Ouch! I had a very tactile lesson the other day about cross contact that I thought was share worthy. I decided to take a bottle of essential oil into the shower to add a peppermint flavor to the nice steam. I had visions of my sinuses opening up and my seasonal allergy hay fever congestion dissolving into the peppermint scented steam. I removed the lid of the bottle, which was completely dry, and poured about 4 drops in the shower. I then screwed the lid back on tight and then promptly washed my face. This is where my lesson rips into place as my skin burned!
I don’t know how any oil made contact with my skin since the bottle was dry, but I had cross contaminated my facial soap with the oil. My face felt on fire and my stuffed up sinus issues was instantly minor compared my skin raging! Once the fire on my face calmed down, I had to pause and absorb the reality of how easy it was to cross contaminate my hand and then my facial soap. I never felt or saw a drop of oil on my hands or on the bottle. I had only touched the glass part of the bottle and not the paper, which might have been soaked in oil. I immediately thought of my son’s sesame seed allergy and sesame oil used in salad dressings. Talk about a sobering moment and lesson.
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One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
I think the best way to describe cross-contamination issues is the same way we teach our kids about germs by either covering their hands in cinnamon or glitter and having them see how easily it is to spread the “germs” (glitter/cinnamon) all around and how hard it is to clean the “germs” off! I think if we thought about cross contamination in the same way, we’d learn a lot! Very sobering indeed!
Julie, thanks for solid solutions–germs are a perfect example. I really like the glitter example. I’m going to try this at home with my daughter. Hope you enjoy a grand day.
Julie – I couldn’t agree more with that statement.
Thanks, Caroline! When my boys both did this in pre-school to cover germs, it made a huge impact. I can’t see why the same visual would not be helpful in providing a real, visible example to kids (and adults) about cross contamination. Happy to help! 🙂
Oh my goodness, I hope your face is feeling better! I had some lavender essential oil, once, in a tiny bottle and I got the tiniest bit on my finger and I could not wash it off for the longest time!! That stuff is potent! I, too, have had other times where I swear I didn’t get any on me, but lo and behold, it’s there!
Selena,
I was instantly humbled by a small bottle. It was such an important lesson for me regarding sesame oil though. It took a while, but thankfully it work off. I was happy I didn’t rub my eyes! I did that last week after eating Jalepenos! You think I would learn right?