Aromatherapy: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

Aromatherapy is a type of Auyervedic treatment with plant materials and aromatic plant oils. Aromatherapy, or the essential oil therapy is an age-old way of treatment refers which is a mix of a wide range of traditional, alternative or complementary therapies which use essential oils and other aromatic plant compounds. The essential oils have been used for over 6,000 years, which aim at improving a person's health, both physically and mentally.

In the treatment of aromatherapy, a wide range of essential oils are used, which been found to have various degrees of antimicrobial activity. The oils have antiviral, nematicidal, antifungal, insecticidal, and antioxidant properties. Aromatherapy applications include massage, topical applications and also inhalation. Aromatherapy is a complementary therapy and the treatment does not provide actually cure for diseases, rashes or illnesses, but aromatherapy acts as a support for conventional treatment of such various conditions.

Not all of the uses of the essential oils in Aromatherapy are supported by scientific evidence, but the treatment has found to be useful for many. Aromatherapy cannot cure a disease on its own, but helps to better the condition. Aromatherapy cannot be treated as a mainstream mode of treatment, but it does act as a cure for several physical and mental conditions, boosting up a traditional or conventional procedure of treatment.

Aromatherapy treatment is actually a massage therapy with essential oils, which highly concentrated oils of essential plants, added to the massage oil or lotion. In Aromatherapy the essential oils are also inhaled through the nose which promotes beneficial changes in the mind and body. In Aromatherapy, it affects the limbic system directly, the region where the brain influences the nervous system and essential oils are absorbed through the skin.

The Aromatherapy Massage is basically skilful use of the hands through massage to manipulate the soft tissues for the main purposes of relieving muscle tension and stimulate blood circulation. Aromatherapy treatment is done to enhance the human instincts and to make the skin do it’s magic through the contact of touch, stroke and rubbing. Aromatherapy offer physiological comfort to the patient being one of the simplest health care tributary. The method or mode of treatment is considered to be very beneficial as stroking the skin triggers the release of endorphins in the body, which are the natural painkiller in a human body. The endorphins help to release muscle tension and reduces anxiety which creates a feeling of comfort and well-being, and efficiently lowers the stress hormones which weaken the immune system in a body – namely cortisol and nor-epinephrine.

At times the essential oils cause an allergic skin reaction. Essential oils gets absorbed through skin, so it's important to avoid any excess use of aromatherapy oils, and if you are sensitive to any scents, aromatherapy may not be right for you, and can cause problems post therapy

Pregnant women should check with their doctor before getting a aromatherapy massage, as the oils and scents can cause nausea and irritation on skin.

Massage should not be done directly over any sort of bruises, skin rashes, inflamed or weak skin, unhealed wounds, tumors, abdominal hernia or fractures, as it can cause serious problems later.

One should have massage from a professional therapist, and the massage should be done systemically and who not are not appropriate, should not do it. Or else, the aromatherapy can cause complications later. So it will be better to check with your doctor or the healthcare provider before getting the Aromatherapy treatment, whether will it be compatible for you or not.

Aromatherapy treatment for different problems cake different durations of time, though it is found to be effective if aromatherapy is done with any other conventional treatment.

The cost of Aromatherapy treatment in India can ranges from somewhere between Rs. 150 to as high as Rs. 25,000 per session, but that varies. The cost will depends on certain criterias such as what are the oils being used, and how experienced the therapist is.

The results of the treatment are not permanent but are long effective. The only case in which they are not permanent or short lived is if the patient has skin related to allergies, in which case you should take proper care to avoid triggering any skin disease with any allergen.