By Sangita Maharjan RN

Aromatherapy
 Holistic treatment based on the external
use of essential aromatic plant oils to
maintain and promote physical,
physiological, and spiritual well being.
 a part of herbal medicine and one of the
fastest growing field in alternative
medicine.
 Used for the relief of pain, reduce anxiety,
and promote relaxation.
 The History of Aromatherapy

 Nearly 6000 years old

 used in Greece, Rome and Egypt.
 By Egyptian physician Imhotep, God of
medicine and healing and
Hippocrates, the father of modern
medicine.
 The History of Aromatherapy contd…

 In modern era, the term is coined in 1928

from the French term aromatherapie by a
French chemist, René Maurice Gattefossé.
 Discovered the healing properties of essential
plants oil.
 Used In world war I and World war II
 by Dr Jean Valnet, a French army surgeon
and Marguerite Maury, a surgical assistant
The Benefits of Aromatherapy
 The Benefits of Aromatherapy contd

 With holistic perspective, preventive health care

and useful complementary treatment
 Essential oils have antiseptic, and some have
antiviral, anti inflammatory, pain relieving,
antidepressant, stimulation, relaxation, digestion
improvement, diuretic properties and expectorant
properties.
 widely used at home, clinics and hospitals.
How does Aromatherapy work?
 How does Aromatherapy work?

 The effects of an aroma can be relaxing or

stimulating.
 Work at psychological, physiological, and
cellular levels.
 affect body, mind and all the delicate links
in between
 Produced Only steam distillation or
expression or squeezing methods.
 Methods of application

 Three ways:
 through ingestion,
 through olfaction, the fastest
effect, triggers olfactory sense and trigger
responses in limbic system.
 through topical application, via
diffusion, compression, massage.
 Evidence Based Research and Clinical
Practice

 Human can the capability to distinguish 10,000

different smells.
 Smell controls our moods, emotions, memory
and learning.
 doctors have found that a life without fragrance
can lead to high incidence of psychiatric
problems.
 smelling lavender increases alpha waves in the
back of head.
 Fragrance of Jasmine increases beta waves in the
front of the heads.
Evidence Based Research and
Clinical Practice contd..
 A study conducted in Japanese fragrance
company found that Japanese have reported
less mistakes by key punch operators when
exposed to fragrance.
 British Medical Journal Lancet, elderly patients
slept "like babies" when a lavender aroma was
wafted into their bedrooms at night.
 Han et al.(2006) found a mixture of essential
oils topically applied to the abdomen of 67
nurses had a statically significant effect on
reducing menstrual pain
 Evidence Based Research and Clinical
Practice contd..

 Warnke et al., Edward-Jones et al, Bowlers et al. tested tea

tree against several staphylococcal strains including
MRSA, four streptococcus strains, and three candida strains
including candida krusei
 decrease in prevalence of MRSA, most effective against
MRSA in dressing.
 peppermint, and lemon reduced malodor and volatile sulfur
compound in intensive care unit patients.
 A Japanese study found that black peeper stimulated
swallowing reflex in people with dysfunction following stroke
 A paper by Lesho suggests that essential oils would be useful
to reduce the incidence of hospital acquired and ventilator
associated pneumonia
 Implication for Nursing Practice and
Theory

 Aromatherapy resonates with various theory of

nursing.
 Watson’s Theory of Caring
 Barret’s Theory of Power
 Nightingale’s Theory of Nursing
 Erickson’s work which led to the modeling theory
 Roger’s Nursing Theory
 Added to holistic nursing board examinations in
the United States
 Implication for Nursing Practice
and Theory

 In the United States and Great Britain, the

contemporary practice of aromatherapy is often
associated with naturopathy and Western herbal
medicine.
 The fastest growing therapy among nurses in the
united states.
 In the United States, many hospital-affiliated
centers for the study of complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM) offer aromatherapy as
well as other alternative approaches.
 Risks of aromatherapy

 Not all essential oils, however, should be taken

internally.
 Oral consumption only under the care and
supervision of an experienced practitioner.
 Cautious use during pregnancy, have allergy,
high blood pressure or epilepsy.
 Cautious use in young children or babies.
 post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any of
the dissociative disorders .
 REFRENCE

 Aromatherapy.com (n.d).The balance and harmony of

body, mind. Essential oils. Retrieved 01/26/2014 from
http://www.aromatherapy.com/essential_oils.html
 Holisticonline.com( 2007). Aromatherapy.
Retrieved 01/26/2014 from http://holistic-
online.com/Aromatherapy/aroma_benefits.htm
 Dossey, B. M., & Keegan, L. (2013).Holistic nursing: a
handbook for practice (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones
& Bartlett Learning.
 Rebecca J. Frey( n.d). Encyclopedia of mental disorder.
Aromatherapy. Retrieved 01/26/2014 from
http://www.minddisorders.com/A-
Br/Aromatherapy.html.