About Aromatherapy

What is aromatherapy?

Aromatherapy is the systematic use of essential oils in holistic treatments to improve physical and emotional well-being. Essential oils, extracted from plants, possess distinctive therapeutic properties, which can be utilised to improve health and wellbeing

Methods of use

  • Massage (most used method by therapists)

  • Baths (add a few drops to warm water)

  • Inhalations (not for asthmatics)

  • Vapourisers - with candles or electric ones

  • Compresses - usually for injuries or pain

Aromatherapy is an especially effective treatment for stress-related problems and a variety of chronic conditions

Essential Oils

are  aromatic, volatile substances extracted from a single botanical source by distillation or expression. Essential oils have been utilised in fragrances, flavours and medicines for thousands of years. There are some 400 essential oils extracted from plants all over the world. Some of the popular oils used in aromatherapy today include chamomile, lavender, rosemary and tea tree.

Is there any evidence?

    Many researchers have shown that when they are applied to the skin or  inhaled, essential oils are absorbed into the bloodstream and metabolised in the body, (Preen C. (2005) Today’s Therapist  (35) 2-4)   substantiated by Aromatherapy Science, Pharmaceutical Press 2006 Chapter 7 p.78.

    Clinical trials have shown that when applied topically, some essential oils, including Tea tree oil, have antibacterial and [antimicrobial/antiseptic] properties (Hay et al. Arch Dermatol. 1998; 134:1349-1352)

    Peppermint oil may optimise/maintain a healthy digestive system (Stevensen C.J. Fundamentals of CAM, Churchill Livingstone 1996:137-148).

    There are many studies that demonstrate how essential oils can positively affect mood and the sense of well-being.  Buckle J. Alternative Therapy  Health Med.1999 (5):42-51 states that “studies suggest that essential oils …. induce mood changes”. Essential oils also impact on brain wave activity, creating either stimulating or relaxing effects (Stevensen 1996See also the column on the far right.

    This is a very small percentage of the research available to therapists

 

The History of Aromatherapy

 

  • Although the term aromatherapy was not used until the 20th Century, the foundations of aromatherapy date back thousands of years. It is thought to have started in Sumer at the mouth of the Euphrates River around 3000BC. At least that is the earliest record that exists although it probably predates this with aromatics being used by early humankind. Simple stills were used where Myrrh, aromatic grasses and gums were heated in water to provide a fragrant steam.

  • The Egyptians even had a God of Fragrance and Perfumes, Nefertem, that was how important aromatics were to well-being of the mind and body. Oils were used extensively in Egyptian burial rituals, often as powerful antibacterial and preservation agent. It is said that the fragrance of these remained until tombs were opened centuries later. . It is thought that the Egyptians invented the word perfume, from the Latin per fumum which means 'through the smoke'.

  • Greek and Roman medicine relied very much on plants and their products with a variety of material doccumenting their use such as . Hippocrates, commonly called the "father of medicine" who used fumigations for both aromatic and medicinal benefit. Discorides wrote a book called De Materia Medica that described the properties of approximately 500 plants.

  • Egyptian medicine flourished into the middle ages and a Persian doctor Avicenna invented the form of steam distillation still used today. European medicine continued to use plants and oils and duuring the 16th century, oils could be purchased at an "apothecary," and many more essential oils were introduced.

  • The use of plants and oils continued throughout the centuries until the development of 'modern' medicine'. The synthetic manufacture of plant components then meant that plants & essential oils were less frequently used medicinally.


Aromatherapy Resources

Five top aromatherapy articles - this is just a small amount of the research and study of essential oils and aromatherapy


The Psychological Aspects of Aromatherapy by Christine Broughan, 2004


Aromatherapy to Combatt MRSA? a report on work carried by Jacqui Stringer from the Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK in 2004.


The Use of Aromatherapy in Recovery from Substance Abuse by Lillian Hardbattle, 2001. Reported by the Federation of Holistic Therapists.


Managing Stress with Aromatherapy by Anne Rastetter Wenzel and Jeralynn Burke, 1999.


The psychophysiological effects of aromatherapy massage following cardiac surgery
Caroline Stevensen BA (Hons), RGN, MRSS, IFA
The Middlesex Hospital Intensive Care Unit, Mortimer Street, London W1N 8AA, UK
Journal of Advanced Nursing


Sensing an improvement: an experimental study to evaluate the use of aromatherapy, massage and periods of rest in an intensive care unit
Article first published online: 28 JUN 2008DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.1995.21010034.x

 
 
Website disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by the AC and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of the AC. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.