What is Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy had been around for 6000 years or more. The Greeks, Romans, and ancient Egyptians all used aromatherapy oils. The modern era of aromatherapy is dawned in 1930 when the French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse coined the term aromatherapy for the therapeutic use of essential oils. He was fascinated by the benefits of lavender oil in healing his burned hand without leaving any scars. He started investigating the effect of other essential oils for healing and for their psychotherapeutic benefits.
Aromatherapy is the practice of using volatile plant oils, including essential oils and natural scents for psychological and physical well-being. It is a holistic treatment of caring for the body with massaging or pleasant smelling with botanical oils such as rose, lemon, lavender, jasmine and peppermint.
The essential oils are aromatic essences extracted from plants, flowers, trees, fruits, bark, grasses and seeds with distinctive therapeutic, psychological, and physiological properties, which improve and prevent illness. There are about 150 essential oils. Most of these oils have antiseptic properties; some are antiviral, anti-inflammatory, pain relieving, antidepressant and expectorant. Other properties of the essential oils, which are taken advantage of in aromatherapy is their stimulation, relaxation, digestion improvement, and diuretic properties. To get the maximum benefit from essential oils, it should be made from natural, pure raw materials. Synthetically made oils do not work.
Aromatherapy is one of the fastest growing fields in alternative medicine. It is widely used at home, clinics and hospitals for a variety of applications such as pain relief for women in labor pain, relieving pain caused by the side effects of the chemotherapy undergone by the cancer patients, and rehabilitation of cardiac patients.
Aromatherapy is already slowly getting into the mainstream. In Japan, engineers are incorporating aroma systems into new buildings. In one such application, the scent of lavender and rosemary is pumped into the customer area to calm down the waiting customers, while the perfumes from lemon and eucalyptus is used in the bank teller counters to keep the staff alert.
Which Problems or common Ailments can Aromatherapy Help?
Aromatherapy is particularly effective for stress, anxiety, and psychosomatic induced problems, muscular and rheumatic pains, digestive disorders and women's problems, such as PMS, menopausal complaints and postnatal depression. Here is a summary for treating common ailments:
Aromatherapy for Behavior
Considerable evidence exists that fragrant compounds and aromatherapy have a profound effect on our mind and behavior. Animal studies have found that hyper excited mice (as a result of consuming a large quantity of caffeine), was calmed by the aroma of lavender, sandalwood, and other oils sprayed into their cages. The same mice were found to become very irritable when exposed to the aroma of orange terpines, thymol, and some other substances. These oils were all detected in their bloodstream after about an hour.
Commonly Found Essential Oil or Scents to use for Calmness: Lavender, Sandalwood, Jasmine, Chamomile etc.
Aromatherapy for Sleep
In a study reported in the British Medical Journal Lancet, elderly patients slept "like babies" when a lavender aroma was wafted into their bedrooms at night. These patients had complained of difficulty falling asleep and had to take sleeping pills to get sleep prior to the aromatherapy.
Commonly Found Essential Oil or Scents to use for Sleep: Lavender, Jasmine, Clary sage etc.
Aromatherapy for Postpartum discomfort
In a double blind study, 635 women applied lavender oil to their perineal area (part of the body between the vagina and the rectum) after childbirth. The women reported a distinct improvement between the third and fifth day. (The discomfort is the worst during this time for patients in the control group.)
Aromatherapy for Colds
It has been well established that chicken soup is good for cold (both historically and scientifically). Studies were conducted to find out whether the effect was due to the action of the hot steam on the lining of the nostrils or whether the aroma of the chicken soup has anything to do with it. The results indicated that chicken soup was more effective than the steam indicating the effectiveness of the aroma. Furthermore, many patients has benefited from lavender and Peppermint aroma oil to combat colds and flu.
Commonly Found Essential Oil or Scents to use for Colds: Lavender, Peppermint, Tea Tree etc.
Aromatherapy for Stress
In a study conducted at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York, patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reported 63 percent less claustrophobic after getting exposed to the aroma of vanilla. There was no change in their heart rate. Obviously, the aroma reduced their anxiety probably by the pleasant memories evoked by the vanilla aroma or by some other physiological response.
In another study, 122 patients who were in an intensive care unit, reported feeling much better when aromatherapy was administered with the oil of lavender (compared to when they were simply given a massage or allowed to rest.) No changes in the patients who were given aromatherapy were observed in the blood pressure, respiration, or heart rate. As we mentioned before, Japanese have reported less mistakes by keypunch operators when exposed to fragrance.
Commonly Found Essential Oil or Scents to use for Stress: Lavender, Marjoram, Ylang Ylang, Vanilla, Petitgrain etc.
Aromatherapy and Male Sexual Response
Circulation to the male sexual organ was found to have improved substantially by treatment with licorice or lavender with pumpkin pie. Doughnut with black licorice was also very effective. Men who are considered the most sexually active responded well to lavender, cola, and oriental spice; older males preferred the fragrance of vanilla. These studies prove that aromatherapy is an effective therapy for the treatment of male impotence from the blood vessel disease or from psychogenic factors.
Commonly Found Essential Oil or Scents to use for Sexual response: Lavender, Vanilla, Rosemary, Geranium, Rosewood, Jasmine etc.
Aromatherapy for Headache
For migraine headaches, try inhalations, baths, or massages using these essential oils. An aromatherapy massage is very relaxing.
Commonly Found Essential Oil or Scents to use for Headache: Lavender, Peppermint, Rosemary etc.
Aromatherapy for Depression
Aromatherapy can help in mild forms of depression. It may ease mental fatigue and help with sleep. However, if you, or someone you know, are severely depressed, additional support and therapy are necessary. Aromatherapy is more effective when used as a Complementary therapy, assisting other therapies.
Commonly Found Essential Oil or Scents to use for Mild Depression: Lavender, Jasmine, Cedar Wood, Basil, Clary sage, Rose etc.
How to Use Aromatherapy?
There are many ways aromatherapy is presented either massaging or scents form in all sorts of incorporating methods, Bathing accessories, massage oil, candles, lamps holder, pillows, Air spray etc.
Aromatherapy is useful and effective for mild ailments, as mentioned above, commonly people uses it for stress relieve and calm environment. The key in selecting one and using mainly depend on 2 factors, what’s the uses for and how you prefer it to be? It’s not a drug for ailment but more on personal senses to relieve mild symptoms.
Below are some guidelines in using Essential Oil,
(It should always be stored in a cool places in dark bottles to protect them from photo-oxidation with as little contact with air as possible, and kept out of reach of children.)
Massage: Massage is a relaxing and nourishing experience in itself, not least because of the unspoken communication based on touch, but it also ensures that the oils are effectively absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream. For general well-being it is beneficial to practice self-massage on specific areas of the body, especially on the feet and hands. A gentle circular movement of the fingers is often enough for the oils to be absorbed; it is important not to drag on the skin, especially in the delicate areas of the neck and around the eyes. It is also useful to rub those particular parts of the body that are causing discomfort; for example, peppermint (in dilution) can be rubbed on the stomach in a clockwise direction to ease indigestion; Lavender or marjoram can help to relax the neck and shoulders if they are stiff.
Hot and Cold Compress: This is a very effective way of using essential oils to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. A hot compress can be made by filling a bowl with very hot water than adding 4 or 5 drops of essential oil. Dip a folded piece of cotton cloth, cotton wool or a face cloth into the bowl, squeeze out the excess water and place the cloth on the affected area until it has cooled to blood heat, then repeat. Hot compresses are particularly useful for backache, rheumatism and Stress relieve.
Cold compresses are made in a similar way, using ice cold rather than hot water. This type of compress is useful for headaches apply to forehead or back of neck) and strains conditions.
Baths: One of the easiest and most pleasurable ways of using essential oils is to add 5 to 10 drops of oil to the bath water when the tub is full. Aromatic bathing has traditionally used as an enjoyable and sensual experience, especially by the Romans, but also to treat a wide range of complaints, including irritating skin conditions, muscular aches and pains, Stress relieve, rheumatism and arthritis.
