tea tree oil paralysis

[chrissywolcott]

I used tea tree oil on my chocolate lab yesterday and by late last night his entire hind quarters seem to be paralyzed! I am completely in disarray over me causing this to my beloved Cocoa Bear.

Anyone out there have experience with this? It appears that he's doing better now, though slowly.

Please email me at [email protected]

[lv4dogs]

I just now heard about it, in the other post. I commented there but didn't see your post for some reason. I just went back & re-read it.

I am so sorry to hear that. That is odd. I've used it forever so has like everyone I know. I spoke with a bunch of my friends, none, out of about 40 of them that have used it for years & years & years has ever had a problem with it, nor heard of such a thing.

I did some research on it today & found a bunch of sites for it, yet a bunch of sites against it too. Weird.

You said he is improving today which is good. I hope he continues to do so.

What did your vet have to say about it? (I sure hope you brought him to a vet).

Did they give you anything for it?

I'll be doing more research in this thats for sure.
Best of wishes to you & your loved Cocoa.

[lv4dogs]

PS, are you from NY? I went to school with a Chrissy Wolcott.

[chrissywolcott]

lv4dogs, don't make me cry again!!! the vet said that there's no antidote for the poisoning. Rest, washing off the residue (did that last night even), and hydration and monitoring his breathing and heart rate are the only things we can do. Luckily he didn't fall into a coma!

It may have been simply the dose. I put 5 drops on his skin, and I see people mentioning 1/2 drops, etc. so that's 10 times the normal amount. Wow, that stuff is powerful. I have learned my lesson. Never again will I try something new on my poor doggie without doing extensive research on dosage, possible adverse affects, etc.

I'm just so quilty and sorry that my dog had to suffer because of my ignorance. I hope these messages will save someone else from this terrible thing. It has totally stressed out my entire family.

[lv4dogs]

Gosh I'm so sorry to hear that. I feel so bad. I didn't mean to make you sad again.

Did you vet mention anything about Vitamin K? It is usually used for poinoning in dogs, but usually its poison that is ingested, I don't know if it would help with topical poisoning. When I worked at a vets office we never had a dog come in with topical poisoning so I dont know, but it may be a worth a shot to call your vet to see if it may work. She can you a script for it. I don't think it is avail without a script.

I know it's hard but please don't feel guilty. You didn't know. It was a mistake. It was not your fault it could of happened to anyone.

[Flatcoatluver]

hey thanks for posting this so i know for sure not to do this!!

[dragondawg]

Tea tree oil should be used in a diluted form. It's reported in the literature that a 10% solution is safe, and effective in chronic dermatitis and pruritus skin conditions in dogs (i.e. 70% success rate). It's also useful in alopecia (hair loss).

I used tea tree oil on my previous dog (1/2 Lab, 1/2 Golden) by applying a thin film on top of some antibiotic salve to deter licking of the salve. She gave it a short lick, and then gave me a dirty look. I have no idea what that thin film represented per what she ingested. As with all substances, the individual will have a different tolerance level to it. Some dogs are extremely sensitive to it, while others are not.

Also note the turpenes in tea tree oil can be absorbed through the skin. The dog does not have to lick or ingest it for the turpenes to get absorbed systemically. Tea tree oil especially in undiluted form can cause a burning sensation on open wounds. I wouldn't want to apply it even diluted to an open wound.

[chrissywolcott]

Wow, what a roller coaster ride these last 4 days have been. Cocoa is 99% improved from Thursday night. He improved dramatically over the weekend. He slept A LOT, and each time he woke up he was doing better. This morning he bounded down the flight of stairs and raced outside to the yard to do his business. Over the weekend I massaged his body and legs twice a day and helped him drink enough water (he wouldn't drink any water Friday, so I sprayed water on his fur and he licked it off, by Saturday morning he was drinking out of a shallow bowl and Sunday back to normal). Each time after I massaged his legs he would stretch them. It seemed to really help him by getting the blood moving again.

The vet didn't tell me about vitamin K, she just said to let him rest (which he did a lot of!) and to get him to drink as much water as he could.

I hope my frightening experience can help others, either by understanding the potency of tea tree oil, or, God forbid, if someone else finds themselves in a similar situation.

Thanks for the support I got on this site too. You people are golden!

[chrissywolcott]

I know there's another Christine Wolcott who grew up in Aurora, NY (near Buffalo), that's not me. I'm from Perry. And who might you be???

[lv4dogs]

Boy am I glad to hear that things are improving. Yay!


I'm Sue, the Crissy Wolcott that I know grew up in Shortsville, NY, we went to Red Jacket Central School together. (It's a tiny town, near Rochester, NY)

[chrissywolcott]

She must be the one I'm thinking of. I didn't go to Red Jacket.

[lv4dogs]

Originally posted by chrissywolcott
She must be the one I'm thinking of. I didn't go to Red Jacket.

The Crissy Wolcott I know is different from you & the one you mentioned. The Crissy Wolcott I know didn't & doesn't live at all near Buffalo & Chrissy is her real first name. lol I guess it's a real popular name! :p

[chrissywolcott]

I guess so! And here I thought I was uinque...sigh... ;o)

[lv4dogs]

How has Cocoa been? I hope he's all healed & back to his normal self!

[chrissywolcott]

I am very happy to report that Cocoa Bear is 100% better. maybe even 101%. He certainly has fewer fleas than he had before my big mistake, and it seems that his ear mite problem has suddenly vanished.

He is back to his bubbly, happy, frisbee catching self. The turnaround from only one week ago is amazing. I am so glad he pulled out of it without any damage.

I don't want to scare anyone away from using tea tree oil, because it's pretty obvious to me that it does work to kill pests, I just overdosed my poor old dog. He may simply be very sensitive to it, so I'm not going to use it on him again. I'll stick with giving him baths.

[lv4dogs]

I'm glad to hear he's back to normal! HORAY!
I don't blame you for not using it on him again.

Thanks for the update!

[chrissywolcott]

There was a moment when I thought I might use a diluted solution on him, becuase it really did kill so many fleas! But after this scare, better to deal with the fleas in other ways than to put my Cocoa Bear in more danger.

I still get sick to my stomach thinking about him all helpless and sad.

[lv4dogs]

I'd use advantage or Frontline for fleas, they work awesome!

[Kfamr]

I'm glad your baby is better and welcome to Pet Talk! :)


I've used Tea Tree Oil for YEARS and have yet to have a problem. My suggestion is, if you ever want to use it again (It really does work well on repelling fleas.) is to put a tiny, tiny drop into the whole bottle of shampoo or conditioner. We put a tiny drop into their new shampoo bottle and shake it up. We rarely have fleas, knock on wood, while using the tea tree oil. :)

It doesn't KILL fleas, it just repells them.

Good luck if you plan to use it in the future.

[carolann]

I used tea tree oil on my chocolate lab yesterday and by late last night his entire hind quarters seem to be paralyzed! I am completely in disarray over me causing this to my beloved Cocoa Bear.

Anyone out there have experience with this? It appears that he's doing better now, though slowly.

Please email me at [email protected]

i did the same thing and my dog can't walk do they always recover from this ?

[Freedom]

You have revived a very old thread, from 2005. I understand, most likely you were searching for info and found this.

I really have no idea or info for you, just wanted to help get this thread noticed, so you get some info.

[mrspunkysmom]

I did use something similar last summer to repel fleas. They were coming up from under the house. I'm doing to need it soon. If I can find the recipe, I'll share it. BTW, I sprayed the carpet and furniture, not my pets, but I would not be afraid to do that.

Note: Going off on a tangent so bear with me. I used to get bi-weekly massages. Therapists use essentials oils all the time. Any reputable therapist will tell their customers to NEVER use any essential oil straight from the bottle. Use oils in a much diluted form. Some mix theirs in Olive oil; some use other oils.

So hopefully your fur child will recover soon, and if you choose to use essential oils again, make sure you find a recipe for a few drops per gallons and follow that recipe.

Good luck and best wishes.