Risks of Aromatherapy – Is Aromatherapy Safe For You To Use?
Aromatherapy is filled with unique scents used to soothe the senses and improve your mental state. The scents come from the essential oils of flowers and other aromatic plants. Are there any risks of aromatherapy usage?
In most cases aromatherapy is extremely safe. The oils are extracted from the plant material and most times are filtered removing pollens which cause allergic reactions. For people who are very sensitive to plant allergies caution should still be used. It is not common for people to have allergic reactions, but you do not want to ignore the possibility.
The other health area which can raise a few concerns is asthma. Asthma attacks can be triggered by many different sources, and introducing new scents always carries a minor risk. Make sure you keep in mind the risk and keep your asthma medicine handy when you try new essential oils. If you discover a particular scent or oil which triggers either an asthma or allergy attack, dispose of this oil, and do not purchase it again.
Perhaps the biggest risks of aromatherapy comes when you create overblown expectations of what it can do for you. If you buy into some of the wild claims of healing, correcting major physical or mental distresses, or other extreme claims, you will put yourself at risk. In this case it is not the aromatherapy causing the risk, but your ideas of the capabilities of the treatment. Consider aromatherapy as an aid to soothing your mind and spirit. It works wonderfully at helping to deepen focus, meditation, and to bring your mind away from thoughts and conditions which may be causing you unnecessary stress.
The only other risks you might run into are with your methods of using aromatherapy. When you use boiling water, steamers, and other heating elements to release the scents of the essential oils into the air there is a small risk of burning yourself. This is perhaps a bigger risk to our young children. Make sure any heating methods are kept well away from their exploring hands. As we all know, children are going to try to grab, pull, and explore any new and interesting things in our homes. Protect your children by keeping the heaters high and out of their reach.
To give you an indication of safety of aromatherapy, even the Nation Cancer Institute has published a report on their website discussing the safety of aromatherapy. In the same article they cover what we just discussed, do not expect miraculous cures from the use of aromatherapy, use it for the calming and mind changing influence it offers.
The risks of aromatherapy are very small, while the mind calming, and emotional benefits can be great. Using aromatherapy to enhance your other treatments, or your life in general, is both safe and rewarding. You can let go of your fears, and start enjoying the benefits of using the beautiful scents emanating from the essential oils. You will enjoy the new fragrances, and how they can help calm your spirit.
Surprised that you didn’t mention the risks of improper ingestion. As well as the risks of some essential oils effecting the liver. Also the use of essential oils on children.