International Journal of Aromatherapy最新文献

Otitis media (OM) or middle ear infection is a common condition in children and infants and can manifest from birth, with the peak incidence of infections occurring in children aged 3–18 months. The standard allopathic medical approach is prescription of antibiotics, although the most common causes of otitis are bacteria which frequently show resistance to several types of antibiotics.

The wholistic treatment of otitis in children is an important option as the use of essential oils for treating OM is fast, effective and usually elicits a long-term or permanent remission and the treatment protocol is easy to manage requiring no special skills on the part of the care-giver. Moreover, if we consider that antibiotic resistant bacteria could be the cause of the infection, it makes sense from a health perspective to use alternative treatments before, or along with, allopathic treatment with pharmaceutical antibiotics or other methods.

Hepatitis B and C constitute an important problem for public health. Currently in France, the prevalence of hepatitis C (HCV) is estimated at 1.1% (approximately 500,000 people 80% of which are viraemic). Its worldwide prevalence is 3%. The prevalence of hepatitis B (HBV) is between 0.2% and 0.5% (at least 100,000 people). 85–90% of persons with HCV go onto develop chronic hepatitis whereas for HBV, this is only 5–10% in immunocompetent carriers.

For HCV, the current treatment is bitherapy with interferon pegyl alpha-2a or alpha-2b (IFN-α) and ribavirin. This leads to eradication of the virus in almost 85% of patients infected with genotype 2 or 3 and only 50% in those with genotype 1. Negative side effects of treatment are common.

For HBV, allopathic treatments rely on IFN-α and nucleoside analogues such as lamivudine and adefovir. The objectives of treatment are to render the virus non-infective rather than lead to virus eradication.

This study was conducted on 60 patients that were chronic carriers of hepatitis B or C (50 HCV and 10 HBV). 42 women and 8 men were recruited between the ages of 12 and 75 years. Essential oils such as ravintsara, Labrador tea, carrot seed, thyme ct thujanol, laurel, niaouli and helichrysum were used orally either in monotherapy or as a complement to allopathic treatment. In patients with HCV treated with bitherapy and essential oils, tolerance and response to treatment was improved (80% good tolerance and 100% complete response especially for genotype 1). For patients with HCV treated with monotherapy (essential oils), an improvement in hepatitis was noted in 64% of cases. For HBV, two cures were obtained with essential oils in monotherapy.

Treatment with essential oils may thus offer treatment opportunities either in monotherapy or as complements to allopathic interventions.

For many years, aromatherapists have largely ignored psychological factors that may be involved in, and play a part in their discipline. One possible explanation for this is that they feared they would add fuel to the already critical and disapproving attitude of the general medical profession that aromatherapy is just a pleasant experience at best, or, at worst, a scam [Vickers A. Massage and aromatherapy: a guide for health professionals. London: Nelson Thornes; 1998]. However, for a long time, medical professions have been content to admit that psychological effects, or what is commonly termed ‘the placebo effect’, play a large part in the effectiveness of the administration of drugs and even surgery.

Directors of care and aromatherapy care planners from 28 residential aged care facilities were surveyed about their practices and perceptions of aromatherapy in their facility. A total of 1032 (59%) residents in these facilities received aromatherapy, with 47% receiving daily treatments. The treatments were applied by assistants in nursing in most facilities, with activities officers and registered nurses also applying the treatments. The one essential oil used by all facilities was lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) followed by most facilities using tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), geranium (Pelargonium graveolens), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) and bergamot (Citrus bergamia). Commercial blends were used by 15/28 facilities. The choice of individual essential oils and blends suggests that aromatherapy is considered effective for both behavioural/psychological symptoms and physical ailments like arthritic pain. Nearly all facilities used foot baths and hand, foot, limb and neck-and-shoulders massage. The average monthly cost of materials per person was AUD 4.50. Directors of care also perceived that aromatherapy moderately reduces the amount of pharmaceuticals used. The main types of pharmaceuticals perceived to be reduced by aromatherapy were sedatives and analgesics.

Considering all these findings, it appears as though aromatherapy is being used extensively in aged care facilities to manage symptoms of dementia and age-related physical discomfort. It is clear from this survey however, that further research is required to determine a ‘best practice’ for aromatherapy in dementia and aged care.

Self medication with essential oils has become a popular phenomenon triggering considerable debate as to its merits. As the large number of components of essential oils can simultaneously interact with multiple physiological target systems, conventional pharmacological experimentation is difficult. Nonetheless valuable properties of essential oils have been established experimentally or empirically. Examples include Lavandula angustifolia (anti-inflammatory), Helichrysum italicum (anti-haematoma), Pinus sylvestris (adrenal cortex stimulant), Vitex agnus castus (oestrogen progesterone equilibrant) and Tanacetum annuum (anti-histamine).

Employing domestically available essential oils could help developing nations to substitute them for expensive imported drugs. Hence, novel approaches to determine physiological activity of essential oils will be presented. Combining Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) viewpoints with those of biology emphasizes hitherto under represented characteristics of essential oils.

• (1)

  Variability: essential oils are lipophilic, low molecular products of the secondary metabolism. As such their compositions continuously vary among populations and with the plant’s responses to environment and competing organisms. Instead of attempting standardization, models are suggested to utilize this dynamic phenomenon.

• (2)

  Sensory perception: humans construct their reality based on the information perceived through the senses. Co-evolution between plants and mammals gives specific qualities to the interaction of plant essential oils with mammalian chemical senses. Models are sought to exploit these often highly beneficial processes.

• (3)

  TCM contends that essential oils resonate with yuan qi (source qi): suggestions are presented to utilize this concept, which finds a counterpart in recent research demonstrating that terpenoids interact with transcription and post translational modification, as well as enzyme regulation.

This study was designed to determine the effect of inhalation of fragrances on the sensation of pricking pain by measuring autonomic responses. Electrical stimulation was applied to the antebrachium or brachium of subjects to stimulate a pricking pain and skin blood flow (BF) and skin conductance level (SCL) at the finger-tip were measured. Subjective pain sensation was evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale. Pain stimulation produced a significant increase in SCL and a significant decrease in BF at both the antebrachium and brachium. Application of cold to the stimulation site using an ice-water pack reduced BF and SCL responses and subjective pain sensation. Application of heat with a hot water bottle caused a significant increase in pain sensation and enhancement of BF and SCL responses. The inhalation of favourite fragrances tended to decrease SCL and BF responses, but only the SCL response in the antebrachium decreased to a significant degree. These results suggest that inhaling fragrance has an effect in the relief of pricking pain sensation and the suppression of autonomic responses, although it is weaker than the effect found with the application of cold. It is possible that aromatherapy may have more palliative effect on chronic rather than pricking pain.