Don’t bother with aromatherapy - it won’t help your pain
Do you believe that aromatherapy will help relieve pain? Many people do and it seems to be a lucrative business for those selling the products. But, does it really work? Not in a study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
You can read more about this in Medical News Today’s article: Aromatherapy May Make You Feel Good, But It Won’t Make You Well
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4 opinions for Don’t bother with aromatherapy - it won’t help your pain
Alicia Sparks, NAMI Affiliation Leader
Mar 5, 2008 at 6:10 pm
This doesn’t deal with pain relief, per se, but my first exposure to using lavender as a way to relieve stress, calm down, etc. was in college. It was finals week, and my roommate decided to utilize one of her recent birthday presents - a “bed & bath” lavender set - to help herself get some sleep before a final early the next morning. She showered in the shower gel, used the body lotion, and sprayed the pillow & room spray. Well. Neither of us woke up until noon the next morning! We’d slept through our alarm clocks and through our morning finals! I got so much sleep and slept so deeply I felt drugged when I finally woke up. It was crazy. Why did we react the way we did to the lavender? I have no idea. Maybe it really worked, or maybe it acted as a sort of “placebo” as this article (the one you linked to) mentions, but regardless, I’ve successfully used lavender ever since to “relax” and feel calm.
Marijke Durning, RN
Mar 5, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Yikes! That’s scary. Whatever happened about the exams?
I’m not a big fan of the lavender scent, but maybe it’s worth a try.
Alicia Sparks, NAMI Affiliation Leader
Mar 5, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Haha, well, we both went the honest route because it sounded like such a bizarre answer that 1) we probably weren’t making it up (as is often the case with hungover students or those who either weren’t prepared for class or just didn’t want to go), and 2) we just couldn’t pass up sharing it, haha. As far as I remember, my professors just laughed it off and I took those exams (two, I think) later that day. Of course, the fact that I showed up in their offices panicky, out of breath, wild-eyed and looking fresh from bed probably helped my story’s credibility! Heehee.
I recently read a story dealing with oils, aromatherapy, and other such related matters, and in one of the comments a girl said that she’d purchased “real” lavender for one of her friends who was into using lavender for relaxation purposes. She said that her friend barely recognized the scent, because she was so used to the heavily perfumed type of lavender. I don’t know the difference, having no experience with this “real” lavender scent she talked about, but it’s something to look into, too.
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