Husband Uses Essential Oil Instead Of Actual Peppermint In Wife’s Gift, She Has A Panic Attack
People say that it’s the thought that counts, but certain kind gestures are better left as a thought and not an action.
For the redditor u/sadbeanwithdreams, it was her husband’s thoughtful birthday gift she would likely rather not have received. Knowing how much his wife loves peppermint mocha lattes, he decided to make one for her himself, but the things he added to the drink did not kick the birthday off on the right note.
Not all ideas that seem good in theory are actually good
Image credits: Chevanon Photography / pexels (not the actual photo)
The OP’s husband came up with a thoughtful surprise for her birthday, but unfortunately, the execution was poor
Image credits: Prostock-studio / envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: sadbeanwithdreams
Ingesting essential oils can lead to serious health problems
Image credit: Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo)
The OP’s husband likely had the best of intentions at heart when he came up with the surprise for her birthday; but little did he know that the essential oils that he used to make it were not suitable for consumption.
People often consider such oils harmless because they are natural, made from plants. However, that in itself doesn’t mean they’re safe to put into food and beverages (with certain exemptions in minuscule quantities), because of how concentrated they are.
“It takes a lot of plant material to get a little bit of oil. Because of that, essential oils are really concentrated and can affect us in powerful ways,” family medicine doctor and the medical director for the Integrative Health Clinic at University of Wisconsin, David S. Kiefer, MD, told Everyday Health.
Another expert, the director of education and an associate professor at the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing, Megan Voss, DNP, RN, pointed out that in addition to numerous health hazards, essential oils can also affect the way our body reacts to medication.
“Some essential oils use the same receptor sites that medications use, which can make our medications less effective,” Voss told Everyday Health. “They can also increase amounts of medication circulating in our body and lead to toxicity.”
Quite a few people seem to enjoy flavored coffee, with vanilla being the go-to option
Image credits: Jason Villanueva / pexels (not the actual photo)
Luckily, the OP’s husband’s good intentions seemingly didn’t cause irreversible damage, but fellow redditors in the comments suggested opting for a candy cane or syrups next time. As a matter of fact, quite a few coffee lovers use syrups to enhance their beverages.
According to National Coffee Association’s 2023 National Coffee Data Trends Report, nearly a third of Americans enjoy a flavored coffee here and there, with vanilla being the go-to flavor (leaving caramel and hazelnut fighting for second on the list, followed by mocha).
The report found that the vast majority of coffee drinkers in the US (81% of them) tend to enjoy a cup of joe with breakfast or some time in the morning (38%), rather than in the afternoon (19%) or in the evening (10%). Data also revealed that out of all the espresso-based drinks, lattes seem to be the most popular option, with espressos and cappuccinos at second and third places respectively.
The OP’s love for peppermint mocha lattes shows that a latte is an option that can be customized to personal preferences; but that shouldn’t be done with the help of essential oils. That’s why, after learning from his mistakes, the husband seemingly bought some safe-to-consume peppermint flavoring for similar surprise gestures in the future.
Fellow redditors didn’t think the OP was a jerk in the situation, they shared their thoughts in the comments
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My store peppermint essential oil right next to the vanilla, which is also by the peppermint extract. Honestly, you need like two drops but to make a latte. She wasn’t poisoned. She’ll be fine. It probably WAS food grade peppermint oil. Sheesh. Don’t know why someone would assume because it says “essential oil” it’s not safe. My food grade oil has humidifiers and mixed with carrier oils for topical use as one of its recommended uses. Sorry, but she was majorly overdramatic here. As long as it was pure essential oil there was very little to worry about for one very small dose. Hate to tell you this, but if you’re putting it on your skin and breathing it in from the humidifier, it’s going in your body.
Completely agree. This was blown way out of proportions.
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Sounds like she needs a bottle of peppermint schnapps to deal with all the stupid
Husband screws up. Wife gets mad. Husband apologizes. Wife expends time and energy whining about it online. I don't like this type of content.
Yeah, this is dumb. Husband messed up and is probably an idiot but it's weird that she keeps harping on the fact that she's not an "essential oil gal". Am I missing something or was the peppermint oil not given to her because the husband thought she was into essential oils, but rather because he thought it was an ingredient for them to make lattes with?
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That's not fair....to you. :P We all know this guy doesn't know how to wipe his a**e, lol! He prolly went straight from his mother to his wife, with no alone time in between. :P Men like this are useless, and i don't consider them real men.
Load More Replies... Is essential oil not the same as ethereal oil? Pure peppermint etherial oil is safe in small concentrations.
Neither should be used for foodstuffs. (inc in drinks) Anyone with a brain knows that if you want to flavour anything, you use essence, which is usually an oil suspended in alcohol...so it's basically watered down. This idiot man should have used peppermint ESSENCE, not oil! It's honestly not hard.
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Even I know better than to put essential oils in foods. To make lattés and mochas at home all you need are espresso powder, your choice of milk, a good handheld frother (Williams-Sonoma sells a battery-powered one for $20), your choice of flavoring syrup, and a microwave.
Or you could just start with real coffee instead of powdered stuff - or are lattes so bad that you couldn't tell the difference?
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Seriously? YTA OP. Why don't you read this column under 'relationships'? Huh? Spouses that cheat, disrespect the other, call their wives awful hateful names, listen to their SIL's, MIL's. before their wives, have no regard for their wives at all? Never clean, help out around the house, expect the wives to wait on them hand and foot, and that just today's posts!!! Did you, OP, actually write in response to one 'relationship expert' here, that you are seriously reconsidering your marriage? All because he made a simple mistake TRYING TO do something nice for your obviously entitled, spoiled a*s? Oh, well excuse us peasants. I'm a wife of 40 yrs by the way. You are absolutely horrid. I hope he reconsiders what a wicked ungrateful woman he is saddled with. Remember you didn't get sick. You had a panic attack. Maybe you could have done some research yourself. I hope he is done getting you presents for your birthday. Unbelievable
Is he an idiot, yes, but did he try to do something nice and thoughtful? I think so. I think she is way over reacting and she will be ok, but at least he tried to do something nice even if he didn't really read the bottle.
Essential oils can kill you. This dude was massively the a*****e here
Wow! So many uneducated people here. There are many types of essential oils. Essential oils are merely oils coming straight from the plants without additives. Many are used in foods. Many other oils are not for consumption.
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I don't believe she said that, so I prefer to not assume the worst.
Load More Replies... Over reaction from OP. Husband was silly for not reading lable, shopkeeper was negligent for saying it was food safe but honestly he wasn't trying to poison her, he made an honest but stupid mistake. OP must be impossible to live with
No f*****g way a store is going to have essential oil on the shelf next to vanilla extract. DARVO plus gaslighting. OP should kick that idiot skinflint of a husband to the curb and file for divorce. What stupid thoughtless s**t is he going to do next that puts her health in danger?
If somebody brings up essential oils, unless making fun of the idiots buying it and the crooks selling it - they all are, all people profiting off essential oils betray those they profit from -, is a red flag that, alone, is huge and red enough to get rid of these people. Stop knowing them. In this case, this might be not that easy, but ... uh ... essential oils are a sign of essential idiocy.
Essential oil is just a concentrated oil from a plant that smells nice. Many of them are edible. It's not automatically a pyramid scheme and a retailer selling them is not betraying anyone.
Load More Replies...
I assume that your husband doesn't offer to help often? Being told he's just in the way when he's trying to help is a good way to make sure he doesn't do it again.
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My store peppermint essential oil right next to the vanilla, which is also by the peppermint extract. Honestly, you need like two drops but to make a latte. She wasn’t poisoned. She’ll be fine. It probably WAS food grade peppermint oil. Sheesh. Don’t know why someone would assume because it says “essential oil” it’s not safe. My food grade oil has humidifiers and mixed with carrier oils for topical use as one of its recommended uses. Sorry, but she was majorly overdramatic here. As long as it was pure essential oil there was very little to worry about for one very small dose. Hate to tell you this, but if you’re putting it on your skin and breathing it in from the humidifier, it’s going in your body.
Completely agree. This was blown way out of proportions.
Load More Replies... Sounds like she needs a bottle of peppermint schnapps to deal with all the stupid
Husband screws up. Wife gets mad. Husband apologizes. Wife expends time and energy whining about it online. I don't like this type of content.
Yeah, this is dumb. Husband messed up and is probably an idiot but it's weird that she keeps harping on the fact that she's not an "essential oil gal". Am I missing something or was the peppermint oil not given to her because the husband thought she was into essential oils, but rather because he thought it was an ingredient for them to make lattes with?
Load More Replies... That's not fair....to you. :P We all know this guy doesn't know how to wipe his a**e, lol! He prolly went straight from his mother to his wife, with no alone time in between. :P Men like this are useless, and i don't consider them real men.
Load More Replies... Is essential oil not the same as ethereal oil? Pure peppermint etherial oil is safe in small concentrations.
Neither should be used for foodstuffs. (inc in drinks) Anyone with a brain knows that if you want to flavour anything, you use essence, which is usually an oil suspended in alcohol...so it's basically watered down. This idiot man should have used peppermint ESSENCE, not oil! It's honestly not hard.
Load More Replies... Even I know better than to put essential oils in foods. To make lattés and mochas at home all you need are espresso powder, your choice of milk, a good handheld frother (Williams-Sonoma sells a battery-powered one for $20), your choice of flavoring syrup, and a microwave.
Or you could just start with real coffee instead of powdered stuff - or are lattes so bad that you couldn't tell the difference?
Load More Replies... Seriously? YTA OP. Why don't you read this column under 'relationships'? Huh? Spouses that cheat, disrespect the other, call their wives awful hateful names, listen to their SIL's, MIL's. before their wives, have no regard for their wives at all? Never clean, help out around the house, expect the wives to wait on them hand and foot, and that just today's posts!!! Did you, OP, actually write in response to one 'relationship expert' here, that you are seriously reconsidering your marriage? All because he made a simple mistake TRYING TO do something nice for your obviously entitled, spoiled a*s? Oh, well excuse us peasants. I'm a wife of 40 yrs by the way. You are absolutely horrid. I hope he reconsiders what a wicked ungrateful woman he is saddled with. Remember you didn't get sick. You had a panic attack. Maybe you could have done some research yourself. I hope he is done getting you presents for your birthday. Unbelievable
Is he an idiot, yes, but did he try to do something nice and thoughtful? I think so. I think she is way over reacting and she will be ok, but at least he tried to do something nice even if he didn't really read the bottle.
Essential oils can kill you. This dude was massively the a*****e here
Wow! So many uneducated people here. There are many types of essential oils. Essential oils are merely oils coming straight from the plants without additives. Many are used in foods. Many other oils are not for consumption.
Load More Replies... I don't believe she said that, so I prefer to not assume the worst.
Load More Replies... Over reaction from OP. Husband was silly for not reading lable, shopkeeper was negligent for saying it was food safe but honestly he wasn't trying to poison her, he made an honest but stupid mistake. OP must be impossible to live with
No f*****g way a store is going to have essential oil on the shelf next to vanilla extract. DARVO plus gaslighting. OP should kick that idiot skinflint of a husband to the curb and file for divorce. What stupid thoughtless s**t is he going to do next that puts her health in danger?
If somebody brings up essential oils, unless making fun of the idiots buying it and the crooks selling it - they all are, all people profiting off essential oils betray those they profit from -, is a red flag that, alone, is huge and red enough to get rid of these people. Stop knowing them. In this case, this might be not that easy, but ... uh ... essential oils are a sign of essential idiocy.
Essential oil is just a concentrated oil from a plant that smells nice. Many of them are edible. It's not automatically a pyramid scheme and a retailer selling them is not betraying anyone.
Load More Replies... I assume that your husband doesn't offer to help often? Being told he's just in the way when he's trying to help is a good way to make sure he doesn't do it again.
Load More Replies...
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