol;
• dried eucalyptus leaf, 45 g, for infusions, gargling and steam inhalations;
• eucalyptus essential oil, 15 ml;
• Sanorin nose drops with eucalyptus oil, 10 ml;
• Chlorophyllipt as a solution, tablets and a spray, made from eucalyptus leaf extract.

Eucalyptus products are stored as their leaflets say, in a cool, dark place. The tincture contains alcohol and is kept tightly closed. The essential oil deserves the most care: Poison Control recommends keeping eucalyptus products up and out of children's sight and reach, choosing bottles with child-resistant caps when they are available, and keeping children away from the liquid in steam vaporizers. A prepared leaf infusion is not stored for long, and a fresh one is better made for each day.

When a cold comes with a high temperature, trouble breathing or chest pain, no form of eucalyptus replaces a visit to a doctor.

The bottle of eucalyptus comes out in the cold season, while the neighbors below stay in the kit all year round, and it helps to know how each of them gets along with eucalyptus.

• Activated charcoal is kept for an upset stomach after questionable food. It is not a home answer to swallowed eucalyptus oil: in that case the call goes to Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or to 911, and the specialists decide what to do. Charcoal also binds other products in the gut, so it is taken a few hours apart from them.
• Valerian is kept for a restless evening. Both valerian tincture and eucalyptus tincture are made with alcohol, so taking both on the same evening adds up the alcohol, and neither is combined with driving. Trouble sleeping that lasts for weeks is a reason to see a doctor.
• Arbidol is a product with umifenovir that is registered in Russia for seasonal viruses. It is taken by mouth according to its leaflet, while eucalyptus is used for gargling and steam, so the two do not overlap. A high temperature that lasts more than three days, or a cold in a child, an older person or during pregnancy, needs a doctor.

Eucalyptus is needed when the throat is scratchy and the nose is stuffy during a cold, in the form that suits the person, and the oil is always kept where children cannot reach it.

There is no kit that fits every case, and each family has its own. If a cold does not pass or gets worse, neither eucalyptus nor its neighbors on the shelf replace a doctor.

Where to find

Eucalyptus tincture in 25 ml and 30 ml bottles, dried eucalyptus leaf in a 45 g pack and eucalyptus essential oil in a 15 ml bottle can be ordered from USA Apteka in the original packaging of their manufacturers. Delivery within the US, including Hawaii and Alaska, is free over $69, while orders to other countries ship at a paid rate regardless of the total. The care team answers questions about the products or stock in the chat on the website or on WhatsApp, and regular customers have a bonus program and seasonal sales.

Keep the tincture and the oil tightly closed and out of children's reach, and check the date on the pack. For a child, during pregnancy or with a cold that does not get better within a week, talk to a doctor.