The term  aromatherapy  indicates the use of aromatic essences, also called essential oils or volatile oils, to achieve well-being, to prevent disease or to treat morbid affections.

>   What is aromatherapy

>   Benefits and contraindications

>   For whom aromatherapy is useful

>   The law in Italy and abroad

>   Curiosities about aromatherapy

What is aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is therefore a holistic practice that acts on physical, mental and spiritual processes through the use of non-oily essences, concentrated in some areas of medicinal plants: flowers, resin, bark, roots, peel, leaves and fruits. These oils are volatile fractions obtained from plants by steam distillation .

The treatment of the body with aromatic oils dates back to at least 2000 BC. In the Bible, the use of medicinal plants and essences is mentioned, both for religious purposes and for the treatment of diseases. In the Middle Ages, perfumers distinguished themselves thanks to the antiseptic properties of all essential oils. During the 19th century, chemists undertook the artificial production of essential oils, useful as perfumes. The therapeutic results achieved thanks to essential oils dissipated interest in natural treatments until the twentieth century, a period in which interest in nature and its intrinsic potential was renewed. Among the so-called complementary therapies, aromatherapy is one of the best known and growing in the world. Its therapeutic valueit is increasingly appreciated by researchers and doctors. 

You can learn more  about the benefits of essential oils used in aromatherapy

Benefits and contraindications of aromatherapy

A good perfume makes us feel good. Through the perception of smells, aromatherapy involves the sphere of emotion , memory , sensitivity and all related cognitive areas , as well as the endocrine and immune systems .

Aromatherapy exploits the antiseptic, antitoxic, healing, antiparasitic, antirheumatic, toning and stimulating properties of the essences. On the other hand, there are also contraindications for oils.

Being very strong and powerful substances, they can lead to allergic reactions, damage to the renal system, hallucinatory effects, convulsions, irritation, redness, itching, even shock.

Aromatherapy is also useful for treating mood disorders

For whom it is useful

Aromatherapy can cure many diseases and symptoms. The essences are indicated in the treatment of skin disorders, as disinfectants or cleansing for wounds; in cases of fungal infections, for burns and wounds as they speed up healing, help fight stretch marks and keep many insects away.

Aromatherapy, as regards the circulatory and osteoarticular system, is able to improve circulation and obtain a pain-relieving action . The essences are indicated to treat coughs, sore throats, colds, bronchial inflammations such as asthma.

Some oils affect the menstrual cycle, the quantity and quality of breast milk or the sexual organs. The main therapy is that of massage. 

The law in Italy and abroad

In Italy there is still no regulation of the profession of naturopath. The EU institutions and the Italian government have not yet defined a regulatory framework that gives legal recognition to bio-natural disciplines.

However, naturopathy, and therefore aromatherapy, is regulated in 26 of the 27 European countries: only in Italy we are still at the level of a draft law: the latest bill (n.2152) on the subject of Regulation of the figure of naturopathic health worker. 

Discover subtle aromatherapy for taking essential oils by air

Curiosities about aromatherapy

A characteristic of essential oils that is interesting for the effect on humans and possible applications is that they are perceived as odorous by our sense of smell. This sensory activity is the one most stimulated by essential oils.

Unlike the other senses, the olfactory stimulations pass directly into the cerebral cortex, without being filtered by the receptor center of the thalamus.

The aromatic molecules diffused in the air reach the upper part of the nasal cavities. The olfactory cells, once stimulated by the aromatic molecules, transform the chemical stimulus into electrical impulses which in turn stimulate the centers responsible for smell.