Background
Since the days of the Aboriginal Dreamtime the emu has provided food, clothing and oil for the Australian indigenous people. Farming of emus was started by the aboriginal communities in Western Australia in 1970 and in Queensland in 1990. Emu Oil has been used for centuries by Australian aboriginals to alleviate the pain associated with sore and damaged muscles, arthritic joints, sunburn and other skin disorders including dry and damaged skin, sunburn and other burns, dermatitis, tinea and a whole host of inflammation based skin disorders.
It is these benefits which TJURINGA has built on with their 100% totally NATURAL, PRESERVATIVE and MINERAL OIL FREE Skin Care Range.
And don’t confuse emus with ostriches. Both are from the family of large flightless birds or ratites but ostriches are farmed for their leather and originated in Africa. Emus evolved in Australia and are farmed for the oil, which is a NATURAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY and SKIN CONDITIONER. Tjuringa Emu Products is the marketing arm of the TJURINGA emu farm at Maleny in AUSTRALIA. Peter Thompson was the founder of Tjuringa Emu Products and has been involved with the emu industry since 1993.
TJURINGA Emu Products has 2 registered labels ie TJURINGA & Aussensuals. The products are the same in both labels except for the TJURINGA Scented Emu Oil (which contains Lemon Myrtle as the extra ingredient) and the Aussensuals Scented Emu Oil (which contains a Poisson type perfumed fragrance).
“Australian Farmed emus produce genuinely Australian products, which are more in harmony with nature than those produced from traditional introduced European farmed species. At Maleny all of these introduced species, as well as horses and dogs have to be treated for parasites including ticks, worms and paralysis ticks. The emus are resistant to these parasites and don’t need to be treated for these pests.
Another very important aspect in the farming of the emus is that there is no background exposure to antibiotics, hormones and other growth promotants. There is also no use of weedicides or fertilisers in the paddocks that contain the birds. This means that the fat that is produced from the birds is guaranteed to be “SAFE ENOUGH to EAT”. This fact is endorsed by one of the TJURINGA products customers who states as follows:
Sue Eather, Noosa Emu Meat.
“Because of my cancer I have found that I am unable to eat traditional red meat as I react to the chemicals that have been used in the production of the meat. However I have no reaction to the TJURINGA emu meat and it is now the only red meat I eat.”
In 1994 a paper outlining the benefits of emu oil was published by Dr J.R. Hobday of Western Australia. This paper outlines the doctors experiences with emu oil and provides a very comprehensive list of areas where emu oil has been effective in his experience:
“… From clinical experience with emu oil, it became obvious that its two major actions were its anti-inflammatory properties and its ability to penetrate the skin. It also appears to offer some solar protection. How these actions occur and to what extent remains to be discovered.
Ten Years Of Clinical Usage.
During this period my experience with emu oil has been entirely confined to use on the skin. After advising patients of its experimental nature I have prescribed emu oil for use in three main areas.
• Dry skin problemsTreatment of muscle aches and pains
• Treatment of wounds, which had epithelialised.
SKIN.
Eczema.
Eczema sufferers often complain that moisturisers available on the market, such as glycerol 10% in Sorbolene, irritate their skin. I have found that emu oil, or creams made of emu oil, have often been of benefit and provide significant reduction of irritation and inflammation of the skin.
Keloids.
Massaging emu oil twice daily appears to significantly reduce keloid scarring and have an anti-inflammatory action against the formation of keloid tissue. It does not seem to reduce old keloid scarring.
Psoriasis.
Some reported benefits in this area
JOINTS.
The benefit of emu oil on joints to reduce pain, swelling and stiffness is most evident where the joint is close to the skin surface, such as hands, feet, knees and elbows. Deep joints such as the hip do not appear to respond. Stiff joints, particularly as seen in hands, is one area where massaging emu oil is of considerable benefit. Whether this is due to its anti-inflammatory therefore pain reducing property or whether this due to another facet of the oil remains to be determined by research.
BRUISING & MUSCLE PAIN.
Emu oil appears to provide significant benefit to recent bruising and muscle pain where the injury is relatively superficial. The treatment being the massage and compress combination previously described. Similarly, sports related muscle strains have been significantly reduced with a post-exercise emu oil massage. Some trainers and masseurs are using this in preference to other oils, again indicating a superior anti-inflammatory action over commonly used embrocations.
RECENT WOUNDS.
Emu oil applied to epithelialised wounds appears to reduce scar tissue formation. Also the anti inflammatory action seems to soothe wounds after surgery. This has been very evident in coronary artery bypass graft operations where the greatest discomfort often comes from the leg from which the vein has been removed. In my experience massaging emu oil onto this area two or three times per day has significantly speeded up the healing process and reduce scarring.
As the emu oil used is sterile there is no concern with using it on any open area. I have encountered no ill effects from using emu oil on open areas such as a partially healed wound or abrasion.”
“Burns.
The use of emu cream or oil immediately in early blistering appears to hold great promise. Although trials have been limited it seems to promote faster healing with less pain and scarring.
Donor Sites in Skin Grafting.
I have found that the donor site after skin grafting benefits from the application of the oil, which appears to reduce pain and promote a less scarred heal.”
This could only be due to the anti-inflammatory and skin conditioning qualities of the emu oil.