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. 2017 Jul 4;2(3):350-354.
doi: 10.1002/epi4.12065. eCollection 2017 Sep.

Eucalyptus oil inhalation-induced seizure: A novel, underrecognized, preventable cause of acute symptomatic seizure

Thomas Mathew  1 , Vikram Kamath  2 , R Shiva Kumar  3 , Meghana Srinivas  1 , Prarthana Hareesh  1 , Rakesh Jadav  2 , Sreekanta Swamy  2
Affiliations

Eucalyptus oil inhalation-induced seizure: A novel, underrecognized, preventable cause of acute symptomatic seizure

Thomas Mathew et al. Epilepsia Open. .

Abstract

Eucalyptus oil (EO) is an essential oil that is widely used across the globe as an over-the-counter remedy for common ailments. EO-induced seizure (EOIS) has not been recognized as an entity, and physicians rarely ask the history of exposure to eucalyptus oil when seeing a patient with first episode of seizure. Here we report 10 cases of EO inhalation-induced seizures seen over the past 2 years in three tertiary care hospitals. Eight patients had GTCS and two had CPS. We aim to raise awareness of seizures induced by exposure to eucalyptus oil.

Keywords: Epilepsy; Essential oils; Eucalyptus oil; Seizure.

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