Aromatherapy Ecdriesbaugh Aromatherapy Is Considered

Aromatherapy Ecdriesbaugh

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is considered non-traditional medicine and falls under "complementary and alternative medicine" also known as CAM. Many CAM therapies such as acupuncture, dietary supplements, reflexology, yoga, massage, chiropractic services, Reiki, and aromatherapy center on the concept of energy in the body (Fowler, Newton 2006). According to Fowler and Newton, nurses have a special role in supporting patients towards wholeness through the practice of CAM, but also stress how important it is to understand all the aspects. These aspects include costs, drug interactions, and the patient's knowledge and understanding of CAM concepts.

CAM is sometimes called mind-body medicine because it is an approach to healing that uses the power of thought and emotions to positively provoke physical health. Because of this approach aromatherapy is not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine; however, the purpose of CAM therapies is to heal and promote wholeness and well-being. Nurses are innate healers. Together with patients, they restore patients' minds and bodies back to health. As a result, both the quality and quantity of patients' years of life can be greater than before. CAM therapies are noninvasive, often cost far less than traditional medical care, and make use of the natural healing abilities of healthcare providers. The use of CAM therapies may be constrained by insurance companies and viewed suspiciously by healthcare providers because of limited research and the fact that CAM therapies seem so different from conventional medicine (Fowler, Newton, 2006).

When essential oils are utilized for curative effects such as during a massage, the practice is called "aromatherapy." In the United States, aromatherapy hasn't gained respect as being medically valid in mainstream culture. Many advertisements abuse the phrase to sell everything from coffee, perfume, dish soap, and laundry soap in the name of "aromatherapy." However, in France aromatherapy has been a highly esteemed practice within the medical field. The term was created in France 1937 by Rene-Maurice Gattefosse who wrote out the medicinal therapeutic uses of essential oils. Many years later, England's Robert Tisserand combined the established medical view with a more holistic approach to healing in the book the Art of Aromatherapy, which helped others to discover the use of essential oils in healing (Milivojevik, 2006).

To investigate essential oils is to discover more than just pleasant aromas. Many aromatherapy experts claim that intensely concentrated plant extracts have the power to heal mind, body, and spirit. According to Schnaubelt, essential oils interact with human biochemistry in ways that science has been able to witness and document. For example, lavender is known for its calming effects. Scientists have noted that essential oil molecules attach to cellular receptors, usually through inhalation or direct contact with the skin, and this stimulates a chemical reaction (Milivojevic, 2006). "When a scent is inhaled, the chemical components within the scent pass through the nostrils to the olfactory bulb and then to the limbic area of the brain. The limbic area of the brain is an inner complex ring of structures below the cerebral cortex that are arranged into 53 regions and 35 associated tracts, including the amygdale and the hippocampus. The amygdale manages our emotional response to an aroma. The memory and recognition of smell takes place in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is also where chemicals in an aroma trigger our unique repository of learned memories..." (Buckle, 2001).

Though there hasn't been much research, and most studies that have been done were small sample sizes, the healing qualities of aromatherapy look very promising. In 2005, Japanese researchers found that aromatherapy massage using lavender-based products reduced anxiety and stress and was helpful to the immune system. It was also noted that patients showed a considerable increase in lymphocytes (protective blood cells), while showing a decrease in depression.