Hi everyone:)
I would like to introduce you to guest blogger Allison Brooks! She has written
a wonderful piece on aromatherapy. Please read the blog below and feel free
to share it with others. To read more of Allison Brooks blogs, please visit the
additional links below.
Wouldn't it be nice to step inside a major medical center and smell the calming
fragrance of lavender or sage instead of the harsh, medicinal hospital odor?
While products containing fragrance oils have been used in shampoos, soaps
and lotions for decades, natural fragrant oils, called essential oils, are now being
used in medical facilities. Certain essential oils are being used in hospitals and
nursing homes are to induce sleep, relieve anxiety and reduce pain.
Susan Shields, the cancer program director at Harris Methodist Hospital in
Fort Worth, TX has seen the values of aromatherapy and has begun to use
them in her facility. Shields uses essential oils in aromatherapy with cancer
patients to help reduce anxiety and situational depression by massaging
several soothing oils, along with carrier oil, into the patient's hands and feet.
Pure essential oils contain chemicals that can affect the patients' physiology
and induce responses that can reduce inflammation, improve circulation
and even affect mood.
Other cancer and integrative treatment centers are following in Shields
footstep. Some places even require weekly massages with essential oils
for patients with aggressive cancers, like pancreatic or mesothelioma cancer.
Since these cancers require heavy treatment plans, aromatherapy-massages
can aid in healing and survivability.
Many patients--and their loved ones--experience anxiety when in a hospital
setting. Pain, the fear of pain, and the unknown can all cause an increase in
adrenalin and other "fight-or-flight" hormones and chemicals. These chemicals
can cause an increase in heart rate, breathing and muscle tension and can hinder
the healing process.
When essential oils are used to decrease a patient's anxiety, the body is free to
release healing chemicals, use energy to repair cells, and allow the patient to rest.
The fact that essential oils release their fragrance into the air can also affect the
nursing staff and a patient's visitors, whose anxiety can negatively affect the
patient. The chemicals in the oils are not only benefiting the patient through
dermal absorption, but their visitors through inhalation.
Many practitioners have found that aromatherapy can help alleviate pain in
some patients. If pain is caused by an inflammatory response, some
anti-inflammatory essential oils can help reduce the inflammation in the skin,
joints and muscles. Rosemary, chamomile, lavender, peppermint and white
camphor have chemical properties that can help reduce pain an inflammation.
Always mix essential oils with carrier oil, such as olive or jojoba, before
applying to the skin.
Because the sense of smell is directly connected to the limbic system, an
area of the brain where emotions are stored, just the scent of a hospital
can cause fear and anxiety. When hospitals and other therapeutic centers
use essential oils, comforting, familiar smells, like roses or cinnamon, can
enable a patient to feel less anxiety and stress, which can encourage the
healing process.
Additonal work by Allison Brooks:
http://liveloveyoga.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/the-proven-abilities-of-mind-body-therapies/
http://neemyd.blogspot.com/2012/01/laugh-day-will-keep-side-effects-away.html
http://mrdavidemmanuelnoel.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/allison-brooks-the-use-of-colour-therapy/
http://progressivebuddhism.blogspot.com/2011/12/mantra-meditation.html
http://curiousmindmusings.blogspot.com/
I would like to introduce you to guest blogger Allison Brooks! She has written
a wonderful piece on aromatherapy. Please read the blog below and feel free
to share it with others. To read more of Allison Brooks blogs, please visit the
additional links below.
Wouldn't it be nice to step inside a major medical center and smell the calming
fragrance of lavender or sage instead of the harsh, medicinal hospital odor?
While products containing fragrance oils have been used in shampoos, soaps
and lotions for decades, natural fragrant oils, called essential oils, are now being
used in medical facilities. Certain essential oils are being used in hospitals and
nursing homes are to induce sleep, relieve anxiety and reduce pain.
Susan Shields, the cancer program director at Harris Methodist Hospital in
Fort Worth, TX has seen the values of aromatherapy and has begun to use
them in her facility. Shields uses essential oils in aromatherapy with cancer
patients to help reduce anxiety and situational depression by massaging
several soothing oils, along with carrier oil, into the patient's hands and feet.
Pure essential oils contain chemicals that can affect the patients' physiology
and induce responses that can reduce inflammation, improve circulation
and even affect mood.
Other cancer and integrative treatment centers are following in Shields
footstep. Some places even require weekly massages with essential oils
for patients with aggressive cancers, like pancreatic or mesothelioma cancer.
Since these cancers require heavy treatment plans, aromatherapy-massages
can aid in healing and survivability.
Many patients--and their loved ones--experience anxiety when in a hospital
setting. Pain, the fear of pain, and the unknown can all cause an increase in
adrenalin and other "fight-or-flight" hormones and chemicals. These chemicals
can cause an increase in heart rate, breathing and muscle tension and can hinder
the healing process.
When essential oils are used to decrease a patient's anxiety, the body is free to
release healing chemicals, use energy to repair cells, and allow the patient to rest.
The fact that essential oils release their fragrance into the air can also affect the
nursing staff and a patient's visitors, whose anxiety can negatively affect the
patient. The chemicals in the oils are not only benefiting the patient through
dermal absorption, but their visitors through inhalation.
Many practitioners have found that aromatherapy can help alleviate pain in
some patients. If pain is caused by an inflammatory response, some
anti-inflammatory essential oils can help reduce the inflammation in the skin,
joints and muscles. Rosemary, chamomile, lavender, peppermint and white
camphor have chemical properties that can help reduce pain an inflammation.
Always mix essential oils with carrier oil, such as olive or jojoba, before
applying to the skin.
Because the sense of smell is directly connected to the limbic system, an
area of the brain where emotions are stored, just the scent of a hospital
can cause fear and anxiety. When hospitals and other therapeutic centers
use essential oils, comforting, familiar smells, like roses or cinnamon, can
enable a patient to feel less anxiety and stress, which can encourage the
healing process.
Additonal work by Allison Brooks:
http://liveloveyoga.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/the-proven-abilities-of-mind-body-therapies/
http://neemyd.blogspot.com/2012/01/laugh-day-will-keep-side-effects-away.html
http://mrdavidemmanuelnoel.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/allison-brooks-the-use-of-colour-therapy/
http://progressivebuddhism.blogspot.com/2011/12/mantra-meditation.html
http://curiousmindmusings.blogspot.com/
