Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils, concentrated essences that are extracted from plants for their healing properties. Aromatherapy usually accompanies mainstream medicine. Aromatherapy can also be used as a preventative medicine, as it can calm or stimulate your mind, help relieve pain or renew your skin.
History
Aromatherapy has been used throughout history, as plants have been used for beauty, health and religion. The oldest known remnants of incense were from Egypt in 1500 B.C. Although it is believed that pressing plants to extract their essential oils began before 4000 B.C., a French chemist, René-Maurice Gattefossé, came up with the name "aromatherapie" in 1928, to describe the modern method of using essential oils for their healing properties.
Types of Essential Oils
Some of the most commonly used essential oils are tea tree, rose, eucalyptus, lavender and rosemary, which all have many uses. Tea tree is known for its disinfectant qualities. Rose can help the mood, balance feminine hormones and help the skin. Eucalyptus is antibacterial, helps open the sinuses and assists breathing, among other properties. Some of lavender's healing effects include calming the mind and aiding in digestion. Rosemary is thought to improve memory and is good for low blood pressure.
Effects
Different types of essential oils can cause varying effects on a person. Some, like peppermint, are stimulating, while others are calming, including lavender. Essential oils contain chemical compounds within them, which affect the limbic area of the brain after being smelled. When these chemicals reach the brain, the limbic system makes its own chemicals in response, which can relax you, reduce your pain or calm you. Essential oils can also be absorbed through the skin.
Side Effects
Although essential oils have many benefits, there are also side effects, including allergic reactions. Test an oil on a small spot of skin before using. Essential oils are concentrated and can cause reactions if used undiluted. Dilute them in oil or water before putting them on your skin. In the United States, people use essential oils externally, whereas the oils are ingested in France. The United States is more cautious, as research shows its safety externally, and has not been conclusive when used internally. Essential oils could also interfere with medications. To learn the proper way to use essential oils, you should visit a qualified aromatherapist, who has gone through extensive training and is a member of the International Federation of Aromatherapists.
The Medical Community
According to the American Nurses Association, the decision of whether nurses can use aromatherapy in their practice is up to each state board of nursing. A 2001 ANA survey found that 47 percent of the state boards allow their nurses to do complementary therapies, including aromatherapy. The New York State Nurses Association's Position Statement on the Use of Complementary Therapies in the Practice of Nursing, which include aromatherapy, says that "complementary therapies are appropriate nursing interventions in nursing practice and are not meant to replace conventional nursing or medical therapies."
Ways to Use
Essential oils can be inhaled or used topically. You can put the oils into a diffuser, in an aroma lamp, mix them with water and spray, smell from the bottle or inhale them with steam. Topically, they can be mixed with oil and massaged into the body, used in a bath or mixed into skin and hair care products.
References
- Aromatherapy Oils: A Complete Guide. Schiller, Carol and David. 1996
- Aromatherapy: The A-Z Guide to Healing with Essential Oils. Masline, Shelagh and Close, Barbara. 1997
- The Aroma Therapy Kit. Devereux, Charla. 1993
- American Nurses Association
- New York State Nurses Association
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