aromatherapy

23 April 2018

Lavender for Anxiety, Stress, and Pain

Lavender has long been one of the most recommended essential oils for migraine and headache conditions. Lavender has a significant effect on the nervous system and brain.

Although many claims are made for lavender, many of the studies have been small, short term, and poorly designed. Researchers have also suggested that the essential oil used in some studies was of questionable quality.

Still, there seems to be ample evidence to suggest that lavender is a good way to fight stress and anxiety. And interestingly enough, lavender also seems to be a great natural pain reliever.

Lavender fields Although some trials have used oral lavender, for now the best way to use it is using an diffuser or vaporizer, or through massage. Another great way to enjoy the benefits of lavender is by putting a few drops into a warm bath.

The University of Science Malaysia is starting a new trial of lavender, based on its benefits for those experiencing “academic stress”. We will see how helpful lavender is to students dealing with exams and paper deadlines. But based on the research done so far, it will probably be a help.

Thankfully, lavender essential oil is very popular, and so readily available. But do make sure you find a good quality brand.

For a large supply of “virgin unrefined” lavender oil, try ArtNaturals theraputic grade essential oil. A little cheaper, but ridiculously popular and well rated, is the Radha Beauty Lavender Essential Oil.

Finally, if you want to start small, try this little bottle from Healing Solutions: Lavender 100% Pure.

For more information:

Aromatherapy headache solutions (some quick aromatherapy tips)
Top 4 Essential Oils for Headaches
Lavender and the Nervous System (in-depth scientific article)

19 January 2015

Why this Essential Oil may help, but won’t ever be popular…

James Discoveries & Stats, Tips, Treatments 1

There is an essential oil that is sometimes used to treat migraine and headache, and yet I don’t think we’ve ever talked about it here.

I was recently reminded of this essential oil because of a report from The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). They reported that this oil was actually effective in easing menstrual pain.

If menstrual pain – could it be used for headache?

Indeed it could – and has been. This oil has been used for a number of conditions related to headache and migraine as well, including anxiety and depression. It can also be used on the skin (many essential oils can’t be used directly on the skin, or must be diluted with other oils. However, it is still wise to either dilute or carefully test this oil first). It’s used to moisten skin and prevent acne, among other things.

So what could possibly be better than an essential oil that could be massaged into the temples, that would help relax you and improve your mood and help your skin, and even fight headache?

And it gets better before it gets worse. This is not an obscure scent – it’s one that has been used for a very long time – in the art of romance. Yes, it may actually be an aphrodisiac.

So what is this amazing treatment we’ve never talked about?

It’s a form of rose oil. In particular, it’s rosa damascena (the Damascus Rose). It’s sold as “100% pure rose otto”.

So why won’t this become a popular migraine treatment? Go and look for yourself – click the link: rose otto essential oil. Go ahead, just take a look.

Yes, that’s 0.12oz – a little over 3.5ml.

For those who didn’t click the link, the key point here is that rose otto oil may be great, but it’s expensive. Very.

Now you do have other options, but the benefit may or may not be there. You can get a diluted version, or a type called rose absolute which is not considered a therapeutic essential oil because of the way it’s extracted. However, these are obviously much cheaper options, so if there’s no way you’re going with rose otto, you could try one of the others (and then ask for rose otto for Valentine’s day).

There are other oils, made from other parts of the rose or other varieties, but they’re a whole different thing.

On the bright side, you obviously don’t need to use a lot of rose otto at a time. Remember, one single drop of this oil was made with about 60 roses!

Though this will never be the next big treatment, some are using it and claiming success. If you’ve tried rose otto (or another rose oil), let us know!

11 September 2012

Peppermint Oil for Headache?

James Discoveries & Stats, Treatments 23

One of the oldest remedies for headache is peppermint oil. In fact, peppermint has been used for medicinally for many things, and studies continue to ascertain how it can be best used.

Peppermint oil has been taken for irritable bowel syndrome, a common complaint of migraineurs. But what about applying the essential oil to the temples – externally?

A small study was one in Germany to see what oils may be best for headache patients. Four different oil combinations were used, and two had results that may be helpful for our purposes:

Peppermint oil and eucalyptus oil: Though this combination didn’t seem to be the best for headache pain, it did had a muscle-relaxing and mental-relaxing effect.
Peppermint oil: Peppermint oil alone did seem to fight the pain of headache.

Both preparations were given in a mix with ethanol.

You’ll be looking for a 100% essential oil if you want to give this a try, such as Aura Cacia Peppermint Pure Essential Oil from Vitacost. Aura Cacia also has Eucalyptus Pure Essential Oil.

Eucalyptus and peppermint are also common ingredients in skin rubs for sore muscles or congestion. I imagine some of these would work well on the temples as well.

Read the study abstract here: Effect of peppermint and eucalyptus oil preparations on neurophysiological and experimental algesimetric headache parameters.
via: Headache News Blog

18 March 2011

Why some People spend good money on Aromatherapy … that isn’t Aromatherapy

James Information, Tips, Treatments 6

Yes, we’re getting scammed. Personally, I think it has a lot to do with the name.

You see, aromatherapy really isn’t just about "aromas". Somewhere along the line, we started thinking that aromatherapy was all about getting nice feeling from a pleasant smell. It’s a misconception that has turned a promising therapy for headache and migraine (and many other things) into a waste of money.

Prepare to be surprised. Do you know how aromatherapy was first discovered? It was the application of an essential oil on a skin burn. Not what you were expecting, was it?

You see, we’re not really talking about nice aromas here. We’re talking about organic changes in the body, biochemical responses, healing… Does the sense of smell play a role? Of course. But that’s not the whole story.

You’ve seen this happen before. Someone says that veggies are good for us (true). So, some big manufacturing plant finds a way to create a product that they still say has "vegetable ingredients", but in reality it’s the farthest thing from broccoli or spinach.

When there’s very little standardization or very few labelling laws, the word aromatherapy has been used and abused. They put it on shampoo, on soap, in little bottles of oil, in your pillow – and the only requirement is that it smells nice to somebody. That is NOT aromatherapy.

Research is saying good things about true aromatherapy. A big area of study today is in the area of anxiety. Take bergamot essential oil, for example. Then there’s lavender for migraine. Or aromatherapy massage for cancer patients with constipation.

Along comes someone with something that smells like lavender, or that contains a wee bit of rosemary, and they sell it as aromatherapy. But it has nothing to do with the research, because it’s not really standardized and not really aromatherapy.

What is it? Aromachology. That’s the way smells effect you. It’s useful, but it’s not aromatherapy. And aromachology is mostly what you find in your local drugstore today (yes, even in some of the fancy little bottles that cost $10).

So then what is aromatherapy? True aromatherapy has to do with natural, plant-derived essential oils.

And that 100% essential oil must be isolated in a certain way. Dr. Brian Lawrence writes:

For an essential oil to be a true essential oil, it must be isolated by physical means only. The physical methods used are distillation (steam, steam/water and water) or expression (also known as cold pressing, a unique feature for citrus peel oils). There is one other method of oil isolation specific to a very limited number of essential oil plants. This is a maceration/distillation. In the process, the plant material is macerated in warm water to release the enzyme-bound essential oil. Examples of oils produced by maceration are onion, garlic, wintergreen, bitter almond, etc.

All right, so I don’t want to waste my money on aromachology – I want to try the real thing. How do I find the real thing?

We’ve recommended certain essential oils here before, you can of course start there. But here are a few useful things to remember:

Do you know anything about the company that makes this product? Is it some importer shipping from an unknown plant in some far country? Is it a familiar, respected brand? Is it just a person with a hobby, or a company who has the means to extract quality oils?
Some manufacturers have information online, or even at the store. Sadly, most don’t. But it’s worth checking.
Be sure that the bottle says 100% pure essential oil. If you can’t find any kind of evidence that it’s real essential oil, it doesn’t matter how cool the bottle looks or how nice it smells. 100% essential oil or nothing. It’s not a guarantee, but a great place to start.
Most quality oils are sold in dark coloured glass bottles. Watch out for the clear ones, or plastic ones – especially if they’ve been on a shelf for who knows how long.

If possible, try to find organic essential oils.

Aromachology is fine, but if you really want to try an aromatherapy treatment, don’t waste your time and money. Go for quality right away, and enjoy the health benefits, not just a nice smell.

Thanks for the reminders from Lifehack and Aromaweb

21 January 2010

1% Thursday: Flowers

James News, Tips 3

This week: Buy yourself some flowers.

… and wait, men, don’t tune me out on this one. This is for you too.

There’s more than one reason why flowers can be therapeutic for someone prone to headaches or migraine attacks. For example, there’s the scent of flowers. Good old fashioned nice smelling 100% natural flowers, whether fresh cut or potted or growing outdoors. We’ve talked a lot about aromatherapy, and I believe you can get a lot of the same benefit from flowers.

Also, as we talked about in The Forgotten Therapy, natural beauty itself has an incredible power that is little appreciated. Sometimes we put beauty in the category of "things we don’t need". That’s a serious mistake – we all need beauty, maybe more than we need some of the pills we take.

This is actually a coincidence, but this post comes at an interesting time – when there’s some debate going on in the UK regarding whether or not to allow flowers in hospital wards. Some of the concerns may be valid (for example flowers in an emergency ward that are just getting in the way), but some seem to be based on bad "science" – the belief that flowers are depleting the room of oxygen, or adding dangerous gases or bacteria. And yet no one can seem to produce any evidence that flowers (or the water they’re in) pose any real risk to the patient.

I’d have to suggest that the real benefits far far outweigh any imagined problems.

But here are a couple tips to help you get the most out of the flowers you’re going to buy this week (you are going to do it, right?):

First, avoid "grocery store" flowers (including potted plants). I know they seem like a great deal, and they’re oh-so-convenient. But in my experience they don’t last nearly as long and don’t compare to the quality of those found in the market or flower shop.

Second, here’s what I do with fresh cut flowers. This will keep the water fresher, and the flowers will last longer. First, re-cut the flower stems at an angle under water. If your flowers came with special "food" from the florist, use that in the water as per instructions. Otherwise, try a vinegar/sugar mix – 3 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar per quart (about 1 litre) of water. I’ve found it makes a big difference.

Now go buy a bouquet of your favourites! (And please, don’t ban flowers from the hospital rooms!)

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!