Olbas oil - reaction?

[PurpleRaine]

Am in the middle of a fairly severe cough/cold episode and have found it difficult to sleep because of blocked nose. Also wheezing from congestion. I have used Olbas Oil in the past to help and so did again yesterday, had it on a tissue and inhaled off and on all evening. I hadn’t had an episode of AF for more than two years (taking meds) but woke at 6 this morning with heart rate of 131bpm and AF. Has this happened to anyone else?

[CDreamer]

Commiserations, nothing makes you feel more miserable. Any infection tends to be a trigger for me so suspect it’s more the cold and interrupted sleep because of being unable to breath as much as the Olbas Oil. I’ve used it regularly with no reaction but NEVER neat on a tissue, always a few drops in steam before bed TBH I think it’s the steam which helps more than anything. I find raising head of bed (I have electric bed) helps both breathing and risk of AF. I also use a nasal rinse to clear mucus in sinus cavities before bed can also help, steam helps to shift the mucus build up.

Hope you feel better soon.

[PurpleRaine in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks for replying. Unfortunately I don’t have an electric bed - I use extra pillows to raise my head/chest etc. I’ll try the steam and see if it helps.

[jeanjeannie50]

When we have an infection AF often kicks off at a high rate, so I think it will be the infection in your body that is the trigger not the Olbas Oil. When I had Pneumonia and Covid at the same time a few years ago my heart rate shot up.

Another thing to be aware of is unwittingly having pneumonia and calling it a cold. After I was hospitalised with it I realised I'd had the condition before and I've been told that it has left my lungs scarred. Once my GP said to me to go to the surgery and he would listen to my chest but my answer was no, I wouldn't risk giving what I had to anyone else. What I should have done was booked a taxi to take me there and back. Honestly, I would go to your surgery and get lungs checked.

Jean

[PurpleRaine in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thanks Jean - it isn’t usually easy to get an appointment when you need it but I will try.

[PurpleRaine in reply to PurpleRaine]

Hi Jeannie - managed to see a GP who diagnosed a chest infection and prescribed antibiotics and steroids to treat the inflammation in my lungs.

[CDreamer in reply to PurpleRaine]

Well done!

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to PurpleRaine]

Oh dear, that could have been a lot more serious if you hasn’t been seen in time. Get well soon.

[Cliff_G]

I also use Olbas, neat on a hanky next to the pillow, and have not had AF reactions from that. However, not being able to breathe properly and having to force your breathing can very much stimulate the autonomic nervous system and provoke an attack - it does with me, and I know if I am breathing easily my heart is much more settled. Heart rate varies with breathing anyway, and having to force your breathing is a sort of extreme version of that

[PurpleRaine]

Thanks Cliff. I was just adding two and two and making five! It looks like it might have been a reaction to the chest infection I’ve been diagnosed with.

[Autumn_Leaves]

Chances are it was the effects of the virus at play, specifically the inflammatory reaction of your immune system as it mounts its defence against it. Use Olbas Oil, or don’t, depending on whether you get any benefit from it. I don’t bother with cold remedies, supplements etc if I have a cold. I think they’re mostly ineffective and a waste of money. It will still go away if you do nothing.

[pusillanimous in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Yes , the old saying about a cold "Two weeks with treatment, 14 days without'😀

[PurpleRaine in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Thanks for taking time to reply to me.

[opal11uk]

I don't know the composition of Olbas Oil as do not use it myself but if it is an essential oil mix then yes it can cause reactions. I use a facial steamer with a little Vic melted in the steamy water. which helps plus I have an electric bed so can raise the head.

[PurpleRaine in reply to opal11uk]

Thanks for replying. I did notice coughing held off for a while after a shower. Will try steam and see if that gives some relief.

[Whataperformance]

What a shame, but it's probably you Cold /infection that's caused it not the Olbas oil. I use it, but my Cardiologist has told me there is no specific rhythm or reason it kick in out of the blue.Hope you are are feeling well soon.

[PurpleRaine in reply to Whataperformance]

Thanks for replying. I suppose I had got too used to normal sinus rhythm and it came as a shock.

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

You could use the VICKS inhaler.

I recently changed from Fixanase to VICKS inhaler and it does the sane thing in clearing the nose.

I do alot of sneezing later when I use Flixanase but not on VICKS.

Sorry can't help you with other as I have persistent AF.

cheri JOY. 75. (NZ)

[PurpleRaine in reply to JOY2THEWORLD49]

Thanks for replying. I might try Vicks.

[Tapanac]

I’ve just had chest infection, bronchitis, pneumonia and used all sorts of strepsils, Vicks, olbus oil plus two lots of different antibiotics and steroids. Now although over the worst my afib really playing up, but this is caused I’m sure by the infection snd not the strepsils or olbus oil or Vicks

I hope you feel better soon

[PurpleRaine in reply to Tapanac]

It doesn’t sound like your infection was willing to give up without a fight! Am looking forward to some improvement soon. Hope you’re now much better.

[Terriersgalore]

it’s more likely to do with the infection you have.

[Vonnegut]

No and I have used Olbas Oil for many years before and since my PAF arrived. I just sniff it up each nostril.

[PurpleRaine in reply to Vonnegut]

I really need to clear my nose at night or end up unable to sleep properly because I can’t breathe. Will reinstate Olbas Oil or something similar.

[Vonnegut]

Hope it works! I remember many years ago, passing it around at a gathering where it was received like something else we passed around at that time !!!

[Snowgirl65]

I wouldn't know if your Olbas Oil had anything to do with your recent a-fib episode, but when I had Covid in 2020, my coughing and congestion were through the roof which brought on two a-fib episodes, after having none for ages.

[PurpleRaine in reply to Snowgirl65]

Hi Snowgirl

I did wonder if it was Covid this week but I tested and came up negative. But you may all be right and it’s the infection that caused it. I’ve been prescribed steroids to lower inflammation, as well as antibiotics. I’ve taken steroids before, years ago, and my reaction to them was the same - I have trouble sleeping. It was 3.30 am the last time I checked. I don’t think that’s great for my heart either but I want the coughing/wheezing to stop asap 🤞

[Snowgirl65 in reply to PurpleRaine]

You're certainly in a pickle, PurpleRaine, because -- I hate to say it -- steroids are a major trigger for my a-fib episodes. I hope that's not the case for you, and they do the trick in stopping your coughing/wheezing. Keeping fingers crossed for you!👍

[Ppiman]

I think Olbas Oil is eucalyptus oil. That is a highly toxic compound, if I recall. But you were only inhaling and not ingesting it, and it is deemed safe when used that way. I feel that it would be impossible to be certain of a link between this and the recurrence of AF and as CD says, the infection is the more likely cause - but how very interesting! Bad luck, too - how symptomatic was the episode?

Steve

[PurpleRaine in reply to Ppiman]

Hi Steve

I woke up at 6am, realised my heart was racing and used my Kardia to check. It was 167bpm and showed arrhythmia. I hadn’t had a similar heart rate episode for two years when it had been as high as 230bpm (also with arrhythmia). I am on daily Flecainide which has kept things very regular until this week.

[Ppiman in reply to PurpleRaine]

I was given flecainide (50mg / day) after a recent cardiac MRI showed all else was well with my heart, but, I fear its side effect so have not yet used it (partly as my GP also seems to agree with me). You seem to have got on well with it. Luckily I cope well with my episodes, which are maybe fortnightly or a little more often - with heart rates much as yours, if a bit lower (135bpm, slowly falling to 90bpm or so). Only if my AF strikes during exercise, such as uphill walking, would I get rates of over 200bpm, and then only as a peak. That forces me to slow down and return home or to the car in some fear!

AF is said to be a degenerative condition, but keeping the episodes at bay is thought to slow this aspect down or even halt it. The atria, presumably, in your case, have retained their oversensitivity to certain stimuli - whatever they were on this occasion - despite the actions of the flecainide.

Steve

[Outsidethelines]

Morning, PurpleRaine. I’m late to the party on this one. Just wanted to say, I did go into AF once a few years ago after sniffing one of those inhaler nasal sticks, such as Vicks (can’t remember now which brand it was). I was finding it hard to breathe through my nose due to a cold, Covid, or whatever. Gave it a big sniff right before bed to try and get some sleep, and went instantaneously into AF!

Of course, as others have remarked, it may have been the infection, rather than the inhaler that triggered my AF. But in my case the reaction was so instant that it certainly felt like the trigger at the time. I threw the inhaler away and have never used one since. I noted that the active ingredients included camphor and menthol, so I’ve avoided inhaling any of those very pungent compounds - including Olbas oil - ever since. Makes it very hard to clear a blocked nose now!