Aromatherapy
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[edit] Definition
Aromatherapy is a system of alternative medicine based around the claim that aromatic oils can be used for therapeutic ends, usually by using an incense burner to diffuse the aroma in the presence of the patient, but the oils may also be drunk, applied to the skin, or added to bathwater.
As with so many forms of alternative medicine, the various different aromatic oils are supposed to have benefits for different physiological processes (irrespective of what's wrong with them). So, for example, rosemary oil may be claimed to "balance the endocrine system", or helichrysum oil will "stimulate liver cell function". Claims to cure specific diseases, as such, are uncommon.
[edit] Origins
People have used various aromatic substances for medicinal purposes for centuries, either as unguents applied to wounds, or burnt in the belief that disease was caused by bad smells. However, the modern practice of aromatherapy, and the word "aromatherapy" itself, originates with the French perfumier René-Maurice Gattefossé, who first made his theories public in 1937 in his book Aromatherapy.
[edit] Discussion
There can be little doubt that certain aromatic oils are pharmacologically active. For this reason, they can be downright dangerous. They are not recommended for asthmatics, as they may cause asthmatic attacks; they may bring on an allergic reactions; during pregnancy, the essential oils of basil, calamus, clary sage, juniper, mugwort, pennyroyal, rosemary, sage, thyme, and wintergreen can all harm the fetus or even cause abortion; the oils of nutmeg, parsley seed and star anise contain a toxin called myristicin which taken or inhaled in excess leads to an elevated heart rate, convulsions, hallucinations, and death.
It likely that some aromatic oils will be found to have beneficial medical effects, especially when applied topically or taken internally like a conventional medicine. However, this would not give support to the general practice of aromatherapy, any more than the discovery that chalk settles an acid stomach would validate a system of healing which relied on prescribing different coloured chalks to "balance the endocrine system" and "strengthen liver cell function", etc.
The aromatherapist is paid for his or her supposed expertise: the ability to make up the right blend of oils to suit your symptoms. But they are entirely lacking in any medical data showing that they have this knowledge or that they can decide for you any better than you can decide for yourself what to stick in your incense burner or add to your bathwater. In the absence of any such evidence, there seems no reason to pay them any money to make this decision for you.
