Aromatherapy

Begin Aromatherapy

What is Aromatherapy?

Treating illness with highly concentrated oils extracted from plants is known as Aromatherapy. These highly scented extracts – called essences or essential oils – contain the substances that give plants their smell. Aroma therapists believe that many of these essences also possess medicinal properties.

Who can aromatherapy help?

Practitioners believe that aromatherapy is free from side effects and suitable for people of all ages, even babies. The therapy is thought to be most helpful in treating long-term conditions, or a recurring illness. Therapists claim particular success in treating patients that orthodox medicine has been unable to help, or who are continually in and out of hospital, sometimes with extra problems caused by the side effects of drugs.

Aroma therapists claim that they can treat almost all illnesses, and often see immediate improvement in nervous problems such as depression, anger, stress and related symptoms such as headaches and insomnia.

An orthodox view

Doctors and nurses are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of aromatherapy, and many hospitals now offer it as an additional treatment.

Scientists have proved the medicinal properties of many plants, and have accepted that these properties are present in many aromatherapy oils. Research has shown that the scent of the oils affects the cells in the nose that send messages to the brain, and that the oils can, indeed, penetrate the skin.

Little more is known about how aromatherapy works, but research is in progress at a number of universities and hospitals in many parts of the world.

The past – a brief history

Nobody knows exactly when and where the ancient healing art of aromatherapy began. Records relating to the medicinal use of plant oils appear in some of the earliest of Chinese writings. The ancient Persians, too, valued flower-waters, distilled from roses and orange blossom, and used them both as cosmetics and as remedies for sickness.

Chinese knowledge of medicinal oils is thought to have reached the West by way of the Greeks and Romans, but the first recorded use of plant oils in Britain was in the 13th century. From then on, manufacture increased and the oils became widely used as perfumes, antiseptics and medicines. The 19th century saw the manufacture of cheap chemical copies of the oils, but these did not have the same medicinal properties and almost ended the therapeutic use of natural oils.

The early 20th century saw a revival of interest in natural treatments, and with it an increasing demand for genuine plant oils. The pioneer of their use in modern medicine was a French chemist, Professor René Gattefosse who accidentally discovered the healing power of lavender essence when he plunged his hand into it after receiving a bad burn. After a short time, the burn had healed without forming a blister or leaving a scar.

Gattefosse went on to treat soldiers wounded in the First World War and, in the process, discovered many other healing oils. Later, a French physician, Dr Jean Valnet, and Marguerite Maury, a French biochemist and beautician, built considerably on his work. Valnet used essential oils in the treatment of cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes and other serious illnesses, and claimed many successful cures. Marguerite Maury developed techniques such as massage and various beauty and skin-care treatments using essential oils.

The future – interesting research