Aromatherapy Fact Or Fiction

Aromatherapy – Fact or Fiction?

Over the course of the past few decades, we have been bombarded by claims from various sources that aromatherapy will unlock the senses, relieve stress, and in a way, offer a physical touch of “holistic” medicine. As researchers have come together to study the most common fragrances such as peppermint, bergamot, lavender, and basil, the facts are interesting compared to the tales that float about us in the air.

One look on the internet and you can easily find stories of people exclaiming that they were able to “cure” themselves by breathing in nature’s remedies. In a recent article put out on June 13th of this year, scientists were able to test the affects of aromatherapy in patients while they received radiotherapy. Their purpose was to find whether or not such practices would reduce anxiety of the patient while undergoing the procedure. Out of 313 people, groups were exposed to either carrier oil

(used in moisturizing the skin) or pure essential oils of cedarwood, bergamot, or lavender. During the experiment, they tested the overall anxiety of the patients as well as a psychological analysis using two widely used clinical systems (Graham). When the results were in, neither scale had shown any significant difference although carrier oil did prove to lower the anxiety somewhat. This study showed, therefore, that aromatherapy was not a helpful mean to relieve the stress of a patient.

In a similar experiment, a Canadian scientist performed a randomized trial of aromatherapy to see if it reduced the preoperative anxiety before an abortion took place. Out of 66 women waiting for the procedure, the women either sniffed a container containing either a mixture of essential oils including vetivert, bergamot, geranium, or hair conditioner (placebo).

Using a verbal stress test, the women tested before and after the introduction of the test showed no great difference between the two smells

(Wiebe). As a matter of fact, the hair conditioner came out a bit further ahead, suggesting that essential oil aromatherapy is no more beneficial than smelling any pleasant aroma.

To further their study, scientists have been testing the perceived fragrance oils in relation to the type of work in which the person is engaged.

A sensory test was employed in which the perception of fragrance was measured before and after each type of work: mental, physical, and hearing sounds. It was concluded that since the person’s perception of the smell changed before and after each activity, the scent is subjective to what the mind is undertaking at the time. In testing the effects of basil and peppermint in another study, it proved that while basil raised the fingertip temperature, peppermint tended to decrease the magnitude of beta waves and thus, decrease the temperature of the fingertips (Sugawara). To find such an occurrence, especially within the same experiment is highly important and will prove to be of great use in the science of chemoreception.

No other great change was noted.

The implications of these findings for health education are far- reaching. With so many people advertising the glorious effects of aromatherapy, people have begun to put their trust in yet another dead-end road. Using this newly-acquired information, I would educate the public that while scents and essential oils may provide a pleasant effect to the senses, they should not rely on that completely as their main source of comfort.

Since there is no proof stating that this should serve as a medical mean of relief, I would mention that it is mainly a product of psychology and has no substantial evidence to support it. I was surprised by the results of the first two experiments because I had always thought that it was the expensive oils that would give the greatest effect. From not only a health precaution perspective but also a consumer warning, I would try to tell them that any pleasant scent will spark the same if not more of a positive neurological response. If people insisted that indeed aromatherapy works for them, I would make suggestions as to what they should use in order to get the best response. For example, right after arduous work, cypress would be a much better choice than orange, and juniper during mental labor will appear much more appealing. Although there will always be rumors to float about, I would hope that I could shed some light on this often misunderstood element in our society.

Courtney Collingridge September 23, 2003 The History of Health Education Course; BYU

References

Graham PH, Browne L., Cox H., Graham J. “Inhalation Aromatherapy during Radiotherapy: Results of a placebo- controlled double blind randomized trial.” PMIDL12805340, J Clin Oncol., June 15, 2003.

Wiebe, E. “A Randomized Trial of Aromatherapy to Reduce Anxiety before Abortion.” PMIS:11183431, University of British Columbia, July-Aug. 2002. Sugawara, Hino, Kawasaki, Tamuara. “Alteration of Perceived Fragrance of Essential Oils in Relation to Type of Work: A Simple Screening Test of Efficacy of Aroma.” Hiroshima Prefectural Women’s University. Jan. 2002.

Sugawara. “Effects on Humans Elicted by Inhaling the Fragrance Essential Oils.” Hiroshima Prefectural Women’s University. March 2003.