Is Aromatherapy Good for Your Health?

Aromatherapy is the skilled and controlled use of essential oils for physical and emotional health and well-being. Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that is gaining a lot of momentum in the industry. This forward thinking way of healing uses volatile plant materials and other compounds will help improve a person's mind, mood, or health. It is used for a variety of applications, including pain relief, enhancement and increased cognitive function. 

Aromatherapy can be defined as the art and science of utilizing naturally extracted aromatic essences from plants to balance, harmonize and promote the health of body, mind and spirit. It's considered an art and science which seeks to explore the physiological, psychological and spiritual realm of the individual's response to aromatic extracts as well as to observe and enhance the individual's innate healing process.  As a holistic practice, Aromatherapy is both a preventative approach as well as an active method to employ during acute and chronic stages of illness or 'disease as defined by http://www.naha.org

Most people looking to get aromatherapy go to alternative medicine doctors. These doctors can be a lot more money that your traditional doctor and your insurance will probably not cover you in this procedure. While some insurance companies have actually recently started covering more alternative medicines aromatherapy is still not one that gets on most coverage plans. If you are looking to get a cheap aromatherapy treatment some places will sell you a do it yourself kit. These can also be bought online and are cheap on most sites.

Some essential oils have shown clinical sign of healing in controlled studies. The tea tress has shown anti-microbial effects. The scientific problem with aromatherapy is the lack of clinical evidence demonstrating efficacy against bacterial, fungal, or viral infections. The problem is that there has not been a lot of studies that have studied medical conditions with aromatherapy used as medicine. 

Some of the benefits that have been linked to aromatherapy include relaxation, and a clear mind the problem seems to be that most people link these benefits to the placebo effect and not actually being the cause of the healing. 

Evidence that aromatherapy can treat medical conditions still remains unclear, but some studies have uncovered that essential oils may have therapeutic potential. 

Not a lot is known about the history of aromatherapy. What we do know is that the Egyptians are given the credit with developing one of the first distillation devices to extract oils from certain plants such as hemp, cedar wood, clove, cinnamon, and barley to name a few.

The actual name  "aromatherapy" first came about in 1937 when a chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse from France created the word after a burn incident spurred his curiosity about the healing power of oils.

When this was discovered that lavender oil helped to cure a burn French surgeon Jean Valnet used essential oils to help heal soldiers' wounds in World War II, proving the first medical benefits of aromatherapy.

The Greeks like they do so much in history have a role in also played a role in aromatherapy. Has Megallus developed a fragrance he called megaleion, which consisted of myrrh.

If you are looking to use an untraditional alternative medicine aromatherapy could be the best option if you are sensitive to other medicines. If you have never tried this alternative medicine you will have to go to a specialist. Your personal family doctor will probably not recommend you to go or be able to give you the treatment.

Overall there seem to be more questions than we have answers to aromatherapy. If you are in need of an alternative medicine that might help you this could before you. Be careful there is still a lot of unknown when it comes to health.   

About the Author

Ryan Mayfield Ryan Mayfield  recently graduated from a local university with his BA in Mass Communication. Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, friends and writing about subjects such as sleep, exercise and health related topics.