Essential Oils & Aromatherapy… How effective are they on respiratory illness and purifying the air?
In my own personal experience with essential oils, I’ve experienced recovery from a long bout of bronchitis which ultimately led me to desperate measures. Since I was pregnant, I sought alternative treatments instead of drugs. I was taking Emergen-C every day, which I hoped helped but it wasn’t until I slept a few nights diffusing Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Lavender, and Tea Tree oils that I actually was able to get over the respiratory illness. Now, “correlation does not always imply causation” but after suffering for weeks and trying it out after some internet research, I have strong reason to believe that it did help. To be honest, before I tried this, I was very skeptical of alternative methods of dealing with illness, especially since I work in the healthcare industry. I would never consider essential oils as an end-all solution for my every medical ailment, but I soon found that there is some evidence available that substantiates some of the arguments for the use of essential oils in healing. Sometimes, you just have to try things for yourself to see if they work for you. While essential oils aren’t always harmless, they have reasonably low risks, especially when used correctly.
I am not affiliated with any microbiology department but would like to do a Petri dish or air testing study of certain essential oils effectiveness against bacteria, viruses and fungi to see if evidence substantiates claims for antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal activity. As evidence has shown that aromatherapy arouses olfactory structures in the brain, and may be effective against certain strains of bacteria, viruses, and fungi, I’d like to see more studies done to demonstrate the effectiveness of essential oils in this manner.
Aromatherapy/(Olfactory Stimulation/Scents) my Reduce Anxiety?