Use of topicals on clients while pregnant

[Mike A]

This question is for working as a MT while pregnant.

How careful should I be when working with topicals like Sombra, Prossage, and Biofreeze?

Since many of them have EO's of sorts and other ingredients, do I need to limit my use of them or even stop using them all together for the time being?

I also use Herbal Select by Biotone. The same thing basically applies.
Should I limit that use as well?

 

[Pompal 09.]

I would avoid anything containing wintergreen oil

 

[Funlady]

I would avoid anything with essential oils. I don't know what is in the products you've listed - you have the products and the ingredients list.

Essential oils can cross the skin into the blood, I have no idea how many of the other ingredients in the products you've mentioned can cross into the blood too. Most things that can cross into the blood can go into the placenta/amniotic sac. The amniotic sac is basically an enclosed environment, you can excrete essential oils, though liver/bladder/skin/lungs, fetus does the same thing into the amniotic sac, just increasing the concentration. I would ask the manufactureers - not "is it safe to use while pregnant?" but "what ingredients in your products get into the blood?" If they say "none" and have essential oils in it, they don't know what the ingredients can do... If they do give you a list, that's great, you can decide.

Having said all that, basically you shouldn't be filling your car up with gas because you will breathe the fumes in etc etc. You can take it to extremes, or just slightly modify your behaviour. But I would avoid working with ANY essential oils you absorb a LOT through the hands. Put it this way, I have heard MANY stories of fertility/miscarriage stories from aromatherapists, not nearly as many from massage therapists that don't use essential oils.

 

[tessa wessa]

when in doubt, wear a pair of gloves.

 

[melanie]

Thank you for the input. This is what I have been worried about.

I have not been using the topicals much at all, maybe once or twice a month on a client. But I use the herbal select cream always.

I have worked with gloves on occasion in the past. I would rather change cream than have to work with the gloves all the time.

I will list some of the ingredients of each.

Sombra:
Aloe Vera
Capsaicin
Grapefruit seed
Green tea
Orange peal
Queen of the prairie
Rose water
Witch hazel
Yucca

Prossage:
Menthol
Lanolin
Lavender

Biofreeze: gel and spray form
Menthol
Camphor - gel
Arnica - spray
Eucalyptus - spray
llex herbal - spray
Lavender - spray
Lime - spray
Nutmeg - spray
Orange - spray
Pine - spray
Peppermint - spray

Herbal select cream:
Roman Chamomile
Lavender
Tangarine
Palmarosa
Red clover blossom
Blue Malva
Aloe vera

What do you think of these ingredients?
I can easily stop using the topicals completely. If the cream seems bad as well, I will order something different. Something without all the extras.

 

[Hannah G]

I don't recall where or why I heard this, but I seem to remember that arnica is contraindicated for use during pregnancy.

Sorry I can't verify the source.

 

[ican2bpicky]

camphor and menthol are BIG big no-nos, so you can rule them out straight away.

Are the other ingredients essential oils or herbal extracts? I'm not familiar with red clover, but a quick search on the web says it's blood purifier - that would make me cautious, and it's good for menopausal conditions - THAT is a HUGE red flag - means it has a hormonal effect, I'd be EXTREMELY cautious.

Queen of the Prarie is a member of the rose family, rose essential oil has a hormonal effect, so that might too.

 

[GOiPHONE]

There is a PDR for herbal remodies... so it might be good to look up the products in there just ot be safe. Check your local library to see if they have one.

 

[Nabeel]

The ones that are in the cream are listed as active botanicals.
The other products say oil for most and extract for some.

I'll just play it on the safe side and order some different cream for now. If I feel the topicals are necessary, I will have the client use it on themselves once I know I won't come into contact with the area or after the appointment is over.

I am glad I asked about this since I have still be using everything for 4 months. The topicals not so much, but the cream I do. I am exposed to that much more often. I would rather be safe than sorry. Even if it is a very small risk.

Again, Thank you so much - you all are great!

 

[Glossy Hair]

topicals on Pregnant Clients

In terms of the list of ingredients that are listed for a handful of companies, there is one ingredient missing for one of the companies, whom I will not mention by name, but the ingredient is 'alcohol', and is the ingredient I would worry the most for pregnant or nursing women.

Given the number of topical analgesics in the marketplace and the variance of ingredients for all, I would be careful and interested in the ingredient listings as well as the efficacy of the product.

Regards,

Sombraman

 

[_Justified_]

In terms of the list of ingredients that are listed for a handful of companies, there is one ingredient missing for one of the companies, whom I will not mention by name, but the ingredient is 'alcohol', and is the ingredient I would worry the most for pregnant or nursing women.

I haven't heard that I have to avoid alcohol - yes the kind you drink, but not the topical kind. Why is this a cause for concern?

 

[joeyharrington2002]

topicals on Pregnant Clients

A report by Canadian researchers, published in the October issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, said organic solvents are some of the most common sources of workplace chemical exposure cited by pregnant women. 'Alcohol' is an organic solvent and the amount of toxicity once it is blended into the final formula is unknown. The same study cited that children of mothers occupationally exposed during pregnancy to widely available organic solvents, such as rubbing alcohol, had lower scores on tests of language and behavior than children of mothers without such exposure. Alcohol is easily passed along to the baby through the placenta, who is less equipped to eliminate alcohol than the mother. Fetal alcohol syndrome: The sum total of the damage done to the child before birth as a result of the mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) always involves brain damage, impaired growth, and head and face abnormalities. Based on all the reports of pregnant women and alcohol, the choice to avoid alcohol in any form should be simple!

 

[ishes]

Methol and Camphor

Menthol and Camphor: Menthol and camphor have not been well studied in pregnancy. Menthol is a common ingredient of many throat lozenges, sprays, and topical ointments. There are no human studies on the use of menthol during pregnancy; thus, its risk is undetermined. The concentration of menthol in these products is low, and the risk of malformations is therefore believed to be small. Retrospective studies with a camphor-based product (Vicks VapoRub) have not shown any developmental toxicity associated with exposures during pregnancy. This product should not be ingested orally. Here is an example of a pregnant women being prescribed a lotion with menthol to help with her skin condition: I am 33 weeks into my second pregnancy and I have PUPPs AGAIN!! I had it so bad the first time I swore I would never have another child...but of course, I forgot about how bad it was and I love my son so much...I was hoping that I wouldn't get it the second time around.
It did stay away longer this time - but it's just as severe. I get "hot spots" on my body where my skin heats up like a sunburn and then itches. My OB the first time did nothing other than try a steroid shot which didn't help. My OB this time prescribed lotion with Menthol and Hydrocortisone. The Menthol seems to help, just like with all of you, as long as I'm fresh from the shower and slathered up sitting under a fan with the A/C on, I'm fine. Just don't drink it or ingest it orally!

 

[bonlove Coleman]

Thanks for the information Sombraman.

 

[nicky c]

Methol and Camphor

Retrospective studies with a camphor-based product (Vicks VapoRub) have not shown any developmental toxicity associated with exposures during pregnancy.

I actually don't care about studies during pregnancy for camphor, there are basic toxicity studies "Some sources suggest that it is possible that epileptic-like seizures may be caused through exposure.". I would avoid something that can trigger epileptic-like seizure, admittedly the dosage that the mother is exposed to is unlikely to be suffficient to be a concern to the mother, I would still err on the side of caution when it came to saying the effect on the fetus - there just aren't the volume of studies. The long term effects of a substance that can trigger epileptic-like seizure has on developing organs can't be decided by a Vicks Vaporub study that I suspect only checked that the baby came out OK. I think most of the epileptic-like seizure studies relate to ingestion, but then if you are concerned about alcohol applied to the skin, why not be concerned about something known to produce epileptic-like seizure applied to the skin? Isn't menthol a form of alcohol? It's been a while since I did any organic chemistry at university, but I seem to remember substances ending in -ol were all alcohols?

Personally, I would be cautious about something that says "not to be used on infants under the age of 6 months", which seems to be the common Vicks Vaporub recommendation, which contains a lot of methol and camphor.

It is all related to the volume consumed. Even though the palms of the hand and soles of the feet have a thicker layer of skin on them than elsewhere, they contain a lot more sweat glands so things are absorbed a lot faster than elsewhere (simple experiment run a garlic clove on the soles of your feet, it will come out in your breathe as if like you ate it, rub it on the side of your leg and the effect is not nearly as dramatic). I think a massage therapist working with substances with their hands has a much higher exposure rate than anecdotal studies for something used on the general public in the usual manner - MTs aren't exposed to the product in the usual manner. A member of the general public will use it while pregnant for a few days while they have a bad chest/back whatever, and they will wash their hands pretty quickly to avoid getting it in their eyes, they're not exposed to it for 9 months, day in day out.

The other thing to consider while pregnant, your sense of smell goes all over the place - one day something is OK, the next it smells terrible. I'd recommend avoiding relying on any one scented product for work while pregnant (natural/synthetic/just for scent/theraputic benefits) because one day you may find it smells ghastly and you can't work with it. Whatever you decide to continue working with it, make sure you get a few options so you can rotate through so you can reduce exposure. I'd say go for something like jojoba as often as possible and just bring in the heavy duty stuff when absolutely required, rather than all the time.

Here's a link to an AMTA article about massage creams and lotions making the MT sick http://www.amtamassage.org/journal/jobmakeyousick.html If it can do that to the MT, what might it be doing to the fetus?

 

[GameFreak]

Thanks Melb.

I have decided not to use any of it. If the client needs it, I will give them a sample to apply themselves. Aside from the prossage - that will just take a back seat for a while. I also won't be using hot stones any time soon since I don't want to heat up too much.
I am getting a different type of cream to use. Oil and I don't get along.
I also should stop using the foot cream that I use for the feet.

Who would have thought all things things could be potentially dangerous for some who is pregnant?!

The smells are awful - but most of the time they are coming off the client!
Cigarettes, garlic, just plan odd smells. It have been a problem a few times.

 

[darkmousyfan]

I don't see anything in the Sombra that would cause me concern. Some are quite good. The one ingredient I'm not familiar with is Queen of the Prairie...

Looking it up, it's also called "meadowsweet". See http://www.herbalgram.org/iherb/expandedcommissione/he063.asp

The fact that it's used in German pediatric medicine encourages me to think that it's safe for a pregnant MT to use.

I would feel confident in using the Sombra.

 

[///]

I feel better avoiding it all. 8)

I am going to ask my midwife, but I would imagine that the board members that know of and deal with these items will know better than her on this subject.

I am still awaiting a reply back from Biotone with regards to the ingredients in the Herbal Select Cream.

 

[Brecht]

Make-up and body care products contain ingredients suspected of causing cancer; potential neuro-, liver-, and immunotoxins; and suspected hormone disruptors that could cause birth defects in any children she might bear in the future. Many consumers may be surprised to learn that the US federal government doesn’t require health studies or pre-market testing on personal care products. Manufacturers are free to put just about anything they want into cosmetics—a far-reaching category used by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include everything from make-up and deodorant to lotions and mouthwashes.

Instead, the safety (or not) of the ingredients in these products is looked into almost exclusively by a manufacturer-controlled safety committee called the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) panel. Consequently, “89 percent of 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the CIR, the FDA, nor any other publicly accountable institution,” says the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG). “The absence of government oversight for this $35 billion industry leads to companies routinely marketing products with ingredients that are poorly studied, not studied at all, or worse, known to pose potentially serious health risks.”

I will post no more on this subject.

 

[Leilani]

I have thought about makeup, the tea tree scrub I use on my face, the face soap I use, lotions, shampoo/conditioner, ect.

It gets very frustrating when you don't know what is "safe" and what isn't.
Since the massage cream and foot cream is something that I use everyday - this is a large concern. Especially since it has so many things in it.

As for makeup - I haven't been cautioned against it. The tea tree scrub, lotion, shampoo/conditioner, and face soap was cleared by my midwife.

As for the topicals - t102 . Since I come into contact with them more regularly - they are also cause for concern. I have missed using them already, but the clients understand and don't mind doing a little homework.

Sombraman, feel free to post as you like. The information is useful for everyone and you are very educated/experienced in this area.