Introduction
The applicability of oils in reducing the pain levels especially caused by some conditions like arthritis and cancer is very important in relieving pain. Essential oils offer uncomplicated ways of lessening some physical symptoms whilst at the same time upholding emotional relaxations, and giving relief. For instances, patients with arthritis usually have sleepless nights because of the pains they have to undergo. Therefore, any method that may help in reducing the pain levels is important in their lives. Different methods have been used to relieve pain in such situations but the ideal and the easiest way is to make use of essential oils ( Tisserand, & Young, 2013). Therefore, great efforts should be directed towards finding the different kinds of oils that could be useful in lowering the pain levels in patients with medical conditions that are associated with a lot of pain. For instance, in patients with persistent serious conditions like cancer and arthritis, does the use of essential oils, compared to zero management, reduce pain levels?’
Discussion
Pain makes the recovery process a nightmare for most patients. Therefore, developing ways of relieving pain is an important process that may help not only patients but also their families as well as healthcare providers to have a peace of mind. No one wants to see their loved ones suffer because of persistent pain due to a certain condition. Therefore, the main reason for choosing this topic is to help further understanding in as far as the importance of using oils in relieving pain is concerned together with, how they are generated and possibly their sources. Through this the patients and the healthcare providers can be able to adequately appreciate the use of oils and be able to make use of the oils in relieving the pains caused by certain illnesses.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Aromatherapy is one of the therapies that are used in the management of cancer. Essential oils also known as volatile oils are the basic materials that are applied in the case of this therapy. Essential oils are usually natural plant extracts or materials that have antifungal ant- inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Immediately the essences are extracted from the plants they are distilled either with the use of water or steam. Alternatively, they are mechanically hard-pressed. Some of the essential oils that have been put into use include ginger, turmeric , lemon, myrrh, orange, cedar wood, tea tree, and bergamot ( Olapour, Behaeen, Akhondzadeh, Soltani, al Sadat Razavi & Bekhradi, 2013). These essential oils have to be natural, essentials oils, otherwise they would just be as ineffective as chemically manufactured oils. Moreover, natural oils have a health benefit that far outweighs any health risks that are inherent to them.
A significant characteristic of nursing and healthcare providers is to ensure that patients undergo minimal or no pain after having been enrolled for medical treatment in case of illness or injury through the provision of adequate, comfortable and compassionate care. To treat a person, medical practitioners need to maintain responsiveness of mind and of the body in addition to the efficient utilization of conventional medical interventions say by the use of essential oils which are likely to give certain levels of consolations to patients, seeing as this improves psychological and physical symptoms.
The different applications of essential oils have a long history that’s been more clearly evidenced by the discovery of plant distillations in the Middle East and in Egypt. The use of essential oils has been applied by different cultures all over the world. To that end, their applications too have differed on a culture to culture basis. For instance, the earliest evidence of the application or the use of plants was reported in Lascaux, in France where the use of plant extracts in the distant past was evidenced in form of cave paintings. (Silver et al, 2012). Further, archaeological discoveries in Egypt, India, Greece, Rome, Persia, Europe and China, have indicated the application of essential oils in the distant past. In China, the discovery and application of aromatic oils dates as far back as the 20th century. Some of these aromatic oils are still in use today.
In India, Vedic literature provides a list of over 400 substances that have been in use for a period spanning 3000 years to help with the relief of pains and for purposes of healing. Some of these substances include ginger, cinnamon, myrrh and sandalwood. Ancient Indians also made use of aromatic oils for treating different diseases. In Europe, the Knights applied the knowledge of distillation in order to acquire plant extracts. Frankincense and pine were not only used for medical reasons but also for religious purposes in the banishment of evil spirits (Chao et al, 2013). Lavender was discovered by Gattefosse after who realized that the oil could heal his hand when he got a small accident in the lab. His hand healed and he didn’t feel the pains of the burns. Later he conducted further research and introduced the essential oil to many hospitals. In that period the outbreak of Spanish influenza didn’t kill any nurse and that proved the protective nature against infections of lavender.
Essential oils have since been incorporated into integrative nursing and are a part of modern healthcare practices. Different chemical substances that are present or are contained in the essential oil establish their long or short term effects while their recognition is very essential in determining their therapeutic use. With the recent technologies used in conducting different tests like the use of mass spectrometry and gas chromatography identifying specific chemical constituents of essential oil is easy ( Silva, Guimarães, Silva, Sousa-Neto, Machado, Quintans-Júnior & Oliveira, 2012).
It is imperative to note that the therapeutic worth of essential oils highly depends on the routes of their administration, their chemical constituents, and some factors or elements including the pleasantness of their scent. The most commonly used routes of administration include the inhalation process on one hand, and the topical application route on the other, occasionally with the applications of massage. The chemical constituents of essence oils usually are absorbed either into the nervous or into the circulatory systems, consequent to which they affect the normal functioning of the body systems ( Azmir, Zaidul, Rahman, Sharif, Mohamed, Sahena & Omar, 2013).
Inhalation allows for the discernment of the fragrance owing to the essence oils and has a huge impact on bodily organs. The administration of essential oils by mean of inhalation allows for them to excite the olfactory pathways which are closely interconnected to regions around the brain's limbic system. The limbic system influences hormone levels, blood pressure, pulmonary and respiratory rates. Part of the limbic system is the amygdala, which has a key role in as far as impulsive reactions are concerned. The amygdala is a key influencer of anger and fear (Azmir et al, 2013).
The tropical applications of essence oils, makes the skin relatively penetrable. This makes it more likely for other topical pharmaceuticals to effectively illicit their effects on the skin. Therefore, some oils ought to be applied together with similar tropical medications in order to help improve their effectiveness. To this end, various studies have already been undertaken in consideration of the effect of other tropical oils to the absorbance of essence oils. One such study, whose aim was to determine the rate of absorbency of lavender oil established that, the main constituents of this oil-linalyl acetate and linalool- would be retained within the blood in over an hour after the conduction of a lavender massage. Even though it is likely that inhalation could have been a contributor to the absorption of the lavender oils, absorption through the skin was by far the primary point of entrance of these oils into the body (Silva et al, 2012).
The use of essential oils is fundamental to the nursing profession in just as much as it is to the general welfare of patients. Some of the key reasons for using these oils include; firstly, for self- care. However before that is done, the nurse ought to have basic knowledge with respect to the determination of the most appropriate oils prior to their application. This must be done in view of the health risk associated with these oils. For instance, it is medically imprudent for a nurse to apply rosemary oils in the event of outbreak of highly contagious diseases, seeing as this optimizes the risk of contraction of these same diseases. Additionally, the use of a pure forms of lavender oil helps in improving relaxation as it diminishes skin inflammation and the resultant discomfort. Furthermore, tree oil which treats inflammations resulting from insect bite, is better suited in harsh conditions like dumpy areas filled with mosquitoes responsible for malaria, Zika virus or dengue fever.
Secondly, essence oils are used for acute care. In order to ensure that there is appropriate use or application of essential oils in healthcare facilities, particularly those dealing with patients suffering from conditions that are associated with great pain, there must be an associated application well-developed made protocols and policy frameworks (Cho, Min, Hur & Lee, 2013).. It is necessary that clear guiding principles for nursing training programs be developed in order to ensure the safe applicability of essential oils. It is important for them to understand how the oils will affect the patient. For instance, even though some patients may prefer tropical application of the oils while others may prefer inhalation, it’s the nurse’s work to determine which route should best be taken depending on the condition of the patient. He or she should then help his or her patient come to an understanding as to why the and how the eventual decision was arrived at.
Also, patients who have been afflicted with critical conditions like cancer and arthritis, both of which are associated with high levels of pain, could be allowed the use of a combination of different oils in order to further alleviate their pains. In this case, palliative healthcare providers ought to play an advisory role. As such, they must offer relevant information as to which essential oil may best help in lowering the patients’ pain as well as prescriptions of genuine oil stockers. For the elderly people, the use of essential oils may act as a way of lowering polypharmacy (Cho, Min, Hur & Lee, 2013).
Essential oils that may be applied to alleviate the kind of pain that results from arthritis include but are not limited to: orange oil, ginger, frankincense, turmeric and myrrh. For instance, ginger contains chemical constituents that help with inflammation. They are analgesic as they contain anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is usually associated with pain; therefore, the anti-inflammatory properties of ginger help regulate the levels of pain that are inherent to arthritis. In a study done by the University of Miami, ginger was found to lower the pain levels by a margin of over 45 percent as compared to other methods including the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Besides, ginger also has anti-ulcer and antioxidant properties which make it even more appropriate for use by those patients suffering from arthritis. Orange oil, which is also useful in as far as the alleviation of arthritis pains is concerned, also contains strong antioxidant properties and is easily accessible. It is also very useful in reducing pains in patients with arthritis. Frankincense, turmeric and myrrh also have anti- inflammatory effects. Therefore, using them together may greatly help in reducing the inflammation levels.
Spruce is another example of an essential oil obtained from the spruce tree. It has sweet, refreshing and aromatic features which are unique in offering a relaxing feeling to the body and mind and also in lowering the rates of infections. This essential oil is important in immune system stimulation and can used in relieving arthritis symptoms, sciatica, lower back pain, rheumatism and bone pain.
Given that pain can be emotionally or physically generated, essential oils have been applied to reduce pain in so many ways. For instance, essential oils can be used as disinfectants that can help in preventing or avoiding contact of some serious conditions that might cause illness or eventual death. Lemon oil or tea tree can be added in warm water before it is drunk, that might help in killing some microbes which might have caused serious conditions like cholera. Emotional pain due to family or work challenges can be reduced if one inhales sweet smelling essential oils, which help calm the body and hence reducing the stress levels.
The use of essential oils is also finding wits use in reducing pain when pregnant women are delivering. Although its use is controversial, it is said that proper use of these essential oils may help the mother less pain than when not in use it may help in reducing emotional stress levels and reduce the swelling of the ankles that is usually experienced by most women. Their use has no effect to the child and therefore may be useful for pregnant women.
The use of the essential oils has greatly improved the contemporary nursing experience. The palliative healthcare providers have now a safer way of helping their patients undergo less pain when under medication. Usually patients suffering from chronic conditions, together with their family members suffer a great deal of pain. Using the oils to help in lowering their pains is one of the advances that may promote good relation between the patient and the healthcare provider and through that insurance of other medications may be easy as there will be little or no resistance from the patient. Cancer patients when taken through the aromatherapy, they find motivation to continue fighting the disease as the level of pain lowers (Cho et al, 2013).
In conclusion, as we have seen from above, the appropriate use of essential oils has an immense health benefit. The patients’ alike healthcare providers should therefore, have a good understanding of the different kinds of essential oils that are available for medical use with an inclusion of specifics pertaining their routes of administrations. This is very useful in lowering the chances and risks of improper usage of these essential oils. Further, an in-depth understanding of the applicability and the chemical constituents contained in a particular essential oil is very critical to their application to medicine. A lot on studies should focus on understanding how these oils may be applied to reduce pain levels in many other conditions.
References
Tisserand, R., & Young, R. (2013). Essential oil safety: a guide for health care professionals . Elsevier Health Sciences, 89-200.
Azmir, J., Zaidul, I. S. M., Rahman, M. M., Sharif, K. M., Mohamed, A., Sahena, F., ... & Omar, A. K. M. (2013). Techniques for extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials: a review. Journal of Food Engineering , 117 (4), 426-436.
Cho, M. Y., Min, E. S., Hur, M. H., & Lee, M. S. (2013). Effects of aromatherapy on the anxiety, vital signs, and sleep quality of percutaneous coronary intervention patients in intensive care units. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine , 2013 ..
Silva, F. V., Guimarães, A. G., Silva, E. R., Sousa-Neto, B. P., Machado, F. D., Quintans-Júnior, L. J., ... & Oliveira, R. C. (2012). Anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer activities of carvacrol, a monoterpene present in the essential oil of oregano. Journal of medicinal food , 15 (11), 984-991.Sasannejad, P., Saeedi, M., Shoeibi, A., Gorji, A., Abbasi, M., & Foroughipour, M. (2012). Lavender essential oil in the treatment of migraine headache: a placebo-controlled clinical trial. European neurology , 67 (5), 288-291.
Olapour, A., Behaeen, K., Akhondzadeh, R., Soltani, F., al Sadat Razavi, F., & Bekhradi, R. (2013). The effect of inhalation of aromatherapy blend containing lavender essential oil on cesarean postoperative pain. Anesthesiology and pain medicine , 3 (1), 203-7.
