AnimalEO Dump-A-Lump

Contrary to popular belief…

No, Dump-a-Lump is not a blend designed with a bathroom in mind!  The lump referred to is indeed referring to skin lumps, bumps, warts, cysts, tumors, tags, sarcoids and other items we would rather the skin not have.  Skin lumps are a difficult subject.  No one wants them, and no one wants to deal with them.  And usually, many people do not understand what is realistic in terms of what can be done with holistic veterinary care in regards to lumps.

An accurate diagnosis is key!

It never seems to fail – that someone will ask me what they can to with essential oils for a “wart” – while truly the lump in question is no where near a real wart in the medical definition.  Working with a veterinarian to actually know what type of lump your animal may have is really important.  A lump that is a cyst as opposed to a solid tissue tumor – will respond far differently to holistic and even conventional means.  And there are some tumors – such as a Histiocytoma in a dog – that will usually go away all by itself.  These particular tumors respond incredibly well to the support of essential oils – but may also contribute to some of the “false hype” of how well essential oils can work.

This case was a great example of how essential oils can support the body, possibly supporting a quicker resolution of a lump.  This lump was tentatively diagnosed to be a Histiocytoma – a benign tumor that is common in younger dogs.  These tumors tend to get “strawberry” in nature, red and raw, and often get secondary bacterial infections.  They will usually look worse, before they get better.  But overall, the body deals with these particular tumors – and gets rid of them usually within the course of 2-3 months.  Some a bit faster, and some a bit slower.  It was present in this young dog for a couple weeks, and was not improving, with an inflamed and angry appearance.  It had been evaluated by a different veterinarian, and on second opinion with our hospital – I offered that the “wait and see” approach to if the body would resolve it in due time – was my recommended course of action.  However, I naturally thought that the addition of essential oil application to the site was a great idea.  This particular case had an application of Copaiba, Frankincense, and Peppermint in combination in our hospital – and then was sent home.  The owner reported about a week later – that the lump had basically resolved (see the picture below), and had noticeable changes almost immediately.  No other applications of oils were made to the lump – only that one application in the hospital.  As the owner had already been monitoring the lump for weeks, the drastic change that occurred after the essential oil application was certainly significant in her eyes!  And really, in mine as well.

Why would a lump such as this, respond so quickly?  I have many theories.  First, these lumps are inflamed.  So, essential oils can support the reduction of the inflammation of the tissues, potentially promoting shrinking in associated swelling.  Reduction of inflammation could also relieve the body of some of its “troubles” so that it can concentrate on what it needs to do – destroy, resorb, and resolve abnormal cells.  Next, there may be secondary infections associated with a lump, so if those are reduced, the lump may also appear better in a short bit of time.  Also, along those lines, if the body does not have to deal with an added “war on bacteria”, it can put its immune system efforts towards healing, instead of fighting bacteria.  This is a beautiful thing with essential oils – benign lumps and even cancer, need to be fought by the body’s own immune system.  Cancer is actually an ever present thing.  Cancer cells are made every single day in a body.  However, a healthy immune system and DNA – finds the defective cell and eliminates it.  When this defense does not work properly, that is when we see clusters of abnormal cells grow into tumors.  Some benign, and some cancerous.  With essential oils, we are always aiming to support a healthy immune system, unlike prescription medications that may only focus on killing bacteria or reducing inflammation.  Neither support the immune system, and often suppress it in actuality.

All in all, reducing active inflammation, reducing secondary infections, relieving the work load of the immune system, while also enhancing immune system function – is a power packed approach for reducing the size of a complicated lump in both holistic and traditional care.  And, there is an abundance of research that essential oils may actually help certain abnormal cells to die – referred to apoptosis.  In THIS RESEARCH Myrrh essential oil increased the rate of apoptosis (or cell death) in certain cell lines.  And more research HERE also shows that Frankincense and Sandalwood contribute to different mechanisms of cell death and anti-proliferative actions.  A ‘quick’ search for essential oil and cancer at www.pubmed.gov revealed 743 published research articles as of August of 2015 – and various articles show the beneficial effects of beta-Caryophyllene (found in Copaiba) and of Oregano species.

Essential Oils of Frankincense (Boswellia carterii), Tangerine (Citrus tangerina), Copaiba (Copaifera officinalis), Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum), Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha), Clove (Eugenia caryophyllata), Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Oregano (Oreganum vulgare), Blue Cypress (Callitris intratropica), Helichrysum (H. italicum), Lemon (Citrus limonum), Melissa (Melissa officinalis)