Aromatherapy has been around for thousands of years. It uses plant extracts (aromatic essential oils) to improve the health and well-being of mind, body, and spirit. This makes aromatherapy a great holistic alternative medicine with little to no side effects.
But what are essential oils?
Flowers are not the only scented part of a plant, mostly herbs. You must have come across cinnamon and curry leaves for cooking, and orange peel powder for a natural skin scrub. Aromatherapy extracts the fragrance from these scented parts through crushing and special steaming processes which you get to see as essential oils.
They have a strong scent. But that’s not what helps you feel better. The plant’s chemicals affect your brain and body. They get into your bloodstream when you put the oil on your skin or breathe it in.
Aromatherapy is proven to be an effective complementary treatment for a plethora of medical conditions – from common cough and cold to migraine and high blood pressure. But could it help you have more comfortable periods?
Wouldn’t it be great to ditch bulky heating pads and unnecessary painkillers, and find period cramp relief without announcing it to the world or dealing with the side-effects? Our world would instantly become better It would be a better world where periods are not that unwelcomed.
So, we dug up some scientific research journals to find that out.
Aromatherapy for menstrual cramps
Eucalyptus Oil
When applied on the skin or ingested orally (in small amounts), Eucalyptus oil can help relieve pain, bring down inflammation and curb high blood pressure. Another study found inhaling this oil to be highly beneficial for those who have undergone total knee replacement and needed natural help to reduce pain and swelling. So, if it can work for deep pain like that, it can definitely ease your cramps.
Wintergreen Oil
The oil extracted from the leaves of this herb is used topically to relieve headache and muscle pain. Its active ingredient is closely related to aspirin, but the oil is also effective in common cold, occasional swelling and arthritis. Rubbing some Wintergreen oil on the abdomen, inner thighs and lower back can help bring down the severity of period pain safely.
Peppermint Oil (Menthol)
Remember the balm moms applied to us as kids for cold and cough and how it used to help us feel instantly a little better? Well, that’s the magic of strong, uplifting fragrance of menthol which is a key ingredient in cold and cough balms and inhalers. For menstrual problems, menthol or Peppermint oil comes across as a cure-all. Nausea, vomiting, cramps, gas, bloating – it can handle anything.
We haven’t tried the same balm on our abdomen, but the menthol present in our Feminine Cramp Relief Roll-on really eases our period struggles.
Lavender Oil
Lavender essential oil is used to check sleep and anxiety issues. Inhaling or applying Lavender oil on skin has shown to provide relief in pain as bad as migraines along with skin inflammation, wound healing and period cramps. Its candles are quite popular for those with mood swings and high-stress tendencies. Lighting lavender-scented candles or using the oil in a diffuser, can help greatly to lower mood swings and relax the mind as well as the body during periods.
Rosemary Oil
Out of all the five oils here, Rosemary oil is the most widely used oil for chronic pain relief and management in combination with other pain medicines. It also works wonders to soothe nerves and calm down muscle cramps. Many studies have found Rosemary oil to wonderful in relieving renal colic pain and dysmenorrhea (extreme period cramps and bleeding).
Over to you
Aromatherapy is a non-invasive and cost-effective solution to many medical problems. Its easy applicability and low side-effect feature are what makes aromatherapy so handy and beneficial. Many studies have confirmed its efficacy in PMS and symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea such as extreme menstrual pain and anxiety.
Do you wish to try Aromatherapy for period cramps? Grab ahold of our Feminine Cramp Relief Roll-on.