Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
I’ve seen a number of online discussions about Rooilavental for babies, mostly moms asking where they can get it from. Having never heard about Rooilavental and wondering what it is for I tried researching it myself online and came up with absolutely no information on it. I found this very frustrating so I decided to buy some Rooilavental to find out more about it.
What Is Rooilavental?
Rooilavental is a Dutch Medicine that contains lavender oil and ethanol, as well as extracts of nutmeg, rosemary and cinnamon. The Rooilavental I purchased is from the Dr Du Toit’s range manufactured by Marshalls.
I see that there is also a Rooi Lavental product made by Kowie Medicines. A lot of the moms are asking about the Lennons Rooilavental but it appears to be off the market.
What Is Rooilavental Used For?
Rooilavental is a carminative that is used to treat winds, indigestion and stomach aches. This is the information that I have taken from the package insert from the Dr Du Toit’s Rooilavental by Marshalls Traditional Healthcare.
Apparently some moms add Rooilavental to their child’s bath water as they believe it helps to keep away bad energy and bad spirits. Other moms have used Rooilavental to massage their babies to calm them down, or to bring their temperature down.
Where Can You Buy Rooilavental?
I bought a 20ml bottle of Rooilavental from Med365 for R27.95 and delivery was R65.00 – it took just over a week to be delivered. You can also buy Dr Du Toit’s products from Dischem.
What About Rooilavental For Babies, Is It Safe?
The ingredients in Rooilavental as listed in the package insert are:
- Lavender oil 0.025ml
- Ethanol 95% v/v
- Extracts of nutmeg, rosemary oil and cinnamon bark
The dosage and instructions for use is for adults – 5ml in water four times a day. There are no instructions shared for babies or children and there is a warning on the package to keep out of reach of children.
Ethanol is alcohol which immediately makes me concerned about the safety of this product for babies, however according to NCBI ethanol in herbal products is not necessarily harmful for children or babies.
Since there is no information on the Rooilavental insert about whether it is safe for babies and children I contacted Marshalls directly to ask about it.
I spoke to Victor Nemkukondeni from Marshalls and he was incredibly helpful. He said that Rooilavental can be used for children from the age of three years onwards and to use one drop of Rooilavental in 50ml of water for them to drink,
Victor said that it is not advisable to use Rooilavental for children under three years old, he instead recommended that mom’s buy the Dr Du Toit’s Stuipdruppels which is suitable for babies from one month of age onwards.
Regarding using it externally, there is some evidence that rubbing alcohol on your baby’s skin can help to bring down baby’s temperature but I would be very wary of putting products with ethanol on baby’s sensitive skin.
I would love to know what you have used Rooilavental for and what you know about it.
Thank you for such a helpful article. I had always wondered if it was safe to use Rooilavental for my baby.
It is a pleasure Judy, I never heard of it when my babies were young but lately I have heard a number of people asking about Rooilavental so I was intrigued about it. It is amazing that so many moms use it and have for generations, but it is not considered safe.
Hi Lynne, I have 3 kids and for all 3 I took them to a retired nurse who treats winds/colic in babies. She was mixing the following:
Rooilaventel; Doepa; wonderkroon, entress druppels; rooilavental. goenamara; essence of life. She mixed a drop or 2 of each with 500ml – 1l water. She recommended atleast 3 bottles to treat the baby. I found her mixture very helpful as a result I am planning to take my grandchild to her when she is 3 months.
I used Rooilaventel combined with olive oil (which I mixed in a jar for daily use) and massaged my babies after the had a bath.
It made them sleep so peacefully. It is an “oumens raadtjie” that I can vouch for.
Hi Andreia – thanks for sharing your experience using Rooilavental for babies. It is always interesting hearing how moms have used it and what they have used it for!
I can vouch for this. I had 4 babies and all 4 were rubbed out with this mixture I just added duiwels drops as well but they were sleeping peacefully after a bath and a nice massage with the mixture and all 4 babies slept right through after 3 months. no problems at all.
Thank you for this informative article.. I always wondered what “rooilavental” was I always heard the name when ever at a baby shower or just before baby is born. I do recall my friend using it for her son but at a very young age as he was a colic baby.
I have never used it ..
I learn something new everyday, never to old to learn
I’m happy to help you learn about it 🙂
Thank you for sharing its always nice to know this stuff even though my daughter is big my sister has a new born so this really helps
It’s a pleasure Naomi!
I used rooilavental with a combination of other Dutch medicines in Vaseline and I used it to rub out my son when he was a newborn.
Rooilavental is an old age tradition “ouma raadtjie” used with combination of other Dutch meds to massage babies after a bath. Some people add a drop to warm tea for a peaceful nights rest, can definetly vouch for that. Vary scare in finding it though. Thank you for sharing
Awesome never heard of this before