Paper Title
Essential Oils for General Respiratory Care
Abstract
Nowadays, use of alternative and complementary therapies with mainstream medicine has gained the momentum. Clinical Aromatherapy is one of the complementary therapies which use essential oils as the major therapeutic agents to treat several diseases. Respiratory care is one of the most obvious targets of clinical aromatherapy. Inhalation is one method of using essential oils for respiratory complaints. Air pollution has become more prevalent, especially in cities during summer months. The Word Health Organization has linked air pollution to lung cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. Essential oils are not able to reduce air pollution, but they can alleviate the symptoms of chronic bronchitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sinusitis, cystic fibrosis and tuberculosis. Eucalyptusglobules, menthapiperita, rosmarinusofficinalis, lavandulalatifolia, ravensaraaromatica and pinussylvestris contain large amounts of 1,8 cineole: anoxide with antitussive, mucolytic, antiinflamatory and bronchodilatory properties. Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled studies were carried to explore their effects. All of the patients with chronic bronchitis cleared their mucus immediately after they inhaled lavender. Some patients who had been taking yearly repeated antibiotics no longer needed them. Results showed patients who received the 1,8 cineole had significantly more improvements than patients in the placebo group. Agerman study found myrtol, eucaluptus and orange essential oil reduced cytokine release and reactive oxygen species production of alveolar macrophages obtained from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This indicates these essential oils had an anti-inflammatory action in lung alveolar. For a number of respiratory diseases, clinical aromatherapy is at least a useful adjunct therapy if not mainstay, with substantial benefit to risk when specific essential oils are used.
Keywords - Essential Oils, Clinical aroma therapy, Respiratory Disease,1,8 Cineole, Anti- Inflamatory