Çetinkaya B, Başbakkal Z. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 2012; 18: 164-169 The effectiveness of aromatherapy massage using lavender oil as a treatment for infantile colic The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy massage using lavender oil as a possible treatment for this condition. This research was carried out on a group of 40 infants between 2 and 6 weeks of age with a gestational age of 38-42 weeks and normal development and growth. All the infants weighed between 2500 and 4000 g at birth and all exhibited the signs of colic. Infants in the treatment group received abdominal massage by their mothers using lavender oil, while those in the control group were not subject to an intervention. The infants in both control and treatment groups were monitored once a week by the researchers, in total five times. The effect of the massage was measured in terms of changes in the length of time the infants cried per week. The use of aromatherapy massage using lavender oil was found to be effective in reducing the symptoms of colic.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of acupoint stimulation with electrodes combined with acupressure using an aromatic essential oil (lavender) as an add-on-treatment on pain relief and enhancing the physical functional activities among adults with sub-acute or chronic non-specific low back pain. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: The community centre, Old-Aged Home and Women Workers Association, Hong Kong. Intervention: 8-session relaxation acupoint stimulation followed by acupressure with lavender oil over a 3-week period. The control group received usual care only. OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes from baseline to the end of treatment were assessed in pain intensity (by Visual Analogue Scale) and duration; lateral fingertip-to-ground distance in centimetres; walking time and interference on daily activities. RESULTS: The baseline VAS scores for the intervention and control groups were 6.38 (S.E.M. = 0.22) and 5.70 (S.E.M. = 0.37) out of 10, respectively ( P=0.24 ). One week after the end of treatment, the intervention group had 39% greater reduction in VAS pain intensity than the control group ( P=0.0001 ), improved walking time ( P=0.05 ) and greater lateral spine flexion range ( P=0.01 ). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that 8-sessions of acupoint stimulation followed by acupressure with aromatic lavender oil were an effective method for short-term LBP relief. No adverse effects were reported. To complement mainstream medical treatment for sub-acute LBP, the combined therapy of acupoint stimulation followed by acupressure with aromatic lavender oil may be one of the choices as an add-on therapy for short-term reduction of LBP.

OBJECTIVES:To evaluate the effect of two inhaled essential oils (black pepper or angelica) on the nicotine habits of students, staff, and faculty on a U.S. college campus.

DESIGN:Comparative study with pre-/post-test measures.

SETTING:Community college in rural East Texas.

PARTICIPANTS:Convenience sample of 20 volunteers from the college community (students, faculty, and staff) who were regular (daily) users of nicotine (cigarettes, snuff, or chewing tobacco).

INTERVENTIONS:Inhalation of one drop of essential oil on a tissue for 2 minutes when participant was craving nicotine.

OUTCOME MEASURES:(1) Pre-inhalation journal recording of self-assessed level of craving for nicotine on a 0-10 scale, (2) post-inhalation journal recording of self-assessed level of craving for nicotine on a 0-10 scale, and (3) minutes that participant waited from start of inhalation until next use of tobacco.

RESULTS:Both black pepper and angelica reduced the level of nicotine craving and allowed a longer delay before next use of tobacco. However, black pepper reduced the level of craving more than did angelica, and angelica allowed for a longer delay than did black pepper.

CONCLUSIONS:Aromatherapy may be useful in nicotine withdrawal. Further studies are warranted.

PURPOSE:The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy on pain, depression, and feelings of satisfaction in life of arthritis patients.

METHOD:This study used a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group, pre-and post-test. The sample consisted of 40 patients, enrolled in the Rheumatics Center, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, South Korea. The essential oils used were lavender, marjoram, eucalyptus, rosemary, and peppermint blended in proportions of 2:1:2:1:1. They were mixed with a carrier oil composed of almond (45%), apricot(45%), and jojoba oil(10%) and they were diluted to 1.5% after blending. The data were analyzed using an 2-test, Fisher's exact test, t-test and paired t-test.

RESULT:Aromatherapy significantly decreased both the pain score and the depression score of the experimental group compared with the control group. However, aromatherapy didn't increase the feeling of satisfaction in life of the experimental group compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION:The result of this study clearly shows that aromatherapy has major effects on decreasing pain and depression levels. Based on our experiment's findings, we suggest that aromatherapy can be a useful nursing intervention for arthritis patients.

OBJECTIVES:To evaluate the existing data on aromatherapy interventions for improvement of sleep quality.

DESIGN:Systematic literature review and meta-analysis on the effects of aromatherapy. Study Sources: Electronic databases, including the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS), Korean studies Information Service System (KISS), National Assembly Library, and eight academies within the Korean Society of Nursing Science, were searched to identify studies published between 2000 and August 2013.

STUDY SELECTION:Randomized controlled and quasi-experimental trials that included aromatherapy for the improvement of sleep quality. Of the 245 publications identified, 13 studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and 12 studies were used in the meta-analysis.

RESULTS:Meta-analysis of the 12 studies using a random-effects model revealed that the use of aromatherapy was effective in improving sleep quality (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.540-1.745; Z=3.716). Subgroup analysis revealed that inhalation aromatherapy (95% CI, 0.792-1.541; Z=6.107) was more effective than massage therapy (95% CI, 0.128-2.166; Z=2.205) in unhealthy (95% CI, 0.248-1.100; Z=3.100) and healthy (95% CI, 0.393-5.104; Z=2.287) participants, respectively.

CONCLUSION:Readily available aromatherapy treatments appear to be effective and promote sleep. Thus, it is essential to develop specific guidelines for the efficient use of aromatherapy.

Background:Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common problems in women of childbearing age. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of aromatherapy on PPD.

Materials and Methods:In this study, 105 pregnant women at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy were enrolled using convenient sampling and randomly assigned to three groups. The intervention group dropped 7 drops of lavender oil and 1 cc rose water at the concentration of 100%, and the placebo group dropped 7 drops of odorless sesame seed oil, with 1 cc of musk willow sweat at the concentration of 100% by dropper on a special cloth. They put the cloths on their mouths and took 10 deep breaths before sleeping and then placed them next to their pillows. The control group only received the routine care. The intervention lasted from 38week of pregnancy until 6 weeks after delivery. Then depression level was determined before the intervention, 35-37 weeks of pregnancy, 2 and 6 weeks after delivery using Edinburgh questionnaire.

Results:The mean of depression score in the intervention group decreased significantly compared to the placebo and control groups, 2 weeks (= 9.412,<0.001) and 6 weeks after delivery (= 7.813,<0.01).

Conclusions:This study provides valid evidence for the effect of aromatherapy on PPD. Therefore, the use of aromatherapy can be recommended in high.

OBJECTIVE:Investigate the effects of lavender oil on the central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, and mood responses in humans after inhalation.

MATERIAL AND METHOD:Twenty healthy volunteers participated in the experiments. The present study assessed autonomic parameters such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and skin temperature to determine the arousal level of the autonomic nervous system. In addition, subjects were asked to estimate their mood responses such as feeling pleasant or unpleasant, uncomfortable, sensuality, relaxation, or refreshing in order to assess subjective behavioral arousal. Finally, electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded from 31 electrodes on the scalp according to the international 10 to 20 system, and EEG power spectra were calculated by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Data was analyzed by comparing the effects of lavender oil on physiological and mood states with sweet almond oil. These assessments were measured before and after using paired t-test statistical procedure.

RESULTS:The results revealed that lavender oil caused significant decreases of blood pressure, heart rate, and skin temperature, which indicated a decrease of autonomic arousal. In terms of mood responses, the subjects in the lavender oil group categorized themselves as more active, fresher relaxed than subjects just inhaling base oil. Compared with base oil, lavender oil increased the power of theta (4-8 Hz) and alpha (8-13 Hz) brain activities. The topographic map showed obviously more scattering power in alpha range waves particularly in bilateral temporal and central area.

CONCLUSION:The findings provided evidence the relaxing effect of inhaling lavender oil.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of aromatherapy on blood pressure and stress responses of clients with essential hypertension. METHOD: There were fifty-two subjects divided into an essential oil group, placebo group, and control group by random assignment. The application of aromatherapy was the inhalation method of blending oils with lavender, ylangylang, and bergamot once daily for 4 weeks. To evaluate the effects of aromatherapy, blood pressure and pulse were measured two times a week and serum cortisol levels, catecholamine levels, subjective stress, and state anxiety were measured before and after treatment in the three groups. Data was analyzed by repeated measures of ANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and chi(2)-test using the SPSS 10.0 program. RESULTS: The blood pressure, pulse, subjective stress, state anxiety, and serum cortisol levels among the three groups were significantly statistically different. The differences of catecholamine among the three groups were not significant statistically. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the inhalation method using essential oils can be considered an effective nursing intervention that reduces psychological stress responses and serum cortisol levels, as well as the blood pressure of clients with essential hypertension.

The efficacy and safety of the application of essential oils for the prevention of acute respiratory diseases and alleviation of clinical manifestations of rhinitis was evaluated in a group of children aged 3-4 years. It was shown that inhalation of a mixture of essential oils resulted in a 42.5% decrease of the prevalence of the above pathologies. Specifically, they developed only in each third child from the group of frequently ill children. No side effects of the treatment were documented. 25% of the children suffered only from mild acute respiratory diseases, fever was absent in 5%. The severity and duration of the symptoms of rhinitis decreased in more than 80% of the children. Simultaneously, the requirement of decongestants and local (intranasal) antibiotics was reduced.

This study examined the effect of aromatherapy-massage in healthy postpartum mothers. A quasi-experimental between-groups design was used. Mothers who received aromatherapy-massage were compared with a control group who received standard postpartum care. Thirty-six healthy, first-time mothers with vaginal delivery of a full-term, healthy infant participated in this study. Sixteen mothers received a 30-minute aromatherapy-massage on the second postpartum day; 20 mothers were in the control group. All mothers completed the following four standardized questionnaires before and after the intervention: 1) Maternity Blues Scale; 2) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; 3) Profile of Mood States (POMS); and 4) Feeling toward Baby Scale. In the aromatherapy-massage group, posttreatment scores significantly decreased for the Maternity Blues Scale, the State-Anxiety Inventory, and all but one of the Profile of Mood States subscales. Posttreatment scores in the intervention group significantly increased in Profile of Mood States-Vigor subscale and the Approach Feeling toward Baby subscale. Scores in the intervention group significantly decreased in Conflict Index of Avoidance/Approach Feeling toward Baby subscale. Our results suggest that aromatherapy-massage might be an effective intervention for postpartum mothers to improve physical and mental status and to facilitate mother-infant interaction.

BACKGROUND:The agitated behaviours that accompany dementia (e.g. pacing, aggression, calling out) are stressful to both nursing home residents and their carers and are difficult to treat. Increasingly more attention is being paid to alternative interventions that are associated with fewer risks than pharmacology. Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) has been thought, for centuries, to have soothing properties, but the existing evidence is limited and shows mixed results. The aim of the current study is to test the effectiveness of topically applied pure lavender oil in reducing actual counts of challenging behaviours in nursing home residents.

METHODS/DESIGN:We will use a blinded repeated measures design with random cross-over between lavender oil and placebo oil. Persons with moderate to severe dementia and associated behavioural problems living in aged care facilities will be included in the study. Consented, willing participants will be assigned in random order to lavender or placebo blocks for one week then switched to the other condition for the following week. In each week the oils will be applied on three days with at least a two-day wash out period between conditions. Trained observers will note presence of target behaviours and predominant type of affect displayed during the 30 minutes before and the 60 minutes after application of the oil. Nursing staff will apply 1 ml of 30% high strength essential lavender oil to reduce the risk of missing a true effect through under-dosing. The placebo will comprise of jojoba oil only. The oils will be identical in appearance and texture, but can easily be identified by smell. For blinding purposes, all staff involved in applying the oil or observing the resident will apply a masking cream containing a mixture of lavender and other essential oils to their upper lip. In addition, nursing staff will wear a nose clip during the few minutes it takes to massage the oil to the resident's forearms.

DISCUSSION:If our results show that the use of lavender oil is effective in reducing challenging behaviours in individuals with dementia, it will potentially provide a safer intervention rather than reliance on pharmacology alone. The study's findings will translate easily to other countries and cultures.

TRIAL REGISTRATION:Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry - ACTRN 12609000569202.

The leaves of Laurus noblis L. (laurel) are mainly used as a spice in cooking, and the essential oil obtained by steam distillation of the leaves is used as an additive in foods, drugs and cosmetics. We investigated the effect of the volatiles emitted from the leaves of L. noblis at different doses (low-dose and high-dose groups) on vigilance performance in a visual discrimination task. By inhaling volatiles of the leaves of L. noblis, the decrease of the rate of true hits found in the control group was prevented in the low-dose group. The high-dose group showed higher scores than the low-dose group for subjective effects related to negative emotion. Meanwhile, both groups showed physiological effects suggesting stimulation of circulation. These findings suggest that the volatiles emitted from the leaves of L. noblis at low concentration could be utilized to maintain a high level of vigilance performance, such as the rate of true hits by improving physiological arousal without incurring the detrimental performance effects of negative emotion.