The great tide of Western medicine is turning: we’ve become so jaded with the obvious inadequacies and waste of our medical institutions, with a deep feeling that “something just ain’t right”, that Natural Medicine is quickly becoming mainstream. It’s about time! When did “Conventional” medicine become “Alternative”? Now plant medicine is quickly coming back in favor — folks are trusting the beauty and grace of planet Earth, and that she has all the medicine we’ll ever need. And with that, enter Aroma Medicine. No longer do we need to feel a little odd talking about Aroma “Therapy”; while this has always really been defined as the branch of medicine utilizing the organic volatile molecules produced by plants, the term has been stigmatized in North America to some “New Age” foolishness. But researchers around the globe are telling a different story…

The body of scientific research regarding the healing actions of essential oils has grown vastly over the last 20 years. A search on Pub Med, an on-line database of the US National Library of Medicine, for “essential oil” returns 8808 results as of April 10th, 2009. The very first listing describes the anti-dementia (Alzheimer’s) effects of Lemon essential oil! The diversity of actual medical applications of essential oils is truly incredible — more diverse than just the plants themselves, as many essential oils have multiple applications. The inhalation of lemon has been shown to improve mood, improve mental accuracy and even act as an antimicrobial, perfect for general household cleaning.

Further down the same page is an abstract confirming the beauty of natural medicines: All the natural molecular constituents of Thyme essential oil have an additive antimicrobia effect — science and industry has a habit of extracting a single component, patenting it, and bringing it to market while forgetting to tell us that natural Thyme oil itself is even more effective. Other jaw-dropping notes about essential oils: Clove oil has the highest Oxidative Radical Absorbance Capacity of any natural substance ever tested — over 100,000, on a scale where blueberries score about 5,000 and Wolfberries are about 30,000. A large number of studies have confirmed the stress reducing effects of Lavender, going to far to show reduced Cortisol levels AND an increase in the body’s natural scavenging of oxidtive radicals — JUST FROM SMELLING the oil!

At this point you may be saying: that’s all well and good, but where’s the REAL medicine? You’ve heard about MRSA — the “Superbug” bacteria running rampant in the world’s hospitals, becoming a real epidemic? MRSA stands for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. Methicillin is an antibiotic that is supposed to kill these bacteria, but they’ve evolved so that they’re no longer affected. Guess what: a combination of Tea Tree and Geranium essential oils plus Grapefruit Seed extract outperforms our greatest laboratory achievements in the modern production of antibiotics. Now, of course, the final test results are being withheld so that the researchers can patent the formula, but you can read through the data yourself — Google does us a giant favor that way — and see that this medicine is already available if you’re willing to blend a few oils for yourself. (It is VERY important you get the help of a knowledgeable practitioner; there are many many oils, and many therapeutic protocols. Like any medicine, it is crucial to precisely match the protocol with the condition for the greatest healing efficacy).

And for the really big one: essential oils are showing great promise in the treatment of many cancers. Frankincense and Lemongrass are just two of the oils that have been shown anti-tumorial, and Sandalwood has been show to specifically prevent skin cancers from UVB radiation exposure. Searching for “Frankincense tumor” gives a first result of: “Frankincense oil derived from Boswellia carteri induces tumor cell specific cytotoxicity”. The conclusion states: “Frankincense oil appears to distinguish cancerous from normal bladder cells and suppress cancer cell viability…” There are many more results like this, with a variety of oils and a variety of cancer cell lines. This is a very exiting time for natural medicine, as a combination of new extraction techniques, and faster turn around times in research facilities made lead to new, life saving protocols in the very near future (and it’s important that we as members of the world community keep voicing our opinions, and making these changes in our available medical treatments — it’s not only good for us, it’s good for the world as well, as the production of natural medicines takes SO much less energy than their pharmaceutical “equivalents”).

Essential oils offer so much more than these treatments, too! So much concentrated wellness is available to the average family taking part in the aromatherapy lifestyle. Tea Tree and Lavender (mix them 50/50 and keep a small bottle available) is perhaps the most potent antibacterial, nicest smelling and gently soothing formula for all the cuts and scrapes of childhood. Helichrysum italicum essential oil has profound healing and pain relieving effects on bumps, bruises, twists, sprains and all muscular sore spots — and it works fast. Lavender and Helichrysum are excellent for burns; use a couple drops “neat” next time you may (God forbid!) touch a hot stove and you’ll be extolling the virtues of essential oils in no time. Kids getting unruly? A belly or back rub with Roman Chamomile or Mandarin (2% in Hazelnut oil) does the trick. Try 1% Vanilla for the toddlers. You can create blends specifically for the needs of your skin to dramatically improve eczema symptoms, reduce wrinkles, make scars slowly fade, eliminate acne and athlete’s foot, and just bring a fantastic glow to your face. So many great smelling medicines from so many plants!

So how do you get started? Which are the best oils for you and your family? There are a great many books on the subject, and you can find a general theme to get yourself started: Medical Aromatherapy and Advanced Aromatherapy are titles by Doctor Kurt Schnaubelt, many books by Valerie Worwood help you enrich your life and the lives of your children with essential oils. There’s books for blending for skin care, hair care, pet care, home care, emotional healing and more. Further, if you or someone you know is truly ill, seek out a skilled, knowledgeable practitioner that can help you develop an aroma-therapy protocol (which, with all of natural medicine, will work in combination with diet and lifestyle changes to bring about optimum health and wellness). Someone with many years of experience with essential oils will be your best ally in making your world a better place with the brilliant healing powers of essential oils — at the same time, getting started is fun and easy just by picking a few oils that sound right for you, and introducing them into your life just as you need them.

There’s a little known secret in natural therapeutics — the profound healing pain relief of Helichrysum italicum essential oil. Its action is nothing short of amazing, though this information is rarely offered directly by aromatherapy companies due to advertising restrictions. Throughout the medical aromatherapy texts however, this fantastic oil is lauded for its broad range of healing effects on the body’s tissues. Here’s a quick primer on using this oil for yourself and your loved ones.

Helichrysum is a totally unique pain reliever and wound healer — not only just in the world of aromatherapy, but in the big picture of the entire world of medicine. It rates exceptionally highly in the two most important criteria, safety and efficacy. In terms of safety, it is sometimes prescribed for direct application to the skin at 100% strength (unlike some other pain relieving oils such as Wintergreen). Very conservative therapists do not recommend the oil to be used during pregnancy or by children under 12. It would be a shame however to discard the use of the oil for young children with injuries — like any essential oil, it should be used with respect as a medicine, only using as much as needed to produce the desired healing effect. The classic and important aromatherapy text ‘Essential Oil Safety’, lists the oil as non-toxic, non-irritating and non-sensitizing.

Its efficacy is unsurpassed. Most folks who use it find the pain relief nearly immediate — “it just makes the pain go away”, “it’s amazing” and other similar comments are frequently uttered when the oil is used. The oil is recommended for ANY kind of pain: joint pain, muscular aches and pains, back pain, neck pain, nerve pain, and pain resulting from surgery and trauma. In most cases, a simple preparation of the oil in any common aromatherapy carrier oil is the formula of choice. Jojoba is commonly used for aches and pains; Rosehip seed oil and Tamanu are selected when healing skin damage (or reducing scarring).

Making our own formulation is very easy to do. It is recommended to start of with lower dilutions and work your way up only if necessary; this helps you conserve the precious oil by only using as much as required for the desired results. Forty drops of Helicrysum in each ounce of carrier oil will create an approximate 5 percent dilution; eighty drops for a 10 percent dilution; etc. The pure essential oil, not diluted in any carrier oil, is recommended when a trauma has just occurred, to prevent further tissue damage due to swelling and oxidative free-radicals. For example, a twisted ankle could receive a few drops of the pure oil from a fingertip, massaged into the painful region immediately after the injury, and several times over the next 24 hours.

Beyond simple pain relief, Helichrysum is known to actually speed the healing of injuries through its antioxidant, anti-inflammation and regenerative actions. This is helpful for not only ‘common’ bumps and bruises, but for surgical sutures and burns as well. Further, the oil is found in 3-5 percent concentrations in skin care recipes to reduce the appearance of skin aging, and to reduce and eliminate scars of all kinds.

The finest of Helichrysum essential oil varieties is considered to be that distilled from plants grown on the island of Corsica, France. The environmental conditions and sub-species genetics result in a unique natural chemical composition of the essential oil with strong anti-inflammate, analgesic and regenerative properties. This oil may be listed as Helicrysum italicum sub-species ‘serotinum’. You may find that other varieties work as well for your needs, and can experiment as you see fit.

The profoundly effective action for pain relief provided by Helichrysum italicum essential oil is one of natural medicine’s most wonderful treasures. With its exceptional ratings for safety, efficacy and ease-of-use, the oil is unsurpassed as a healing agent for all sorts of pain. Its quick, gentle action is appreciated by the great majority of users, and is worth investigating for your own needs.

As interest in all aspects of natural health and wellness grows, the use of essential oils is becoming more widespread. However, many individuals that are just learning about aromatherapy’s possibilities sometimes don’t know exactly what essential oils are. Well here’s a little primer that get you started in using these wonderful gifts of nature in your own life! Pure essential oils are complex mixtures of aromatic compounds produced by plants. These are the essences that give plants their wonderful scents; it is these easily evaporated compounds that you smell when inhaling the aroma from a rose, or a pine tree, or a bunch of fresh basil.

Pure essential oils are distilled from oil sacs found in most structures of plants – the leaves, roots, flowers and more. Almost all essential oils are made up of several, sometimes hundreds of various molecular compounds. The combination and ratios of these compounds give each oil it’s particular aromatic and medicinal properties. Essential oils are not just a by-product of plant growth; plants use these oils in a manner similar to those prescribed in medical aromatherapy: to fight infections from microbes, fungi and viruses; to protect themselves from animal invaders; and some suspect they may be used for chemical communication between plants of the same species. While essential oils come from the plant world, they are particularly suited to use in natural health, wellness and fitness programs as their chemistry is remarkably compatible with our own; they are easily absorbed into our bodies, even at the cellular level.

To produce essential oils of therapeutic quality – those that retain as much of the original plant essence in its original state as possible – the most gentle extraction method that will draw the oil from a particular plant is most desirable. Extraction methods range from Carbon Dioxide (CO2) extraction – being the most gentle (and most expensive), to pressing (as for extracting the oil from citrus rinds) and steam distillation, to solvent extraction. Steam distillation is most common, and as a result of only requiring heating to just above the boiling point of water, is considered gentle enough for most essential oils.

Medicinal and spiritual use of essential oils dates back thousands of years. Oils were used by the ancient Egyptians along with many other ancient cultures. Hundreds of references to their healing properties in the Christian Bible, along with anointing for spiritual growth and insight. Frankincense resin continues to be used in the Catholic church today during mass as a purifying and uplifting aromatic incense – a similar application of essential oils can be the anointing of the third eye or temples with Frankincense, Myrrh, Cedarwood, Sandalwood or a combination of these mind-centering aromatics.

The advent of the modern aromatherapy revolution, that most important to the use of essential oils in natural health and healing, began with French cosmetic scientist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse’s discovery of the healing powers of Lavender oil. This sparked the growth of scientific investigation of essential oils for natural medicinal purposes throughout Europe. France and Germany continue to lead the way in discovering the healing properties of essential oils, and utilizing them in conjunction with conventional medicine.

The most promising use of essential oils is in the treatment of infectious illness. Most essential oils display antibacterial effects, some also with strong antiviral properties as well. They can be used to fight infectious illness, or support the immune system to prevent the onset of illness in the first place. It does take a qualified practitioner, or a significantly strong knowledge to choose the right oil for each condition, however. Some oils are particularly effective in treating certain illnesses and not others; these ‘other’ illnesses will have their own best essential oil (or combination of) for treatment. Beyond infectious illness, certain essential oils have strong anti-inflammatory properties, other oils can stimulate the regeneration of tissues, others can help cleanse and purify the body, and still others can reduce muscular and joint pain while increasing circulation. As you can see, essential oils can play a significant role an any natural health, wellness and/or fitness program – the important part is proper education of the user.

Using essential oils is very easy, fun, and can be extremely rewarding. Employing oils is most commonly done using one of these methods: inhalation, topical application, and in certain instances ingestion. Diffusing essential oils with a cold-air nebulizer is best for inhalation, as these units make a fine mist of the oils which are easily absorbed in significant quantities. This method is effective both for psychological effects and support for the respiratory system. Topical application usually involved the dilution of essential oils in a carrier oil to a 5% or less concentration to be used with certain massage techniques. Massage is often used for relief of muscle and joint pain, and also with calming and uplifting psychological results. Topical application will frequently take the form of blends for healing various skin conditions such as eczema, acne, and even revitalizing aging skin. Finally, ingestion – which should only be done with very detailed knowledge from a qualified professional – is often used in the form of oil placed in gel capsules. Peppermint oil is frequently used this way for digestive complaints. There is such a wonderful variety of uses for essential oils; to get the most from them, educate yourself further through courses, texts and knowledgeable practitioners. Most of all, be safe, have fun, and welcome this new edition to your alternative natural health regimen.

As interest in all aspects of natural health and wellness grows, the use of essential oils is becoming more widespread. However, many individuals that are just learning about aromatherapy’s possibilities sometimes don’t know exactly what essential oils are. Well here’s a little primer that get you started in using these wonderful gifts of nature in your own life! Pure essential oils are complex mixtures of aromatic compounds produced by plants. These are the essences that give plants their wonderful scents; it is these easily evaporated compounds that you smell when inhaling the aroma from a rose, or a pine tree, or a bunch of fresh basil.

Essential oils are extracted from oil ‘sacs’ in flowers, leaves, stems, roots, seeds, wood and bark. They differ significantly from the well-known vegetable, nut and seed oils which are made up of various fatty acids (essential oils are not). Essential oils are used by the plants in somewhat the same way they are by humans – they fight infection, contain hormone-like compounds, initiate cellular regeneration, and work as chemical defense against fungal, viral, and animal foes. Despite their foliar origins however, essential oils have a similar structure to some compounds found in blood and tissues, allowing them to be compatible with our own physiology.

Producing essential oils of the highest grades is truly an art form. It takes a delicate balance of time, temperature and pressure during the distillation process to ensure the most complete range of molecular components is extracted. The finer oils will have the most wonderful aromatic bouquets for this reason – they contain a breadth of compounds when inhaled together give an oil a brilliant aroma. Relatively few essential oils are produced in this manner – many are destined for large manufacturing processes, and will not have the same aromas and therapeutic effects of the highest grade oils.

Medicinal and spiritual use of essential oils dates back thousands of years. Oils were used by the ancient Egyptians along with many other ancient cultures. Hundreds of references to their healing properties in the Christian Bible, along with anointing for spiritual growth and insight. Frankincense resin continues to be used in the Catholic church today during mass as a purifying and uplifting aromatic incense – a similar application of essential oils can be the anointing of the third eye or temples with Frankincense, Myrrh, Cedarwood, Sandalwood or a combination of these mind-centering aromatics.

Modern use of essential oils in natural health, wellness and fitness programs began with the discovery of Lavender’s healing properties by a French scientist in the middle of the last century. Lavender was found to have effective healing properties for skin wounds, strong anti-inflammatory properties, and wonderful calming effects when inhaled. Further research has confirmed superior efficacy of essential oils for a broad range of physiological conditions.

The most promising use of essential oils is in the treatment of infectious illness. Most essential oils display antibacterial effects, some also with strong antiviral properties as well. They can be used to fight infectious illness, or support the immune system to prevent the onset of illness in the first place. It does take a qualified practitioner, or a significantly strong knowledge to choose the right oil for each condition, however. Some oils are particularly effective in treating certain illnesses and not others; these ‘other’ illnesses will have their own best essential oil (or combination of) for treatment. Beyond infectious illness, certain essential oils have strong anti-inflammatory properties, other oils can stimulate the regeneration of tissues, others can help cleanse and purify the body, and still others can reduce muscular and joint pain while increasing circulation. As you can see, essential oils can play a significant role an any natural health, wellness and/or fitness program – the important part is proper education of the user.

The three primary modes of using essential oils are the following: Topical application (most often diluted in a carrier oil such as Almond oil, Hazelnut, Olive or other ‘fatty acid’) most often for muscular aches and pains and support for skin conditions and rejuvenation. Inhalation is commonly used for the psychological effects of oils – the olfactory sense organs being directly tied to the brain’s emotional centers. Inhalation is also successfully employed for sinus and bronchial congestion along with other breathing ailments. In certain cases, ingestion is prescribed – capsules of peppermint essential oil have been shown effective in scientific studies on the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, a debilitating condition thought to be the result of rampant bacterial grown in the intestines. The list of the proven efficacy of essential oils continues to grow. There are many good texts available to education yourself, and a growing number of professional practitioners in the field. If you’d like to incorporate essential oils in your own health and wellness program, a little research surrounding your own needs will lead you in the right direction. Essential oils are powerful medicine – be safe, understand what you’re doing, and you’ll likely find aromatherapy can support your own personal needs in a fun and pleasantly aromatic way.

Herpes Simplex is a tough one – a supposedly ‘incurable’ viral infection leading to painful lesions. The lesions come and go, more often for some folks than others, and are somewhat precipitated by stressful conditions where one’s immune system may be compromised. Modern medicine does not as yet offer a ‘cure’ for a herpes infection, only medicine that must be taken on a regular basis to keep outbreaks from recurring (and some medicines that can shorten the duration of outbreaks as well). Incurable, painful, not-so-pretty, and to top it off, depending on the type of virus, the illness is labeled ‘oral/labial’ or ‘genital’ – a little embarrassing to say the least!

This is a personal account – I had herpes outbreaks for several years, and had to deal with painful sores in my mouth and on my lips – sometimes so bad I thought my teeth were falling out! I’ve been through those internal struggles on how to break it to an intimate partner – thankfully their response was never as sever as I expected – hough it still seemed like a big deal to me. I regularly had those telling days of feeling a flu was about to hit, with several days of lesions to follow. What seemed the worst, being an athlete, was that training really hard tended to cause outbreaks almost for certain.

I tried prescription medicines as well as some natural routes. Lysine, a singular amino acid, helped somewhat, but not all the time. I used significant amounts of lip balm, as sun overexposure also tended to cause outbreaks as well. I thought “I’ve got a lot of years left – will I always have to deal with this?”

Then it so happened I got involved in essential oils – the powerful aromatic compounds distilled in small amounts from plants. You’ve probably heard of them – Lavender oil, Sandalwood, Frankincense, etc. They’re getting to be fairly common these days. And then one day I stumbled onto research being performed with a particularly rare essential oil called ‘Melissa’ or ‘Lemon Balm’. Melissa is steam distilled from the leaves of the Melissa herb – and in very small quanitities. The plant yields a small amount of oil relative to all the other aromatic plant species out there. Research has been being performed in Europe for several years applying Melissa oil to herpes outbreaks, with very interesting results. In fact, one German pharmaceutical company extracted the ‘active’ component of the oil and sold it in a prescription preparation for use by herpes ‘sufferers’.

Perhaps the most impressive statement about the efficacy of Melissa on herpes outbreaks was made by Dr. Dietrich Wabner, a German scientist at the Technical University of Munich – he reported that a ‘one time’ application of ‘true’ Melissa oil could lead to a complete remission of outbreaks. A cure! It seemed expensive for a little bottle of clear liquid, but not so when compared to any other medicine – and the possibility of a ‘complete remission of outbreaks’! I’d figured I had nothing to lose.

Searching further, I found a regimine for the oils’ use. Melissa might not lead to a complete remission in just one application – other healers were finding success when the oil was applied to the affected area when an outbreak felt ‘imminent’. The oil was applied perhaps three times per day during the outbreak; this was repeated the next several times the user thought an outbreak may be coming on, and through the duration of the skin healing. My outbreaks were usually on my tongue at that point (though they started on the palate of my mouth). I would get a very fatigued feeling for a few days, then my tongue would get what seemed like individual taste buds that would feel as though they were burnt (and yes, I have had medical confirmation as to their cause). I also had lesions on my lip, but not as often. So I began the Melissa oil program – just one drop in my mouth a few times a day – and thankfully I actually liked the taste!

Well, I wasn’t one of the fortunate one’s with a complete remission on the first try. But it did help – the outbreaks were shorter, and then seemed to occur less frequently. THEN something WONDERFUL happened – the outbreaks stopped all together. And believe me, my life has been no less stressful – more so if anything. But no matter how hard my days were, how heavy my weight training sessions or other athletic endeavors, the outbreaks have not returned! No more unexplained low-level flu symptoms or sore spots in or on my mouth. I can’t remember the last time this happened, and don’t even keep the bottle around anymore just in case – though I do recommend it to those in a similar position.

For more sensitive skin (I do not have direct experience with the genital variety of the disease – however, the liturature does not make a distiction as the oil’s efficacy) Melissa can be diluted in a carrier oil like Hazelnut or Rosehip Seed. The dilution can be down to 10% (or even much less say some practitioners) of the total concentration and still be just as effective. PLEASE NOTE: taking any essential oil orally, and undiluted certainly, should be done with caution – pay attention to your own reaction and proceed accordingly. However, used in a carrier oil or directly, the protocol should be followed as closely as possible – apply just enough oil to cover the area a few times a day as soon as you feel an outbreak looming, and continue use until the lesions have completely healed. Repeat this the next several times an outbreak is imminent. There are no guarantees, but others have reportedly also had complete remission of the outbreaks using this method.

Another variety of Herpes virus is known as Shingles. This causes sore and weeping lesions of the skin. Sufferers have found relief with Ravensara essential oil (also considered a powerful anti-viral) mixed half-and-half with Tamanu nut or Callophylum oil. The Tamanu acts to sooth and nourish the skin while the Ravensara oil acts on the virus itself. I have not seen evidence of complete remission of shingles using this blend, but have heard of many folks finding significant relieve using this combination.

Finally, when buying Melissa essential oil, buy it from a trusted source – the oil has been adulterated because of it’s high cost. The substitute – a blend of Lemongrass and other oils – will not have the same effect. Look for ‘True’ Melissa, or better yet, organic ‘true’ Melissa. There are about 25 drops per milliliter, and you only need one drop per application, so a few milliliters will go a long way. If you decide to try this natural healing oil, or to recommend it to others, I wish you – or they – the best of results.