Hi Joy! I never thought I'd be messaging you about the dreaded essential oils discourse, but here we are. I got a heat pack for Christmas that is labelled as 'lavender' but doesn't have an ingredient list. I've been using it over the last day for cramps, and found my eyes and skin getting very irritated. I'm thinking the creator has put lavender oil on the rice or wheat, instead of adding lavender to the mixture. Do you think that could be the problem? Thanks <3
It could certainly be part of the problem if you’re sensitive to it. There’s some absolutely lovely heat packs in the health store near me, but they’re all pretreated with lavender oil rather than using dried flowers, and they’ve all caused me problems, partly because they’re either using synthetic oils, and I’m allergic to synthetics more than anything else, but also (when it came to the “organic” ones) I think because there’s just too damn much of it. You could strip paint with with the fumes that come off some of them once they’ve been heated.
It’s also worth asking, but do you experience this with anything else with lavender? It’s actually one of the more common allergies in the fragrance world, though it doesn’t get much of a mention. Probably cause everyone is too busy talking about how good it is for you lol. Either way I’d give the pack a rest and see if your symptoms subside. Sucks I know, but if you need a quick fix in the meantime, the old sock full of rice is still a great trick. https://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Heating-Pad/
Best of luck, and I hope the cramps and the irritation go away!