“Normal” Sunburn is generally caused by over-exposure to sunlight, especially when the sun is at its most powerful around 11am to 3pm but there is another cause of burning that is often overlooked and that is photo toxicity. Wikipedia defines it as…Phototoxicity is a phenomenon known in live-cell, where illuminating a fluorescent molecule (the fluorescently active site is called a fluorophore) causes the selective death of the cells expressing it.
In practise the fluorescent molecule is normally either a prescribed drug, a topical application like essential oils or ingestion of a herb like St. John’s Wort (Hypericum) and this is where it is vital to be aware of what we are feeding to our animals or applying to their skin, especially if using combinations of different substances together.

When I was studying to become an Animal Essential Oil Therapist, my chemistry teacher told us a terrible story of a girl who received full thickness burns after applying neat Bergamot oil and going under a sun lamp. The poor soul had decided that because Bergasol suntan lotion had Bergamot oil listed as an ingredient it was probably a good tanning agent. It is for this reason that Bergamot is contra-indicated for topical application to animals if they are to be exposed to sunlight within 12 hours.

There are other potentially phototoxic essential oils including Lemon, Orange, Lime, Lemon Verbina, Tagets and Angelica Root and I always avoid the use of Hypericum infused oil in direct sunlight. Some authorities say Grapefruit is safe, other disagree and my advice is to always exercise caution with an individual who has sensitive skin and if in doubt contact a trained therapist for advice before use.

Of the herbs, ingestion of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum) is a regular culprit in cases of photosensitivity in grazing animals but use of the infused oil or herbal preparation on the skin in humans can sometimes have the same effect. I once found had to get the vet to treat a dairy cow in the herd I was working with at the time because her back was bright pink and raw and the hair had fallen off in the space of 24 hours. His diagnosis was photosensitivity and secondary liver damage following ingestion of the plant. The treatment was vitamin B12 injections to support liver function, sun block on the skin and no exposure to direct sunlight for 5 days until the effects had left her system. She recovered within 7 days and the problem never re-occurred.

Another “herb“(legally classified as a scheduled weed which means land owners are required by law to control) is Ragwort, a member of the Senecio family with clusters of yellow daisy like flowers. It will be only too familiar to anyone who uses the train or drives down motorways and duel carriageways in the UK! Some animals build up a tolerance to it over the years where as others succumb to almost instant liver failure but ingestion is inevitably fatal in the end as the liver stores the active compounds responsible until the liver cells are destroyed and one of the initial symptoms is often sunburn.

So, the moral of the story is, always be aware of the potential effects of any herb, oil or preparation you use during the long, hot days of summer and learn to identify potentially toxic plants that your horses, dogs, sheep, goats ets have access to…and if Summer 2008 runs true to form, you can totally disregard this advice as we will be too busy bailing out after the floods again!

Pauhla Whitaker

AnimOILS