Aromatherapy Essay, Research Paper
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a ?branch? of herbal medicine that centers on using fragrant
substances, particularly oily plant extracts, to alter mood or improve individuals?
health or appearance. The alleged benefits of aromatherapy range from stress
relief to enhancement of immunity and the unlocking of ?emotions from past
experiences.? But skeptics cite a lack of credible supportive studies published in
reputable scientific or medical journals.
Scents of Well-Being?
?Aromatherapy? is a buzzword used by the cosmetics, fragrance, and
alternative-medicine industries. Although the method has ancient roots,
proponents did not call it ?aromatherapy? before the 1930s. This expression
derives from the French word aromatherapie, coined by Rene Maurice
Gattefosse, a chemist whose book of the same name was published in 1928.
After a lab explosion Gattefosse conveniently plunged his badly burned hand into
a vat of lavender oil. He noticed how well it healed, and thus began the
development of modern aromatherapy, which French homeopaths Dr. and Mme.
Maury revived in the 1960s.
Proponents of aromatherapy maintain that the tools of the trade–wood-resin
distillates and flower, leaf, stalk, root, grass, and fruit extracts–contain
antibiotics, antiseptics, hormones, and vitamins. Some proponents have
characterized essential oils–i.e., oils that are volatile, aromatic, and
flammable–as the soul or spirit of plants. Indeed, one of the aromatherapy?s
premises is that essential oils have a ?spiritual dimension? and can restore
?balance? and ?harmony? to one?s body and to one?s life. One of its principles,
the ?doctrine of signatures,? holds that a plant?s visible and olfactory
characteristics reveal its ?secret? qualities. For example, because the
configuration of the violet suggests shyness, proponents hold that the scent of
violets engenders calmness and modesty.
Aromatherapy en-compasses topical applications of essential oils, bathing in
water to which essential oils have been added, sniffing essential oils, and even
ingesting them. Products marketed under the ?aromatherapy? umbrella are
legion, including shaving gels, aftershaves, facial cleansers, bath salts, bath
soaps, shower gels, shampoos, hair conditioners, ?body masks,? moisturizers,
sunscreen preparations, lipsticks, deodorants, candles, lamps, diffusers, pottery,
massage oils, massage devices, and jewelry.
?the most common aromatherapy field is aesthetic, the sense of well-being
derived from enjoying perfumes, scented candles, baths, and other fragrances,?
stated Jane Buckle, R.N.,M.A., who claims the world?s first master?s degree in
clinical aromatherapy, from Middlesex University in London. At the opposite end
of the spectrum, says Buckle, ?is medical aromatherapy, also know as aromatic
medicine. Practitioners of medical aromatherapy include massage therapists,
naturopaths, nurses, and a smattering of medical doctors.?
The alleged beneficial effects of aromatherapy are numerous. Supporters claim,
for example, that essential oils from lavender or peppermint clears ?negative
energy?; that essential oil from bergamot normalizes emotions; that essential oils
from roses or sandalwood increases confidence; that essential oils from
eucalyptus alleviates sorrow; and that patchouli creates a desire for peace.
Essential oils can have side effects, however, and even proponents warn about
risks. Essential oils from cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger can burn the
skin; ingestion of essential oils from pennyroyal can cause miscarriage.
Rapheal d?Angelo, M.D., is a Colorado family practitioner who began
incorporating aromatherapy into his practice over two years ago. D?Angelo uses
eucalyptus oil and peppermint oil adjunctively in treating respiratory disease. He
alludes to ?studies indicating these oils not only have soothing properties, but
reduce mucous production, as well as possessing antiviral and antibacterial
properties.? But these studies, he adds, ?were conducted in Europe, and the
degree of scrutiny and peer review they underwent was not necessarily as high
as the usual degree of such in the United States.?
Can You Trust Your Aromatherapist?
Outside the U.S. aromatherapy is widely accepted. In France, medical students
are taught how to prescribe essential oils; in Britain, hospital nurses use
aromatherapy to treat patients suffering anxiety and depression and to make
terminal-care patients more comfortable.
But the science behind aromatherapy is meager, and in the United States no
legal standards exist concerning education in aromatherapy, certification therein,
or the occupational practice of aromatherapy. Dr. d?Angelo is taking courses
offered by the Australasian College of Herbal Studies, a nonaccredited
correspondence school in Oregon who six-lesson aromatherapy course leads to a
?Certificate in Aromatherpy.? The school also offers certificate courses in
homeopathy; Homeobotanical Therapy, which centers on the use of botanical
tinctures that purportedly have been prepared homeopathically; and
iridology—so-called iris diagnosis. According to Dorene Peterson, the school?s
principle: ?In the last 18 months, we?ve had a seventy-five percent increase in
aromatherapy students.? Peterson holds a ?Diploma in Acupuncture? (?Dip
ACU?) and two degrees: a baccalaureate and a ?Diploma in Natural
Therapeutics? (?DNT?) from New Zealand. She says her school has 400
enrollees, ranging from age 18 to 68 and including ?professionals adjuncting an
existing career?: medical doctors, registered nurses, licensed massage
therapists, and some radiologists. Other students are planning on jobs in beauty
salons, in health food stores, and in the fragrance industry.
The American Aromatherapy Association, also nonaccredited and in Oregon,
offers certification based on attendance at two three-day meetings and
submission of a paper that includes case histories. The association?s courses
covers the use of essential oils as internal remedies. Another nonaccredited
organization, the International Association of Aromatherapists, offers an
11-month correspondence course leading to certification as an ?Aromatherapist
Practitioner.?
Business Stinks?
As director of his Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, in
Chicago, neurologist and psychiatrist Alan Hirsch, M.D., specializes in treating
people with smell disorders. His passion, however, is investigating how odors
affect behavior. Hirsch’s most attention-getting study focused on whether an
odor could affect weight. Hirsch had noticed that, after losing the sense of smell,
people’s weight increased. He theorized that people would eat less if they were
subject to odors more often. For the study, 3,193 people were given an inhaler
that imparted an odor somewhat reminiscent of corn chips. At the outset of the
study the subjects’ average weight was 217 pounds; some subjects weighed
nearly 600 pounds. Hirsch found that the more often the subjects sniffed the
odor, the more weight they lost. The average weight loss over six months was
30 pounds. Some subjects sniffed the odor more than 200 times daily and lost
more than 100 pounds.
Most researchers are skeptical of Hirsch’s work. They complain that he doesn’t
publish in respected scientific journals, that his studies therefore do not undergo
rigorous peer review, and that his experiments are not well controlled. Hirsch
concedes: “At this point, I wouldn’t use aromatherapy myself, as a physician to
deal with disease. I don’t think we’re there yet. If I saw a physician using
aromatherapy, rather than tranquilizers, I’d say that’s inappropriate at this
point.” But Hirsch predicts that by 2010 aromatherapy will be a part of
mainstream medicine. “In the future, odors may be used to diagnose disease,”
he says. “If we ever find the odor associated with the greatest impairment, we
could potentially use that to diagnose the recurrence of disease.”
Hirsch also describes more mundane purposes: “Maybe ten minutes before you
wake up in the morning, the alarm clock will spray a scent to make you more
alert. You’ll go to the kitchen, where an odor will be released to increase or
suppress your appetite. Your office may be scented to make you more
productive.” And at bedtime? “An aroma,” he replies, “to make you sleepy?or
more amorous.”
Observes principal Dorene Peterson of the Australasian College of Herbal
Studies: “There is a philosophical difference between hard science and the
approach that believes there’s vibrational energy that’s part of the healing
process. Alternative medicine is offered now in quite a number of medical
schools. I think a lot of hard-core scientists and doctors who have been trained
in that data-oriented scientific approach are realizing there’s more to heaven and
earth than we really know about.” Still, Peterson admits that empirical evidence
is necessary for widespread acceptance:
This is such a new area that there are a lot of studies at this point that
aren’t reproducible. Even though there’s been some interesting work done
in Japan and Germany, it’s one thing to get results once. But it doesn’t
appear that researchers have been able to duplicate these results again.
While I believe there’s a scientific basis for aromatherapy, and enough
basis to show that physiological reactions occur in the body when
individuals inhale certain fragrances, there’s also a tremendous range of
subjective reasons for reactions. For instance, If someone’s had a
negative experience with fragrances in the past, and it’s caused anxiety,
that person will react negatively, even though other people may react
positively.
Smell the Roses
Generally, insofar as odors and topical essential-oil preparations are pleasurable,
they are healthful. Consumers don’t need to be told what smells good. And
which odors evoke pleasant thoughts in an individual is knowable only
personally. But consumers ought to be told what’s risky and what’s unfounded.
Aromatherapists and marketers of aromatherapy products do not seem reliable
sources of such information. Popular and higher-education acceptance of a
method is not evidence that the method has therapeutic utility. As a health
system, aromatherapy is largely unsubstantiated.
Sniffing Out Aromatherapy
Noted herbal-medicine expert Varro Tyler, Ph.D, Sc.D., an ACSH Advisor, states
that the cons of aromatherapy “far outnumber” the pros. He cites “the problem
created by different definitions of aromatherapy.” He also cites the confusing of
aromatherapy?whose focus is health improvement?with aromacology, whose
focus is mood alteration. The descriptions below illustrate the definition problem.
aroma-spa therapy: Subject of a textbook of the same name (Anessence Inc.,
1996), by massage therapist Anne Roebuck, of Toronto, Canada. Apparently,
aroma-spa therapy is the practice of aromatherapy as a part of spa therapy,
which Roebuck describes in the introduction as “therapeutic face and body
treatments at a spa location.”
aroma-tology: Form of aromatherapy that includes using essential oils to
“re-form” character and to enhance spirituality. Prof. William Arnold-Taylor, an
Aromatherapist, coined the name “aroma-tology” in 1981.
cosmetic aromatherapy: Topical use of skin- and hair-care products that
contain essential oils.
magical aromatherapy: Offshoot of aromatherapy expounded by author Scott
Cunningham (1956-1993) and distinguished by the following attributes. (a)
Self-administration is preferable. (b) Aims need not relate to health. (c)
Visualization of a needed change accompanies inhalation of a scent. (d)
“Bioelectrical energy,” which Cunningham described as “non-physical” and
“natural,” merges with the scent and is programmable by visualization.
massage aromatherapy: Application during a massage therapy session of a
vegetable oil to which an essential oil has been added. Massage alone will tone
flaccid muscles, reduce muscle spasm and improve circulation. It has also been
demonstrated that massage releases endorphins-the body’s natural pain killers2.
The experience of massage can be either stimulating or calming depending on
the techniques used. There are contra-indications to massage, for instance
people being given anti-coagulant drugs (massage causes haemodilution).
Therefore some basic training is essential for anyone massaging people suffering
from medical conditions.
olfactory aromatherapy: Direct or indirect inhalation of essential oils.
Olfactory aromatherapy allegedly unlocks “odor memories” and encourages
realignment of “natural forces” within the body.
phytoaromatherapy: Form of aromatherapy that uses essential oils and
purportedly acts simultaneously on four human “features”: physical, emotional,
mental, and spiritual.
Subtle Aromatherapy: Form of vibrational healing (vibrational medicine)
expounded by Patricia Davis in her 1991 book of the same name. Subtle
Aromatherapy is any use of essential oils with the purported aim of: (a) healing
the “physical body” by affecting the “subtle body” (”energetic body”), or (b)
contributing to personal and spiritual growth.
Using Essential Oils
Essential oils are concentrated extracts that may come from various parts of a
plant, including the blossoms, roots or leaves. Most are volatile, which means
they readily evaporate. This makes them easy for us to smell; it also means they
can be flammable. Because they are so concentrated, essential oils typically
need to be diluted before use. They may be used singly, or some may be used in
combination to produce complementary effects.
In aromatherapy, essential oils are used in two ways: They are inhaled through
the nose or applied to the skin. When inhaled through the nose, the aromatic
molecules of the essential oils are thought to stimulate the olfactory nerve,
sending messages to the brain?s limbic system. The limbic system is the part of
the brain that controls memory and emotion. Researchers believe that when the
limbic system is stimulated, it can affect the nervous, endocrine and immune
systems.
Inhalation of essential oils also can impact the respiratory system directly. For
instance, some oils from the eucalyptus plant can help clear the sinuses and
respiratory tract and, thereby, help fight respiratory .
When applied to the skin, essential oils are absorbed into the body. Some oils
have physical effects, such as relieving swelling or fighting fungal infections.
Others are used primarily for their emotional value, to promote relaxation or
generate a positive or soothing feeling.
Inhaling Essential Oils
The simplest way to inhale an essential oil is to sniff the undiluted oil itself. (You
should not get the liquid into your nose; rather, sniff the air above the oil, as you
might when checking the scent of a perfume.) There are many other ways to
inhale essential oils, including the following:
Sniff a mixture that contains oil, such as a perfume, lotion or bubble bath.
Spray the oil into the air. For instance, add a few drops of oil to a spray
bottle of water, then use the spray as an air freshener.
Disperse the oil with a diffuser, which heats water, typically using a light
bulb, a candle or a stove burner. When you add a few drops of essential
oil to the water, the heat causes molecules of the oil to enter the air,
scenting it.
Add a drop of oil to your pillowcase so you?ll smell the oil as you sleep.
Burn a candle scented with an essential oil.
Applying Oils to Your Skin
To apply essential oil to your skin, always dilute the essential oil first, such as in
a carrier oil. Use a pure, unperfumed vegetable oil, such as soybean oil or
almond oil, as your carrier oil. (Chemicals in synthetic oils may interfere with the
properties of your essential oil and with your body?s absorption of the oil.) The
scented carrier oil then can be massaged into the skin. You also can apply
essential oils to your skin using these methods:
Mix the oil with warm water, soak a cloth in the water, then apply the
cloth as a compress.
Add oil to a warm bath and soak for at least 15 minutes.
Add oil to an unperfumed, vegetable-based lotion or cream to rub into
your skin. (As with carrier oils, do not use a synthetic product or a
product that already is perfumed.)