2004 Volume 1 Issue 1 Pages 53-61
Medical aromatherapy, a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to cure diseases or to diminish symptoms by using essential oils, is widely applied to the areas of nursing or medical care. Since the varied pharmacological effects of essential oils are anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, sedative and analgesic, medical aromatherapy is used for the treatment of gynecological and obstetrical disorders, skin troubles, upper respiratory infections and psychosomatic diseases, and for pain control and stress management. The methods of aromatherapy include inhalation, oral administration, aromatic bathing and massage. Massage is most effective in inducing relaxation. Because aromatherapy is only complementary to mainstream medicine, the combination of aromatherapy with western medicine and other CAM therapies can realize an ideal integrative medicine.
