Essential oils are a popular choice for people keen to remedy a wide variety of ailments, from minor infections to stress. But new data indicate that people are increasingly putting their health at risk when they turn to these fragrant, volatile plant extracts.

人们在治疗各种疾病(如轻微感染、压力大)时喜欢选择精油，但新的数据显示这些芳香的具有挥发性的植物提取物的使用对健康的危害会越来越大。

A new analysis from Australia, based on records from a poisons centre in the state of New South Wales, has revealed an increase in the number of essential oil poisonings in recent years, with more than half of calls to the centre regarding children.

澳大利亚一项新的分析依据新南威尔士州毒药中心的记录发现，近年来精油中毒事件有增加的趋势，该中心接到的来电中一半以上涉及儿童。

University of Sydney researchers identified 4,412 cases of essential oil exposure dating between July 2014 and June 2018, and broke them down into times, type of oil, changes over time, and the characteristics of the affected individual.

悉尼大学研究人员确认了在2014年7月份至2018年6月份之间有4,412例精油接触病例，然后依据时间、精油类型、随时间所产生的变化以及受影响个人的特征进行了分析。

They found that from 2014 to 2015, 1,011 calls were made to the centre by individuals or parents representing a potential poisoning. In 2017 to 2018, that number was up by more than 16 percent, to 1,177 cases.

他们发现2014年至2015年间，中心接到了1,011通本人或父母来电，报告疑似中毒情况。2017年至2018年间病例涨幅超过16%，达到1,177例。

Most of the poisonings – 80 percent – were purely accidental, mistaking the bottle for another pharmaceutical like a cough syrup. Only around 2 percent resulted from intentionally taking the essential oil based on misinformation.

大多数中毒病例(80%)纯属偶然，将精油瓶误当成止咳糖浆等药物的瓶子了。只有约2%是因为理解错误而服用精油。

Perhaps most concerning was that in 63 percent of cases, the person who was affected was under the age of 15.

可能最令人担心的是在63%的病例中，受影响的人年龄都不到15岁。

"The onset of toxicity can be rapid, and small quantities (as little as 5 millilitres) can cause life-threatening toxicity in children," the researchers write in their report.

研究人员在报告中写道：“毒性发作可能很快，小剂量(低至5毫升)的毒性都会威胁儿童的生命。”

Being essential doesn't make the oils important, so don't let the description fool you. The 'essence' refers to the volatility of the oils, which are removed by heating particular botanicals, often in a steam distillation process.

纯植物的精油不一定就好，所以不要再被商品描述蒙蔽了。“精油”通常是油在蒸汽蒸馏过程中的挥发性物质，通过加热特定的植物去除。

That means a fragrant plant, such as lavender, peppermint, or eucalyptus, has its aromatic compounds concentrated into a form which is then sold for use in oil burners and vaporisers.

这就意味着是把薰衣草、薄荷或桉树等香料植物的芳香化合物浓缩后出售，放在熏香器和香薰蒸发器中使用。

Not all oils are of equal concern, either. Most commonly essential oils produce skin irritations or contact dermatitis. Others contain naturally occurring compounds known as endocrine disruptors, which have the potential to interfere with our hormones in unwanted ways.

但也不是所有精油都有同样的问题，大部分常见的精油会刺激皮肤或造成接触性皮炎。其他的含有名为内分泌干扰物的天然化合物，会干扰我们的激素分泌，对身体造成损害。