Guest guest Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Ahh Butch - howdy! I knew I could count on you for some info ;-) The subject that I'm studying is 'Research Methods', and its part of a Diploma of Remedial Massage. I'm already a professional MT, but the industry is becoming more standardised, albeit slowly, so I'm doing subjects that I haven't done previously, to get me a piece of paper that says I now have a " Diploma of Remedial Massage " . Anyhow, one task was to review a scientific article from a health science journal and interpret the results. Well, I found one: Reducing the symptoms of lymphoedema: Is there a role for aromatherapy. Barclayj, Vesley j, Lamber A, Balmer C Eurpoean Journal of Oncology Nursing (2006). I am also a qualified Lymphoedema Therapist, and have a Cert IV in Aromatherapy, so I was really excited to find this paper. I 'reviewd' it and received a Distinction. My teacher left comments, and one of them was the one I posted. I wanted to prove him wrong (even though I actually agree with him). I note that on Martin's website he says that no specific experiments have been done with subjects NOT being able to smell EO's as they are being massaged. Well, I emailed my teacher (who is Head of Studies) and asked him if we could do such an experiment!! I have no idea what he will say....but if one never asks, the answer is definately a 'no'!! I'll let you all know what he thinks!!! Thanks for the info. Cheers, Fiona Australia - Butch Owen ATFE2 Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:21 PM [ATFE2] Absorption of EO ** Was: AT question Howdy Fiona, Hi all, > > I have a question - and need lots of peoples input please. > Why? You gonna take the average and call it a conclusion? ;-) This subject of absorption has come up over and over for all the years I've been in this business .. I think it will never die because there is too much misinformation and hype out and about that is used as a basis for selling EO .. take away the false info and the sellers might have to learn the truth about EO .. rather than depend on the Aromatherapy " novels " that regurgitate information that has no basis in fact. Of course .. Young Living and other con outfits use Absorption as a marketing gimmick also. > My teacher has said: " there's not a lot of evidence that skin absorption > of oils has much medical use. > I'll agree with the teacher on that point .. except with a very few exceptions. Its not a matter of whether or not an Essential Oil can absorb deep enough to get into the blood stream .. as it is which of the chemicals in an Essential Oil will absorb .. and to what depth. Most chemicals that can absorb readily are harmful in any case. Of course, if we have broken skin then there is a route for absorption .. but we all know that EO shouldn't be used on broken or damaged skin. Any oil that is absorbed via the hair follicle and sebaceous gland is > very quickly detoxified in the liver. " > Three problems with that one .. (1) the hair follicles and the sebaceous gland are not very effective at allowing absorption .. it is not their job. Sebaceous glands are connected to hair follicles for the purpose of depositing sebum onto the hairs .. they do this by bringing it up the hair shaft until it gets to the surface of the skin .. the hair follicles and the sebaceous glands .. as well as the (sweat) pores are not there to absorb but rather to deposit/secrete .. we could say that they don't inhale .. they exhale. ;-) .. (2) to say that " any oil " is quickly processed (not detoxified) by the liver is too broad a statement cause (1) we're not talking about EO .. but rather particular chemicals in an EO .. all chemicals don't absorb at all beyond the out layer of skin .. and if we are to believe that we must use the whole EO in order to gain therapeutic benefit .. then we can't accept that just certain chemicals in an EO will provide therapeutic benefit .. and (3) The liver doesn't necessarily process any chemical rapidly .. depends on how healthy or ill the liver is and on which chemical we are talking about. For example .. it does a TERRIBLE job processing Methyl salicyclate .. which is the chemical making up approximately 99% of the total volume of the oils of Sweet Birch and Wintergreen. Folks can die from long term use of those oils .. a teen age athlete died a few months ago from slathering herself with a commercial preparation containing Methyl salicyclate .. it was one of the typical Ben Gay type preparations designed to provide relief from muscle pain. > What are your thoughts on this comment?? As aromatherapists (both > professional and non-professional), why are we using them, and if they are > " quickly detoxified in the liver " , then why bother using them in say, > massage oils? > Massage with Essential Oils is not for the pupose of absorption .. its for the purpose of relaxation and tuning up the mind and body muscles .. one can use olive oil or butter and get the same results .. unless they don't like the odor of olive oil or butter. Plus there is the element of human touch .. its quite healing. When using an EO during a massage .. the major gain to the recipient (other than manipulation of the body/muscles) is through inhalation of the volatile vapors of the EO .. that's what AromaTherapy is all about in the first place .. inhalation of the volatile molecules of an EO. In fact, the person giving the massage will gain more benefit from inhalation than will the recipient because they are standing up and the volatile molecules rise. > I want to email back to my teacher (who is obviously a skeptic of > aromatherapy), but I'm stuck at where to begin. > What kinda teacher is this? Certainly not an Aromatherapy or Massage teacher. They are skeptical perhaps because they don't know anything about AT .. or absorption. Here is also some input from Martin Watt's site ... http://www.aromamedical.com/articles/skinabso.html Folks might oughta consider reading a lot of the articles on his site .. http://www.aromamedical.com/ especially his articles archive http://www.aromamedical.com/articlesarchive.html All input greatly appreciated. > Fiona > Australia > Welcome you are fer'shur .. you have some of myinput .. I'll send another one I have written over the years and sent to many lists .. including this one .. but its not in the list archive now because they are gone .. but it was here once .. so I'll pull it up from the Oils & Herbs group and send it on. Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 >I note that on Martin's website he says that no specific experiments >have been done with subjects NOT being able to smell EO's Since that article was written years ago, I know of one experiment where people wore breathing apparatus and were massaged using Orange oil. I am told there were no traces of that oil or its constituent chemicals when blood samples were taken and analysed. The study has never been published because it was funded by a charity involved in cancer care as a private project, but I do know it was well constructed and done at a UK University as I was asked for some advice. The whole skin absorption thing in aromatherapy is a fantasy invented long ago by know-nothing teachers/authors on the subject. Martin Watt http://www.aromamedical.com ATFE2 , " cooredulla " <cooredulla wrote: > > Ahh Butch - howdy! > > I knew I could count on you for some info ;-) > > The subject that I'm studying is 'Research Methods', and its part of a Diploma of Remedial Massage. I'm already a professional MT, but the industry is becoming more standardised, albeit slowly, so I'm doing subjects that I haven't done previously, to get me a piece of paper that says I now have a " Diploma of Remedial Massage " . > > Anyhow, one task was to review a scientific article from a health science journal and interpret the results. > > Well, I found one: > > Reducing the symptoms of lymphoedema: Is there a role for aromatherapy. Barclayj, Vesley j, Lamber A, Balmer C Eurpoean Journal of Oncology Nursing (2006). > > I am also a qualified Lymphoedema Therapist, and have a Cert IV in Aromatherapy, so I was really excited to find this paper. I 'reviewd' it and received a Distinction. My teacher left comments, and one of them was the one I posted. > > I wanted to prove him wrong (even though I actually agree with him). > > I note that on Martin's website he says that no specific experiments have been done with subjects NOT being able to smell EO's as they are being massaged. Well, I emailed my teacher (who is Head of Studies) and asked him if we could do such an experiment!! I have no idea what he will say....but if one never asks, the answer is definately a 'no'!! > > I'll let you all know what he thinks!!! > > Thanks for the info. > > Cheers, > Fiona > Australia > - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Now help me out here. I told someone this recently and they disputed it using nicotine and seasicknesses patches as their argument. I just kind of said something along the lines of, " Yeah--well, so. " Which really wasn't a very convincing argument. :-P Tracy Hi Tracy, You can always say " apples and oranges " ! Ha! I was once told a story by a magnificent teller of tales about how a nitro patch (?) for angina substantiated, in a roundabout way, the absorption of EO's into the skin. My issue is that transdermal patches are created in such a way as to impel absorption... application of EO's via carrier oils, alcohol or whatever other medium, even neat, just isn't the same and not really comparable. Or is it? ;-) Take care (during those seriously fun debates!), Stacey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 ATFE2 , " DecemberRoses " <decemberroses wrote: > > Now help me out here. I told someone this recently and they disputed it > using nicotine and seasicknesses patches as their argument. I just kind of > said something along the lines of, " Yeah--well, so. " Which really wasn't a > very convincing argument. :-P Hi Tracy, You can always try saying nothing but " apples and oranges " and see if they'll accept it as a convincing answer! Ha! I was once told a story by a magnificent teller of tales about how a nitro patch (?) for angina and alternate application of some EO substantiated, in a roundabout way, the absorption of all EO's into the skin as medical treatment. My issue with that example now is that transdermal patches are created in such a way as to specifically impel absorption... application of EO's via carrier oils, or even neat, just isn't the same, so it's not really comparable. Alcohol and heat would perhaps increase some absorption (my non-scientific unsubstantianted conclusion), but nothing along the lines of magically making things happen to heal the body or serious medical conditions. Maybe at some future point? Sort of BTW... why don't we try creating/distilling essential oils from plants with no scent and then apply those to the body? They wouldn't smell of anything and you'd lose the 'aroma' in 'aromatherapy', but they just might work. Or something. Right? :-)) Take care (during those seriously fun debates!), Stacey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.