PurSleep Product Safety

Me too. I don't mask up without it!!

Like JoyD says, there are far worse things we inhale every day......Try the air?? Especially if you live anywhere in the industrialized world!!!! Gimme a break!!!

Makes the machine kind of disappear - doesn't smell like a piece of plastic. That alone is enough to make it worthwhile to me!!

cheers
goose

I'm not sure how this is related to PurSleep Product Safety, but I'll add this for the record:

I love many of PurSleep's smells and the way they affect my cpap therapy. Strawberry and French Vanilla (Air Candy line) are two of my utter favorites.

O.

JoyD. wrote:

by TXKajun on Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:02 am

*yawn* *bigger yawn*
Yet another totally meaningless concern has been raised about essential oils, aromatherapy and health. Geez, I don't even know where to start on this.....scented candles, Glade mists, Oust, plug-in scent doohickies, perfume, cologne, soap, Pinesol, etc, the list of scented products we all use on a regular basis in our daily lives is darn near endless. But for darn sure, the essential oils aren't any worse than any of the things I've just mentioned and are probably a bunch better (I speak from experience for both me and Sweetie with EOs).

Sheesh, give it a rest, will ya??? If you don't like the product, just don't buy it or use it.
Kajun

Ditto

Joy

Even after reading -sws' absolutely outstanding, tactful response, and letting things set overnight, I have to admit that I remain just an eensy bit troubled by those comments. I suppose that's the paradox-- an "open forum" that encourages "discussion" and allows posters to "voice their opinion" can (and I suppose should, when you come right down to it) tell other posters to

"sheesh, give it a rest, will ya???"

in attempt to close discussion and prevent others from voicing their opinion.

Hey! Wait a minute!



Sheesh, give it a rest, will ya??? If you don't like the thread, just don't read it!!

(Look, see? Many Happy Faces-- )

SAG

Now, SAG will be the first one in line to promote anything that will improve CPAP compliance (trust me on this, his life would be made substantially easier). And if it turns out that Candy Oils are in fact, helpful and harmless, then I think seriously consideration should be given to doing a little price comparison and saving a little (a lot, actually, of) money.

At LorAnn Oils, for instance, you can get Candy Oils, one dram (about 3.7 ml), for $1.40:

LorAnn Candy Oils

And just look at this selection:

Almond Oil, Amaretto, Anise Oil (Natural), Apple, Apricot, Banana Creme, Bavarian Creme (Vanilla), Black Walnut, Blackberry, Blueberry, Brandy, Bubble Gum, Butter, Butter Rum, Butterscotch, Caramel, Champagne, Cheesecake, Cherry, Chocolate, Chocolate Hazelnut, Cinnamon Oil, Cinnamon Roll, Clove Oil (Natural), Coconut, Coffee, Cotton Candy, Cranberry, Cran-Raspberry, Creme De Menthe, Eggnog, English Toffe, Ginger Oil (Natural), Grape, Grapefruit Oil (Pink, Natural), Guava, Honey, Horchata, Horehound, Keoke Coffee, Key Lime, Lemon Oil (Natural), Lemonade, Licorice, Lime Oil (Natural), Mango, Maple, Marshmallow, Menthol Eucalyptus, Mint Chocolate Chip, Nutmeg Oil (Natural), Orange Cream, Orange Oil (Natural), Peach, Peanut Butter, Pecan, Peppermint Oil (Natural), Pina Colada, Pineapple, Pistachio, Plum, Pomegranate, Praline, Pralines And Cream, Pumpkin, Raspberry, Red Licorice, Root Beer, Salt Water Taffy, Sassafras , Spearmint Oil (Natural), Strawberry, Strawberry Kiwi, Tangerine Oil (Natural), Teaberry, Tropical Punch Flavor (Passion Fruit), Tutti-Frutti, Vanilla Butternut, Watermelon, Wintergreen Oil (Artificial), Wintergreen Oil (Natural).

SAG

StillAnotherGuest wrote:If you don't like the thread, just don't read it!!

Ditto!!

[Note: This post is my attempt to artificially inflate the reply rankings of this thread.]

The perfume industry is one of the few remaining industries still relatively unregulated by the US federal government.

I trust Pur-Sleep products for the following reasons:

1. The human body has been metabolizing these particular oils since prehistory.
2. They're delivered in glass bottles and applied to paper or cotton for dispensing - natural fiber media.
3. Pur-Sleep tells me exactly what's in the product.
4. Barring allergies, they're totally safe even if applied directly to the skin by mistake or even if you eat them in prepared foods. (I'm not suggesting downing a bottle of essential oil. It's just that I know strawberry, lime and lemon hard candies are all made with essential oils.)

I don't trust Glade or any of the other mass-marketed 'air freshsener' products. I have no idea what's in them, and they're not required to tell me, so they don't.

This is also not to say that there aren't essential oils out there that are NOT safe. For instance, while PennyRoyal smells pleasant and minty and may be appropriate for use in a potpourri, it is toxic if ingested. I wouldn't use it with my cpap system. In this case, PennyRoyal is NOT Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) according to US federal regulation. Similarly with Oak Moss essential oil. Smells lovely -- just don't get it on your skin.

Pur-Sleep has done the research and uses only GRAS essential oils.

I was genuinely hoping to see more opinions very comfortably shared on all sides and from all angles of this product safety discussion. I'm not disappointed to see more people sharing their views---whatever they may be. I personally find it helpful.

DreamDiver wrote:Pur-Sleep has done the research and uses only GRAS essential oils.

How do you feel about the AirCandy line? Are you comfortable using those as well? Are the AirCandy products also GRAS essential oils by definition?

Also, a lot of people sure seem to claim that PurSleep helps their sleep beyond just CPAP desensitization. Can anyone help describe what it is about their sleep that seems improved thanks to their PurSleep? Vast benefits that outweigh lets say a slight artificial fragrance risk, are relevant to overall health-related safety concerns IMO. You can't sleep well without your PurSleep AirCandy? That poor sleep may pose a greater health or safety risk than a few artificial chemicals IMO.

Thanks for your views---every one of them, including JoyD.'s.

ozij wrote:Phthalates in cosmetics: Hazardous to your health? From the Mayo Clinic:

Answer July 16, 2007
Phthalates are chemicals used in hundreds of consumer products, from cosmetics and shampoos to vinyl flooring and food packaging. They are used to make materials soft and flexible, like nail polish (so it won't chip as easily) and hair spray (to avoid stiffness).

Some consumer groups claim that phthalates in consumer products pose a danger. But scientists are still unsure if phthalates pose any health risks. Some studies suggest phthalates may lower testosterone levels in men, which contributes to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Other studies suggest a link between delayed sexual development in boys and girls and exposure to phthalates. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined there is still not sufficient proof that phthalates in consumer products are dangerous enough to require regulation.

How can you tell if the cosmetics or beauty products you use contain phthalates? Cosmetics are required to list all of their ingredients on the product labels. So check the product labels on your cosmetics. But other products, such as perfume, are not required to do this. You can contact the manufacturer, if you have questions about the phthalate content in a specific product. There are Web sites that claim to provide lists of products that contain phthalates, but the accuracy of such Web sites isn't known.

Added emphasis mine.

Could you let us know, Bret, which -if any - of the Air Candy line contains phthalates? That information would give users a
choice of going by the more lenient FDA decision, or the more rigorous European standards.

I do realize this

"At the present time, FDA does not have compelling evidence that phthalates, as used in cosmetics, pose a safety risk. If FDA determines that a health hazard exists, the agency will advise the industry and the public, and will consider its legal options under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in protecting the health and welfare of consumers."

Apprears in the FDA site. http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-phth.html

However, I would appreciate a straight forward informative reply specifically about the products you sell.

O.

I'm sure that's a tough question for Bret to answer, despite that question being a very legitimate product safety question. Some analysts of the issue believe that phthalates are more steeped with public anxiety and political concern than the actual health risk posed. Here's one European risk expert's opinion along those lines:

http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_phth ... 5&DID=8723

In any event, I think each person should be able to make their own purchase decisions according to what they feel comfortable introducing into their own bodies. Unfortunately, that kind of personal health-related decision making requires clear information from manufacturers and suppliers alike.

Even now as I read the PurSleep website front-to-back, I can't tell if the AirCandy offerings are considered "essential oils" by definition. If they are "essential oils" does that make them as safe as the all-natural stuff referred to by the rest of the industry (hypothetically excluding PurSleep) as "essential oils"?

Reading that website, it almost seems as if the entire PurSleep aromatherapy experience is offered as one safe and happy "essential oil" experience. Every step of the way, including the AirCandy sections, its the assuring "essential oil" words that visually and suggestively tag along. Forget about trying to figure out what has phthalates over there. I can barely figure out what's not an essential oil by simply reading through the PurSleep web site.

So is AirCandy a GRAS essential oil? (don't think so since it's artificial, but I'm not really sure artificiality is a legal disqualifier...) Is AirCandy a GRAS anything for that matter? (I kinda think it might be... but I'm not really sure when it boils right down to it...). Oops! Mention of artificial fragrances just so happens to be completely missing from the PurSleep.com FAQ page as well. Man is that confusing! As it stands, I think unsuspecting consumers may have "essential oil" hopes, expectations, and confidence in the artificial fragrances sold on that web site.

Hold off on the legitimate phthalate question. I'm still trying to figure out all the essentials over there, including what's not GRAS. So is it all essential oil or not? Because it sure comes across that way at the PurSleep web site.

BTW, in the aforementioned study by Goel and Lao Sleep changes vary by odor perception in young adults, they got their essential oils from Lotus Brands Inc. They seem to quite willing to offer a detailed summary of the quality of their product.

Of course, these are essential oils (used in aromatherapy) and not cosmetic oils (not recommended for aromatherapy)(by anybody)(OK, one Guy).

SAG

jnk wrote:

StillAnotherGuest wrote:If you don't like the thread, just don't read it!!

Ditto!!

[Note: This post is my attempt to artificially inflate the reply rankings of this thread.]

Do you think, though, that there should be a "target" of sorts? Because I think that when one does a "sort by replies", that the result implies some degree of relevance, and while I believe that aromatherapy is an important concept, can and should be an important tool in CPAP compliance, can and should be an important tool in attaining quality sleep, and should not be confused with just snorting anything that comes out of the "Head Shoppe", I also believe that this thread should stay below the heartwarming story of Little Larissa (which I think should be #1).

SAG

-SWS wrote:In any event, I think each person should be able to make their own purchase decisions according to what they feel comfortable introducing into their own bodies. Unfortunately, that kind of personal health-related decision making requires clear information from manufacturers and suppliers alike.

Tisserand has another reference out, "Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals", which I'm going to get when I get my tax refund back (assuming they're still going to send it back instead of to some "earmark"), so we should be able to get some helpful tips there.

SAG

StillAnotherGuest wrote:Tisserand has another reference out, "Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals", which I'm going to get when I get my tax refund back (assuming they're still going to send it back instead of to some "earmark"), so we should be able to get some helpful tips there.

Thank you! That kind of information sharing actually sounds helpful. Bret has mentioned so often that he relies on Tisserand as a reference for safe "essential oil" product decisions.

Earlier I wrote:So is it all essential oil or not? Because it sure comes across that way at the PurSleep web site.

The PurSleep answer is that the artificial fragrances are "essential oils":

SleepGuy wrote:There are now six artificial and ten natural essential oils in the product line.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30007&p=265463&#p265463

Earlier I also wrote:...don't think so since it's artificial, but I'm not really sure artificiality is a legal disqualifier

As it turns out, chemical artificiality is not a legal disqualifier for that health-product related term "essential oil":

ndaroma wrote:However, it is not a perfect world and to compli­cate things further, the term "essential oil" is legally used to describe all sorts of things which are not what you or I would expect - namely, a plant essence dis­tilled from the plant named on the bottle. What hap­pens is, to maximize profit, people sell bottles of liquid purporting to be "essential oil" when in fact it is a chemical construct made in a factory. This is legal, and a problem caused by the loose legal definition of "essential oil."

http://www.ndaroma.com/sitetext/ESSENTI ... pter04.htm

That implies those bargain "essential oils" sold down at the dollar and bargain stores may not always be all-natural essential oils despite the suggestive labeling.

But the real issue is how does all this oil affect global climate change? Does respiration of essential oils increase CO2 volumes? If so, is it more significant than cattle manure?

DreamStalker wrote:But the real issue is how does all this oil affect global climate change? Does respiration of essential oils increase CO2 volumes? If so, is it more significant than cattle manure?

Termite methane may be the dark horse in that race.

SWS,

I'm looking at the Air Candy ingredients and you're right, it does say 'fragrance'. Thanks for pointing that out. It makes sense that more citizens are asking for full disclosure on product chain of custody. If I knew that one pile of beans was grown locally and that the other was grown in another country halfway across the globe, I'm more likely to by the more local beans. But grocers in many states generally don't disclose that information yet. If we had a true product chain of custody, the end-user might come to recognize certain farms as having superior quality. That farm might be able to charge more for their preferred organic clary sage essential oil, for instance.

I have only used 'calm', 'peace' and 'creme', all of which are in the Pur-Sleep line of oils. I haven't actually used the Air Candy line of oils.

It will be interesting to see if industry will regulate itself, or if the government will have to step in. For the peanut guys, it looks like the government might have to.

Just a side note: I read once that Vanilla was once used in place of antifreeze during WWII when citizens at home couldn't get antifreeze. Does anyone know if that's true?