© Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1897) · Public domain · Commons
Blue gum eucalyptus
Caution🐾Blauer Eukalyptus · (Eucalyptus globulus)
Myrtle family (Myrtaceae)
Description
The blue gum eucalyptus is a fast-growing evergreen tree of the myrtle family. It comes from Tasmania and south-eastern Australia and is now grown around the Mediterranean, in Portugal, California and South America; in good sites it exceeds fifty metres. Striking is how its foliage changes over its life: young shoots carry stalkless, blue-green waxy leaves that give the tree its name, while older ones bear long, sickle-shaped hanging leaves. The bark peels away in strips, exposing the smooth pale surface beneath. Medicinally, the leaves and the essential oil distilled from them are used; its main component is 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol) — the same compound that gives cardamom its cool note. The European Medicines Agency lists eucalyptus oil as a traditional herbal medicinal product for cough associated with the common cold and for localised muscle pain. Eucalyptus essential oil must not be applied to the face or nose of infants and small children — it can trigger a spasm of the glottis.
CONTRAINDICATED for children
Not to be used under 30 months according to the EMA — risk of glottal spasm. Children with a history of seizures, including febrile seizures, are excluded entirely. Inhalation, rubs and baths from 4 years, oral use from 12 years.
Traditionally used to relieve cough associated with colds and as an inhalation or bath additive to help clear the upper airways; registered in the EU as a traditional herbal medicinal product. For inhalation, rubs and baths the EMA permits use from four years of age, for oral use only from twelve. If a cough lasts longer than a week it needs medical assessment.
Preparation & dosage
Add a few drops of oil to a bowl of hot, no longer boiling water and breathe in the steam with closed eyes. Not over boiling water — scalding is the most common accident with this.
- Doses per day
- 3×
⚠ Age restriction: ≥ 4 years — Not at all under 30 months because of the risk of glottal spasm, and even after that never on the face.
For the constituent 1,8-cineole, some clinical studies exist on respiratory complaints such as bronchitis and rhinosinusitis. What was studied is the isolated pure compound in enteric-coated capsules, not the oil from the bottle — so the results do not carry over to every form of use.
Alongside cough, the EMA also lists localised muscle pain as a traditional use — as a diluted rub. On the skin the oil produces a sensation of cold and then of warmth. If the pain has not improved after one to two weeks it needs to be looked at.
Sources: [1]
Do not apply eucalyptus essential oil or 1,8-cineole to the face or nose of infants and young children (under about 10 years) — risk of glottal spasm and breathing difficulty. Do not take undiluted; follow the stated dosage. Do not use with hypersensitivity to eucalyptus oil/1,8-cineole; caution in children with a history of seizures. According to the EMA, hot baths with eucalyptus oil are not appropriate with large skin injuries, open wounds, acute skin disease, high fever, severe infections, severe circulatory disorders or heart failure. ASPCA classification (accessed 2026-08-10): toxic to dogs, cats and horses.
The EMA documents contain no information on pregnancy. Without data, use is inadvisable; this applies especially to oral use.
Likewise no information in the EMA documents. Do not apply oil to the chest or décolleté if an infant nurses there.
Not to be used under 30 months according to the EMA — risk of glottal spasm. Children with a history of seizures, including febrile seizures, are excluded entirely. Inhalation, rubs and baths from 4 years, oral use from 12 years.
Drug interactions
Über CYP-Enzyme abgebaute Arzneimittel
1,8-cineole can induce liver enzymes and thereby speed up the breakdown of other agents. This is irrelevant for brief external use, but not for prolonged oral use of cineole capsules.
Contraindications
- Children under 30 months — risk of glottal spasm.
- Children with a history of seizures, with or without fever.
- Hypersensitivity to eucalyptus oil or 1,8-cineole.
- Hot baths with open wounds, acute skin disease, high fever, severe infections, circulatory disorders or heart failure.
Harvested part: Leaves
- Time of day:
- All year, as the tree is evergreen. The oil content of the leaves is highest in the late morning, once the dew has dried. For distillation the older, sickle-shaped leaves are used.
- Drying:
- Dry loosely spread out in the shade. The essential oil escapes with heat — never above 35 °C and never in the sun.
- Storage:
- 12 months — Store whole leaves airtight and dark; crush them only shortly before use. Finished essential oil belongs in a dark bottle and stays usable for about a year once opened.
- 1,8-Cineol (Eucalyptol)Essential oilContent: 70–85 % des ätherischen ÖlsLeaf
Main component and carrier of the effect; at the same time the compound that can become dangerous in small children.
- α-PinenEssential oilLeaf
- LimonenEssential oilLeaf
- p-Cymen und AromadendrenEssential oilLeaf
- Gerbstoffe (Ellagitannine)TanninLeaf
Present in the leaf infusion, not in the distilled oil.
- Flavonoide (Rutin, Quercetin)FlavonoidLeaf
- [1]MonographEucalypti aetheroleum (eucalyptus oil) — EMA herbal medicinal product overview(accessed: 2026-08-20)
- [2]MonographEMA/HMPC — Assessment report on Eucalyptus globulus Labill., folium(accessed: 2026-06-23)
- [3]MonographTherapeutic applications of eucalyptus essential oils (Inflammopharmacology 2024)(accessed: 2026-06-23)
- [5]MonographASPCA Animal Poison Control — Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus species): Toxic to Dogs, Toxic to Cats, Toxic to Horses(accessed: 2026-08-10)
- [4]CommonsFile:Eucalyptus globulus - Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen-147.jpg — Wikimedia Commons(accessed: 2026-06-23)