Calendula and allergies

[Buddha]

I recently bought marigold/calendula oil but I guess I'm allergic to ragweed since I woke up snuffy and sneezing for the rest of the day. I'd still like to use this oil since it leaves my skin nice,so is there anything I can do to lessen my allergies, or no?
Thanks

 

[sandirs]

Hi Daneah,

You could always try a different Calendula product. I use a fantastic Calendula Cream made by Alan Howell @ www.shechina.co.uk or call 0845 458 5757. The ingredients are:

Sweet Almond Oil
Calendula Tincture - Calendula, Ethanol, Auqa
Olive Oil
Beeswax
Calendula Infused Oil - Sunflower Oil
Sweet Orange Essential Oil
Sodium Tetraborate - binds the molecules together - stabalises
Tritocopherol - Vit E

I've been using this product without any reaction and so have lots of my sensitive clients.

Cheers, Sue x

 

[atredageplegep5]

Hi Danaeh

Ragweed is a known allergen in fact it is poisonous if eaten by animals - I am so surprised it was included in a skin product.

For most skin products you can usually get a sample from the manufacturer to try out, to see if its suitable or not. You can do a patch test to see whether or not you are allergic to it.

Binah
x

 

[Jaclyn]

Hang on a moment, these are three totally different plants...Ragwort, Ragweed and Calendula.
Ragwort, (Senecio jacobeae) is the commonly occuring yellow flowering plant seen on British verges and wasteground and is a liver toxin and fatal to livestock and incidentally people if they handle it enough without gloves (that's my liver shot then after 30 years of hand-pulling the stuff ! There are two species, the common and the Oxford Ragwort which is supposed to be less toxic and is an invader from abroad.
RagWEED is a totally different plant but also a member of the Asteracae family (daisy) as is Ragwort but the pollen is a known allergen. Neither plants are related to Calendula therapeutically although they are of the same genus. Calendula is generally held to be safe and the petals are even edible (nice in fairy cakes!) but I supose it's not impossible for individuals to be sensitive to it. Did you use anything else with it Danaeh?

 

[effowmexy]

Hi Danaeh,

I agree with two of the points made that Ragwort and Calendula are different botanical species However, according to my references Ragweed and Ragwort are synonyms for the same plant the herbal I use is Mrs Grieve's a Modern Herbal. Both having the Latin name Senecio Jacobaea. Perhaps you can guide me to the Latin reference you have for ragweed? If you have pulled ragwort up don't worry about it as it is the ingestion of the plant that is poisonous and has a cumulative effect.

I agree that Calendula is a completely different plant the English Marigold or calendula officinalis is commonly used in skin care for its healing properties.

Binah
x

 

[Gratefuldeadhead111]

Hi Binah,
I don't know if the common names are interchangeable but round here Ragwort is never Ragweed and vice versa. In Agricultural botony and plant science we referred to Ambrosia artemisiifolia as Common Ragweed .
My notes are in the loft and I'm not taking my life into my hands to go up there and find them but Wikipedia makes the same distinction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragweed but the waters get a bit murky if you follow this link on allergies in Canada http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gllKn2Vy8rnZIvZI2L8TN34glLsg
as they talk about ragweed (with no latin name) but the picture is common groundsel, which is a relation although this link to a similar story shows the right picture http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/08/13/RAGWEED.ART_ART_08-13-08_A1_2RB0S7H.html?sid=101.
It really seems to be an issue wih allergy sufferers in the States though and there's a good close up picture here of the flower which is totally different to our Common ragwort.
http://www.auburn.edu/~deancar/wfnotes/ragwd.htm

The advice for all "agricultural operatives" and those in environmental/countryside management (both of which I am involved with professionally in my "other" life) is that if you are pulling large ammounts of Ragwort then you should wear gloves. Allergic reactions are common from both the pollen (as my husband found out earlier this summer after driving around in a tractor with some Ragwort he'd pulled in the cab) and from the sap. I'm not aware of any research on the effect on the liver of humans exposed to Ragwort dermally (I'm sure there is some somewhere if I went searching) but the advice is that as it is a liver toxin it is reasonable to expect that those who are involved with Ragwort control are at higher risk of liver damage and so should wear appropriate protective clothing.I did a risk assessment for the National Trust once and this was something I was asked to cover as they were doing a lot of Ragwort control at the time.

If you are really keen, there's even a conference about it in Hungary this Autumn http://www.nki.hu/ragweed/

 

[Deo Maskey]

Thanks for all that info Pauhla will take a closer look at the links later. I always like to use the Latin names as my aromatherapy training suggests that doing otherwise you can end up with the wrong species altogether and it gets confused. Likewise care must be taken with botanicals from USA and Canada.

The ragweed mentioned in the Wikipedia link is the N. american variety. The early settlers to north America gave English names to the flora and fauna - as an example you only have to look at the Robin to see how different they are from one side of the Atlantic to the other. I suspect this may have been the case here that a completely different species was given a common name because of its similarity.

You know what, I'm not in the least bit interested in a conference in Hungary on the subject but thanks for the info, but would go for an essential oils conference.

Binah
x

 

[caawsmdo]

Really? I can't imagine why not Nah, I can't say it's got the greatest appeal for me either but then again I don't have hayfever ....

Your point about the difference in nomenclature between the US and here is a really good one. When you think about it, it's just as bad in the UK on a regional basis...for instance...Cleavers? Clivers? Sticky Willies? Goose grass? All the same thing. I also agree strongly with you about using the Latin when discussing/recommending oils. I had this situation only a few weeks ago when a client bought what she thougth was Cedarwood Atlas (Cedrus atlantica) and it turned out that because she had asked for Cedarwood, she had been given Juniper Virginian (Juniperus virginiana). Totally different species, proves your point beautifully and also shows that some retailers don't have the knowledge to be able to ask the right questions to select the right oil.
I did Latin at school (reluctantly) but with the benifit of hindsight I will admit it stood me in really good stead for essential oil training and once you understand the structure of the words, they actually make huge sense don't they. It probably helps being a gardener too although it's easy to get a bit nerdy about plant names and some of the common ones are so poetical and descriptive.

So, I wonder just what did spark off poor Danaeh's reaction then?