Effect of lavender aroma on salivary endocrinological stress markers

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the stress relief effect of lavender aroma by measuring sensitive salivary endocrinological stress markers, cortisol and chromogranin A (CgA). DESIGN: Thirty healthy students performed a serial arithmetic task for 10min and then rested for 10min. During the resting period, 16 students (aroma group) were exposed to airborne organic essential oil of lavender. Saliva samples were collected immediately before and after the arithmetic task, and at 5 and 10min after that. Salivary cortisol and CgA levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: In the aroma group, levels of CgA that had been elevated at the end of the arithmetic task were statistically significantly lower 10min later. The control group showed no such change. During the protocol, no statistically significant changes in levels of cortisol were detected in either the aroma group or the control group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that lavender aroma has a stress relief effect.     

The effectiveness of nurse-delivered aromatherapy in an acute care setting

ObjectiveTo examine the use and effectiveness of essential oil therapeutic interventions on pain, nausea, and anxiety, when provided by nurses to patients in acute hospital settings across a large health system. This study expands upon the limited body of literature on aromatherapy use among inpatients.DesignRetrospective, effectiveness study using data obtained from electronic health records.SettingTen Allina Health hospitals located in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.InterventionsNurse-delivered aromatherapy.Main Outcome MeasuresChange in patient-reported pain, anxiety, and nausea, rated before and after receiving aromatherapy using a numeric rating scale (0–10).ResultsThere were 10,262 hospital admissions during the study time frame in which nurse-delivered aromatherapy was part of patient care. The majority of admissions receiving aromatherapy were females (81.71%) and white (87.32%). Over 75% of all aromatherapy sessions were administered via inhalation. Lavender had the highest absolute frequency (49.5%) of use regardless of mode of administration, followed by ginger (21.2%), sweet marjoram (12.3%), mandarin (9.4%), and combination oils (7.6%). Sweet marjoram resulted in the largest single oil average pain change at −3.31 units (95% CI: −4.28, −2.33), while lavender and sweet marjoram had equivalent average anxiety changes at −2.73 units, and ginger had the largest single oil average change in nausea at −2.02 units (95% CI: −2.55, −1.49).ConclusionsEssential oils generally resulted in significant clinical improvements based on their intended use, although each oil also showed ancillary benefits for other symptoms. Future research should explore use of additional essential oils, modes of administration, and different patient populations.     

Effect of aromatherapy massage with lavender essential oil on pain in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: A randomized controlled clinical trial

BackgroundOsteoarthritis of the knee is the most common chronic joint disease that involves middle aged and elderly people. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy massage with lavender essential oil on pain in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.MethodsIn this single-blinded, randomized clinical trial, 90 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee who referred to the outpatient rheumatology clinics affiliated with Birjand University of Medical Sciences were selected through convenience sampling method. They were randomly assigned to three groups: intervention (aromatherapy massage with lavender essential oil), placebo (massage with almond oil) and control (without massage). The patients were evaluated at baseline, immediately after the intervention, 1 week, and 4 weeks after the intervention in terms of pain via visual analogue scale. The data were analyzed in SPSS (version 16) using the repeated measure ANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and chi-squared test.ResultsPain severity of the patients in the intervention group was significantly different immediately and 1 week after the intervention compared with their initial status (p < 0.001) and that of the control group (p < 0.001 and p = 0.009 respectively). However, at the third phase of follow-up (i.e., 4 weeks after the intervention), there was no significant difference between the groups according to the visual analogue scale (p = 0.67).ConclusionAromatherapy massage with lavender essential oil was found effective in relieving pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. However, further studies are needed to confirm findings of this study.     

Qualitative and quantitative composition of essential oils: A literature-based database on contact allergens used for safety assessment

The risks related to the use of essential oils are difficult to ascertain at present, due in part to the large number of different oils available on the market, making it difficult for the risk assessor. Essential oils may contain skin allergens in significant amounts, and could thus pose a risk to the consumer. The aim of our study was to collect as much qualitative and quantitative data as possible on allergens present in essential oils. 11 types of essential oils, with 25 respective subspecies, were taken into account based on a previous survey. Based on the literature, 517 dosages were recorded from 112 publications, providing precious information for probabilistic exposure assessment purposes. 22 substances recognized as established allergens were found in the essential oils we included. Of these, 11 are also found in cosmetics as fragrance components. These results are of major importance regarding co-exposure to fragrance allergens. Moreover, this could lead to regulatory measures for essential oils in the future, as it is the case for cosmetic products, in order to better protect consumers against skin allergy.     

Aromatherapy for stress reduction in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

The aim of this review was to systematically assess the effectiveness of aromatherapy for stress management. Seven databases were searched from their inception through April 2014. RCTs testing aromatherapy against any type of controls in healthy human person that assessed stress level and cortisol level were considered. Two reviewers independently performed the selection of the studies, data abstraction and validations. The risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane criteria. Five RCTs met our inclusion criteria, and most of them had high risk of bias. Four RCTs tested the effects of aroma inhalation compared with no treatment, no aroma, and no odour oil. The meta-analysis suggested that aroma inhalation has favourable effects on stress management (n = 80; standard mean difference (SMD), −0.96; 95% CI, −1.44 to −0.48; P < 0.0001; I² = 0%). Three of included RCTs tested aroma inhalation on saliva or serum cortisol level compared with control and meta-analysis failed to show significant difference between two groups (n = 88, SMDs −0.62; 95% CIs −1.26 to 0.02, P = 0.06, I² = 46%). In conclusion, there is limited evidence suggesting that aroma inhalation may be effective in controlling stress. However, the number, size and quality of the RCTs are too low to draw firm conclusions.     

Clinical aromatherapy

Essential oils, made out of natural aromatic molecules, are endowed with so many physiological and pharmacological properties that they find applications in almost every field of medicine, not only curatively but also from a preventative medicine point of view. Although the perception of, and reaction to, essential oils seems to be slightly different between women and men, all people of all ages benefit from aromatherapy. Provided that the practitioner has the relevant information and has undergone the appropriate training, and that the aromatic extracts used conform to medical quality criteria, aromatherapy and aromatology can bring real complementary help to many patients, far beyond the anti-stress massage approach.

Aromatherapy can provide a useful complementary medical service both in healthcare settings and in private practice, e.g. in cancer care, dementia, and depression. There are also many indications for the useful and successful application of essential oils, especially for men, such as stress, sleep disorders, back pain, urinary tract infections, rectal abscess, and sexual health.     

Evaluation of the effect of aromatherapy with lavender essential oil on post-tonsillectomy pain in pediatric patients: A randomized controlled trial

Objective

To evaluate the effect of aromatherapy with Lavandula angustifolia essential oil on post-tonsillectomy pain in pediatric patients.

Methods

This was a randomized controlled prospective clinical trial. In this study, 48 post-tonsillectomy patients aged 6–12 years were randomly assigned to two groups (24 patients in each group). After tonsillectomy surgery, all patients received acetaminophen (10–15 mg/kg/dose, PO) every 6 h as necessary to relieve pain. The patients of the case group also inhaled lavender essential oil. The frequencies of daily use of acetaminophen and nocturnal awakening due to pain, and pain intensity (evaluated using visual analog scale [VAS]) were recorded for each patient for 3 days after surgery. Finally, the mean values of variables were compared between two groups separately for each post-operative day.

Results

The use of lavender essential oil caused statistically significant reduction in daily use of acetaminophen in all three post-operative days but had not significant effects on pain intensity and frequency of nocturnal awakening.

Conclusion

Aromatherapy with lavender essential oil decreases the number of required analgesics following tonsillectomy in pediatric patients.     

Evaluating effects of aromatherapy massage on sleep in children with autism: a pilot study

Previous studies have found beneficial effects of aromatherapy massage for agitation in people with dementia, for pain relief and for poor sleep. Children with autism often have sleep difficulties, and it was thought that aromatherapy massage might enable more rapid sleep onset, less sleep disruption and longer sleep duration. Twelve children with autism and learning difficulties (2 girls and 10 boys aged between 12 years 2 months to 15 years 7 months) in a residential school participated in a within subjects repeated measures design: 3 nights when the children were given aromatherapy massage with lavender oil were compared with 14 nights when it was not given. The children were checked every 30 min throughout the night to determine the time taken for the children to settle to sleep, the number of awakenings and the sleep duration. One boy's data were not analyzed owing to lengthy absence. Repeated measures analysis revealed no differences in any of the sleep measures between the nights when the children were given aromatherapy massage and nights when the children were not given aromatherapy massage. The results suggest that the use of aromatherapy massage with lavender oil has no beneficial effect on the sleep patterns of children with autism attending a residential school. It is possible that there are greater effects in the home environment or with longer-term interventions.     

Essential oils as topical anti-infective agents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveThis study summarized evidence on the efficacy and safety of essential oils (EOs) in the treatment of topical infections.Design and settingSystematic review of clinical trials conducted and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guideline. Electronic databases of the Cochrane, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched from inception to November 2018.InterventionEssential oil of any type, standard treatment and placebo.Main outcome measuresOutcomes of the study include total acne count, acne severity index, reduction in total acne surface area, number of non-inflammatory acne lesions and inflammatory acne lesions, microbial cure rate, microbial decolonization rate, and new microbial emergence.ResultsNon-significant but higher proportion of MRSA was cleared in EOs group (69% [95%CI: 34%, 96%]) compared to routine care (45% [95%CI: 36%, 53%]). Essential oils significantly lowered level of new MRSA emergence (9% [95% CI: 5%, 14%], I² = 86.59%) compared to routine care (53% [95%CI: 30%, 75%], I² = 86.59%). Four of the five studies on acne treatment showed equal or superior efficacy of EOs and the remaining one showed inferior efficacy to a control. In treatment of topical fungal infections, efficacy of essential oils were non-inferior compared to a standard treatment but superior to a placebo.ConclusionEssential oils could be considered as alternative treatment for acne, decolonization of MRSA, and topical fungal infections, yet the low quality and heterogeneity among the studies calls for further studies.     

Aromatherapy for test anxiety in chiropractic students:: A feasibility study

ObjectiveUp to 85% of college students experience test anxiety, which may contribute to decreased academic performance. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of recruiting chiropractic students for a randomized trial involving aromatherapy for anxiety reduction.MethodsThis study enrolled chiropractic students who were randomly assigned to separate rooms during a biochemistry test. Waterless diffusers dispersed a lemon and rosemary blend of essential oils in the experimental room and water in the control room. Students completed pretest surveys rating current and general anxiety. Posttest surveys included rating current anxiety. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was preformed to determine within- and between-group differences for current anxiety. Feasibility was the primary aim, and the statistical significance of anxiety test scores between rooms was the secondary aim.ResultsSixty-four students were included in the study. The feasibility of research methods was noted for adherence to the study protocol (informed consent, randomization, and survey distribution and completion) and resource allocation. Design improvements are required in recruitment methods, follow-up surveys, and intervention blinding. ANCOVA for between-group comparisons showed no statistically significant difference between groups'' pre- and posttest anxiety scores (p = .22). Two reported side effects, eye and sinus irritation, could not be attributed to treatment group. Most students were willing to use aromatherapy for test anxiety in the future.ConclusionWe demonstrated feasibility in conducting a randomized study to measure the influence of aromatherapy on test anxiety in chiropractic students. A powered, randomized study is needed to determine if aromatherapy may be effective in reducing test anxiety.