Abstract
Recently, aromatherapy has been introduced to nursing care settings ; however, the efficacy of fragrance on pain relief remains unclear. The present study examines the effectiveness of inhalation of true lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil on an experimental pain threshold. Twenty-seven healthy adult women participated in the study. Three drops of the essential oil were placed on a small piece of cotton, and after a ten-minute rest the experimental group subjects inhaled the fragrance for 10 minutes while seated. Then, measurement of the pain threshold was made with a reaction time to the thermal stimulations to their palms. In the experimental group, the threshold was measured before and while inhaling of the aroma. In the control group, it was assessed twice without an exposure to the fragrance. Following the measurements, in order to find out a correlation between the degree of preference and the changes in the pain threshold, the experimental group subjects were asked to rate their preference for the fragrance using a 7 point scale where “1” was “I hate the fragrance” and “7” was “I like it very much.” The results of the experimental group showed a statistically significant rise in the pain threshold. It was not found in the control group. Regarding the correlation, the p value did not reach the level of significance. The findings support the usefulness of the fragrance for pain management, and suggest that the analgesic effect is not strongly influenced by the preferences for the aroma.
