AROMATHERAPY

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)

All over the world ME sufferers are coming forward and announcing that they feel utterly t. Until the late 1980s the symptoms of ME were variously ascribed to hysteria, malingering and depression because nobody could find a cause for the profound muscular fatigue and various other symptoms of which sufferers complained.

Controversy still abounds, but the consensus of medical opinion now ascribes the symptoms to the presence in the body of one of the 74 enteroviruses.. It seems that any one of these viruses can switch off the body's cells so that they cannot perform their usual function.

ME, or post-viral syndrome, has been called 'yuppie flu' because it seems to affect so many high-powered young people in stressful jobs. But this is a misnomer because all sorts of people have it, from housewives and family doctors to dentists and cab drivers.

The only thing sufferers have in common is that the condition develops after a viral infection of some sort - flu or food poisoning, for example. Instead of getting better, the sufferer becomes profoundly tired after the slightest activity and may develop any number of other symptoms, relating to practically every part of the body.

It was the very varied nature of these symptoms which made it hard for the medical profession to see the common, basic problem; plus the fact that extreme exhaustion is difficult to test for and identify clinically. Many an ME sufferer has been told to 'go home and take it easy', perhaps with a prescription for tranquillisers in their pocket too.

Before ME became more understood, sufferers were made to feel as if they were edging towards a nervous breakdown, or just imagining things or malingering, when they were in fact suffering all sorts of debilitating physical problems.

Beside the muscle fatigue , common problems are loss of concentration and memory, mental confusion, lethargy, insomnia, irritability, depression, impaired balance, sight and hearing, and headaches.

The frightening thing about ME is that it can last for years. At present people are being told that if the symptoms continue for a year there's a fifty-fifty chance that they will continue for another seven. No wonder depression is a symptom.

Essential oil treatment consists of fighting the battle on all fronts. You don't have to worry that your treatment for muscle fatigue will clash with the oils you are using to treat symptoms because essential oils, unlike chemical drugs, do not have dangerous side-effects if you take the wrong cocktail.

Rather they are like a team of good friends, all helping out in the best way they can when their particular attributes are needed. Take each day's symptoms as they come and invite your new friends to help you - whether singly or in a group, according to your needs at the time.

Several of the main symptoms of Me are discussed separately here; for those that are not you will find other treatments throughout these pages. But the one symptom you need to treat on a regular basis is the muscular fatigue, even though it may come and go.

Muscular Fatigue
If you've ever seen a cartoon of someone so exhausted that she fell asleep in her soup, it was probably an ME sufferer. Few of us, unless we have run a marathon or spent many nights awake with a sick and crying baby, can truly understand the profound nature of ME muscle fatigue.

It can come and go quite suddenly and people experience it in different ways, and in different ways on different days. It maybe like having lead weights for limbs, or an ache in the muscles like a bad flu attack, or aching bones or just a general weakness. One patient was so weak all over that the duvet on her bed felt as if it were stuffed with lead-shot.

If you have had ME for a long time you may have noticed a pattern to your fatigue; if so, use this information to your advantage and treat yourself with the oils before an attack is due.

If you are unfortunate enough to be one of those who has continual muscle fatigue, choose a time when you have nothing to do except apply the oils. Keep the oils handy so that you can use them when the best opportunity presents itself.

The aim is to avoid apathy taking over because then you won't be able to help yourself. Apply at least twice a day.

Muscle Fatigue Formula

 Muscle fatigue Essential Oils. 

Reference; The Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Worwood

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The VDU

On opposite sides of the VDU hazards controversy are those who are concerned about your health and those concerned with their own wealth. I don't have to tell you who is for them, and who is against. Anybody who works on a visual display unit should read the VDU Hazards handbook produced by the London Hazards Centre Trust, even though it is depressing reading and may make you consider a new career. Even to summarise the comprehensive research contained in the handbook would take more space than I have here.

The list of complaints from people who use VDU's is so long that there is bound to be something in there you suffer from, whether it's as important as the inability to conceive a child or as unimportant as pimples. Apart from the problems you would expect - to the eyes, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, neck, back, skin and ears - and the stress that results from the monotonous and isolated nature of much VDU work, there is a whole can of worms relating to the subtle effects of radiation and electricity as they bombard  you from a VDU. keyboard operators working away on the nation's 'invisible earnings' at the bank may themselves be incurring invisible losses they know nothing about, but which one day in the future may hit them like a bombshell.

The effects of radiation and electricity on the human organism is a subject still little understood. We are learning new things every day about electrobiology, and it is becoming clear that the invisible waves passing through the atmosphere play a crucial role in human health - or ill health. We simply do not know what effects are suffered as a result of moving from the normal atmospheric electrostatic charge of 3 volts to that eighteen inches away from a VDU screen - 150 volts per square inch. And we know nothing about the long-term effects because VDUs haven't been around long enough.

One victim may be sperm. They are exceedingly vulnerable little cells and the impact of invisible rays on them may account for the unusually high numbers of deformed babies and miscarriages that occur in women who work with VDUs. According to the VDU Hazards Handbook, women who move away from the VDU when they find out they are pregnant may be too late, not only because their partners VDU may already have caused damaged sperm and therefore a damaged foetus, but because a baby can be severely brain-damaged during the first 4-6 weeks of pregnancy, before the woman realises that she is pregnant. It may therefore be wise to give up the VDU some time before starting a family. I have to say that there is no conclusive case for linking VDUs to these dangers, merely bits of evidence which seem to be pointing  in that direction.

But it is a serious subject and one that, if you work on VDUs, you may wish to explore further. You must inform yourself and draw your own conclusions from what you learn. That may be the only choice you have in the matter of VDUs at work.

The VDU is only one contributing factor towards the high positive charge found in many offices. The metal frames of modern office blocks, air-conditioning and air-carried central heating, and fixtures and fittings made of unnatural fibres are other factors. This atmosphere is very unnatural and, according to a great deal of research, it is not good for health, including mental health. It is in this area that essential oils can help by redressing the balance. They increase the effectiveness of the negative ion effect, making things as good as they can possibly be in the circumstances. The following essential oils are those I recommend for use in the high-tech environment:

Essential OIs That Increase The Effectiveness Of Negative Ions
Cypress - Pine - Petttigraine - Lemon - Bois de Rose - Patchouli - Orange - Cedarwood - Sandalwood - Bergamot - Grapefruit

As you can see, the majority of oils on this list are from trees and are doing, in effect, is bringing the well-known beneficial effects of the forest into your own interior space. Use them in any of the room methods, preferably in a diffuser to save you trouble when replenishing supply. When you get home, compensate for the negative effect all this technology and stress is having on your immune system by using the following:

Essential Oils To Stimulate Immune Systems
Geranium - Rosemary - Lavender - Tea Tree

Reference: The Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Worwood

Visual Stress

Your eyes are one of your most valuable assets and if you are a secretary, clerk, accountant or lawyer, you are liable to strain them without noticing until one day the words don't quite focus and the figures seem to move.Visual stress symptoms may also surface as blurring, seeing coloured lights or black specks, haze around objects, tiredness, a feeling of sleepiness, watering, red eyes, bags under the eyes and the feeling of having something in the eye that never goes away. But the most commonly reported symptom is the inability to focus. When you are reading a book, look up quickly at the TV screen and if it's blurred, you could have visual stress.

There are several things you can do to protect your eyes. Make sure your lighting arrangements  at work and at home  are as good as possible - when reading, for example, the light should be behind you, over your shoulder. Move your desk so that you get all the natural light  there is. If you are experiencing visual difficulties you must have an eye test. There are some very good exercises for strengthening the eyes, and I recommend a book called Better eyesight Without Glasses by W.H.Bates.  To strengthen your eyes - whethere you are experiencing visual stress or not - splash them with cold water several times after you wash your face, morning and night. This is also marvellously refreshing. Bathing the eyes in ice-cold water helps to relieve burning. 

Essential oils can be of use but it is vital to understand that they should only be used to bethe the eyelids. To put essential oils into the eyes is extremely dangerous, whether they are diluted in water or not. If you do have visual stress the following treatment can help, but do be very careful to keep your eyes closed throughout.

Make the eyelid bath by adding 10 drops of chamomile german (blue) to 1 tablespoon of disperser (which enables essential oils to become water soluble) or 1 dessertspoon of alcohol (use brandy or vodka). Add this mixture to 150ml good mineral water. Shake well. Keep the mixture in the fridge and bathe the eyelids morning and night. If your eyes are really aching and you have a heavy head, soak a piece of natural material in the solution and place it over the eyes and head. Store your pieces of soaked material in the freezer compartment for when they are needed.

Marigolds are an excellent addition to the solution above and although they take a little time to prepare, it is well worth the effort if you are suffering from visual stress. With this method, the order of preparation is somewhat different. Mix the essential oils and disperser (or alcohol), then add three marigold heads, if you have them growing in the garden, or a dessertspoon of dried petals. leave to stand overnight. In the morning add the mixture to the mineral water and leave the bottle to stand in the fridge for at least five hours,then pour through a paper coffee-filter. You will now have a clear liquid which makes an excellent eyebath.

Mental or emotional stress also causes eye strain and if you can alleviate this you may find that the eye problem goes too. Use the oils from the stress section in your workplace to scent the air and relieve tension.

Reference: The Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Worwood

Repetitive Strain Syndrome - 2

Writer's Cramp
You don't have to be a writer to fet writer's cramp. Students cramming for exams, dressmakers, composers, engravers and many others who hold their hand a forearm in one position for a long time are all at risk. The main symptom is cramp in the hand which can be bad enough to bring all work to a halt and needs to be treated because, if left, it will get progressively worse.

Massage is one of the best solutions but increasing your vitamin d and calcium intake also helps. Make your own massage formula from the oils listed below, or use the formula - 1 drop essential oil per millilitre of base vegetable oil.:

Writer's Cramp Formula
Geranium 10 drops, Hyssop 5 drops, Cypress 15 drops, diluted in 30ml vegetable oil.

Writer's Cramp Essential oil
Rosemary, Geranium, Hyssop, Cypress

Tennis Elbow
Repetitive use of a screwdriver can cause so-called' tennis elbow' as easily as can a few games on the courts. The trouble is caused by straining the muscles, specifically those on the outer side of the elbow joint and below the joint. Pain, stiffness and swelling are the result.

Again, ice helps greatly, but this time place crushed ice loosely in a plastic bag and put it around the elbow, using bandages or plaster to keep it in place. Also massage essential oils into the area, then work the oil down the arm and into the hand. Make your own formula from the list below or use the formulas - 1 drop per millilitre of base vegetable oil:

Tennis Elbow Formula
Eucalyptus peppermint 10 drops, Ginger 10 drops, Rosemary 10 drops, diluted in 30ml vegetable oil.

Tennis Elbow Essential Oils
Rosemary, Ginger, Cypress Hyssop, Eucalyptus peppermint 

Bursitis
Housemaid's knee, dustman's shoulder and weaver's bottom are just some of the names used to describe bursitis. This is inflammation of a bursa, a clumpy or fibrous tissue which is encased in membrane whose job it is to reduce friction between the body's moving parts - between bone and ligaments or tendons, for example. Typists and others who use their fingers constantly are particularly at risk, although anyone who over-uses a specific bursa can expect to get complaints. Like us, bursae insist on fair working conditions!

The ice-cup massage technique is very helpful for bursitis. You should also exercise the area in any way you can, using movements you do not employ at work. For example, typists should splay their fingers and then relax them. Also massage the area using the following formula, or make your own from the list below using 1 drop per millilitre of base vegetable oil:

Bursitis Formula
Juniper 5 drops, Chamomile Roman 10 drops, Cypress 15 drops, diluted in 30ml vegetable oil.

Bursitis Essential Oils
Juniper, Cypress, Ginger, hyssop, Chamomile Roman.

Torticollis
'Wry-neck' as torticollis is sometimes called, comes from holding the neck in one position for hours on end. Watching the assemble line go by to check for errors in one job that may bring it on, especially if the head is turned to one side. If you sit in a draught you could end up with your head painfully stuck in one position.

The muscles affected are the sternomastoids, the large muscles at the side of the neck which extend on either side behind the ear down to the sternum and clavicle. apply ice packs, followed by warm towels. The cabbage leaf treatment also helps a great deal. massage with the following formula, or make your own using the 1 drop per millilitre vegetable oil basis.

Torticollis Formula
Marjoram 10 drops, Basil 5 drops, Rosemary 15 drops, diluted in 30ml vegetable oil.

Torticollis Essential Oils
Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Marjoram, Chamomile Roman

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Reference: The Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Worwood