An Elevated Tumor Marker and Adrenarche in a Child Using Lavender Oil
May 2016
in “
Journal of pediatric nursing
”
TLDR Lavender oil use in a child may be linked to early puberty signs and elevated tumor marker levels.
A 7-year-old girl presented with early signs of puberty and elevated HCG tumor marker levels, which normalized after discontinuing the use of non-diluted lavender essential oil applied by her mother. Despite normal thyroid, kidney, liver function, and adrenal steroids, her HCG levels were initially elevated but returned to normal after stopping the lavender oil. This case suggested a potential link between lavender oil and endocrine disruption, emphasizing the need to consider complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in pediatric endocrine evaluations. No pathology was found in further hematology/oncology and neurology assessments.