Pain and Lavender

Lavender reported to be useful in the treatment of acute as well as chronic or intractable pain. It has been shown that foot massage using lavender essential oil in 100 ICU patients of whom 50% were receiving artificial ventilation was effective in lowering blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, wakefulness, and pain. Treatment of recurrent aphthous ulceration with lavender oil in 115 patients revealed a significant pain relief mostly from the first dose, ulcer size reduction, increased rate of mucosal repair, and healing within three days of treatment compared to baseline and placebo groups. Stress level, the bispectral index (a promising parameter for monitoring sedation), and pain intensity of needle insertion were significantly reduced after receiving oxygen with a face mask coated with lavender oil for five minutes compared with the control in thirty volunteers. Aromatic oil massage with essential oils blended with lavender, clary sage, and marjoram in a 2 : 1 : 1 ratio in forty-eight outpatients with primary dysmenorrhea alleviated the pain and reduced the duration of dysmenorrhea. Aromatherapy by using lavender essence was also reported as a successful and safe complementary therapy in reduction of pain after the cesarean section in 200 term pregnant women and after episiotomy in 60 primiparous women  as well as in perineal discomfort following normal childbirth in 635 women. It has been shown that lavender aromatherapy through an oxygen face mask with two drops of 2% lavender oil can be used to reduce the demand for opioids in twenty-five patients after immediate postoperative period of breast biopsy surgery  and for other analgesics in fifty-four patients undergoing laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. In contrast to these observations, the aroma of essential oil of lavender ease anxiety but not perception of pain during elective cosmetic facial injections of botulinum toxin for the correction of glabellar wrinkle. A course of eight-session manual acupressure with lavender oil (3% lavender oil; used as the massage lubricant) over a three-week period in patients with nonspecific subacute neck pain (32 patients) or low back pain (61 patients) significantly alleviated the neck and back pain and improved movements of the cervical and lumbar spine. Inhalation of lavender essential oil is suggested to be an effective and safe treatment modality in acute management of migraine headaches. Forty-seven patients suffering from migraine attacks reported significant reduction of pain severity and associated symptoms after fifteen minutes inhalation of lavender oil (2-3 drops of the lavender essential oil rubbed onto their upper lip) in the early stages of the attacks. Aromatherapy massage with lavender accompanied with rose geranium, rose, and jasmine in almond and primrose oils once a week for 8 weeks is reported as an effective treatment of menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, depression, and pain in climacteric women.

Pain and Lavender