Aromatherapy: An Overview

Aromatherapy, as the term implies, is treating with fragrant oils. It is considered an alternative medicine that uses aromatic plant oils and other fragrant, natural products for healing and psychological wellbeing.A number of studies have conclusively proven that use of aromatherapy can help alleviate stress, cure insomnia, headache and much more.Some lab studies have shown that certain essential oils have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, calming as well as energizing effects.

The principal reason why aromatherapy is not as widely popular in the medical fraternity is because the exactly how it works in now well understood.In theory though, proponents believe that aromatherapy works by sending chemical messages to certain parts of the brain and bring about different results.Smells are also known to trigger memories and cause changes in one’s mood. This is attributed to the same mechanism as that causes essentials oils to trigger release of chemicals.

Aromatherapy is believed to have been around for millennia.It is historically linked to the burning of aromatic plants in old religious rites, and the use of aromatic oil as infusions and unguents as mentioned in the Bible and ancient Greek and Egyptian texts.The contemporary applications of aromatherapy and its elevation into a complementary form of medicine is attributed greatly to Rene Gatafosse, a French chemist and perfumer.the very term “aromatherapy” was coined by him, he even wrote a book with the same title.In his magnum opus he proposed the use of aromatic plant oils for healing, although the evidence on which he based his theory is by no means sound by modern scientific standards.

The use of fragrant essential oils for medicinal purposes only became popular in the western world and in US only after the 1980s.Attesting to its popularity is the large body of literature that has been made about the effects of scents to the human brain as well as emotions.

Insomnia, muscle crams, nausea etc. are treated using essential oils of which rosemary, lavender and peppermint are the popular ones.These oils are hardly used in their concentrated forms, they are diluted for topical use.Some aromatherapists blend therapeutic essential oils especially for an individual and may administer it through inhalation or water immersion in order to bring about desired health benefits.




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