Nothing in the world is more precious to us than our children, and it's a daunting responsibility to care for them. We all rely heavily on the medical professions to keep our children healthy, and we should continue to take advantage of all the benefits modern medicine can offer us. But there are times when help is not available, when we have to fall back on our own resources, and take the care of our children into our own hands.

Many of us may simply prefer to use natural medicines whenever we can. There is certainly a trend towards natural medicine, not only among the general public, but within the medical professions. The advantages of integrative medicine are increasingly appreciated, as natural remedies are used alongside conventional medical treatment.

There's nothing new in natural medicine. From earliest times parents around the world have taken from nature the herbs and plants they needed to care for the health of their children. Aromatherapy is a modern version of that long tradition of using what's available, natural, and works. These days we have scientific papers to back up empirical evidence, and instead of long treks into the countryside to collect healing plants, we have convenient dropper bottles full of plants' healing essential oils. Aromatherapy offers great convenience and flexibility, and there's never been a better time to take advantage of nature's fragrant pharmacy.

In my practice as a clinical aromatherapist I've seen the wonderful healing effect of aromatherapy and essential oils on children. Friends and family have used my knowledge, and passed it on to their friends and family. I constantly hear of the positive results this has brought to adults and children alike. Readers all over the world who have used the information in my books kindly write and tell me how much aromatherapy has helped them or their children. I'm also a consultant to the aromatherapists working with The Children's Society in England, to relieve the difficulties faced by children who are physically or emotionally disadvantaged. These children have hills to climb, and aromatherapy helps them. 

There has been talk that aromatherapy should only be used by people trained in the profession. Part of this argument maintains that general readers aren't capable of following instructions, and shouldn't be encouraged to get involved in something they know nothing about.


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As I wondered about all this, the phone rang. It was my brother. The previous evening he'd gone to a dinner party where another guest, a woman, said aromatherapy saved her child's life. Her baby was born prematurely with severe health difficulties. The doctor at the hospital said there was nothing further they could do, take your baby home, and prepare for the worst. The mother was devastated. Then a nurse came and showed her a copy of an aromatherapy book and said "go and buy a copy and follow the instructions". She did this, and the baby is now a healthy two year old. "What was the book?" someone asked, and she replied The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy  -- one of my earlier books. When my brother told the lady that I am his sister, she asked him to tell me "thanks". That's why he'd called.

It was a message to me. Aromatherapy can be beneficial to children's health, and if people are informed, they can use it to help their children. So, I offer my knowledge, however there's another side to this -- you, the caregiver. You're the person who is going to carry out the instructions, and I rely on you to follow them correctly Also, please take care to find a reputable supplier of essential oils. If you do these things, I have confidence you too will discover the healing power of essential oils.

When I was a little girl my mother treated everyday ailments with herbs and healing plants, administered around the kitchen table. To older generations in Europe this was normal. Not everyone could afford to go to the doctor every time something was wrong with a child. For them, it was not a question of natural medicine being an alternative. Indeed, at one time, modern medicine was the alternative.

The tradition of natural medicine lives on in modern aromatherapy. Those of us who have been using essential oils for a long time, and have seen our children grow up and have children of their own, take great pleasure in the fact that younger generations now use essential oils, and recommend them to their friends. One drop of essential oil, performing some task of healing, falls into the pool of general knowledge, and ripples out, touching others. This is how aromatherapy is today. The ripples are getting stronger, and spreading further, because aromatherapy works.

As a clinical aromatherapist, and working with others in the field, I know that individual children can benefit from aromatherapy -- children of all ages, temperaments, and states of health. Everything in aromatherapy is natural, a gift from God. The essential goodness of essential oils cannot be denied. They are powerful, that is true, and we must always regard them with respect. If we do that, they will help us through some of the hardest times we shall have to face, when our precious children are not well.

What's So Great about Aromatherapy?

Every parent has been in the position of having a sick child to care for with no available help. It's a horrible feeling. Perhaps the doctor is not available until the following morning, or you are snowed in and can't go and get help. With aromatherapy, however, you're not helpless; there's something you can do -- something that's been shown to work through long term use, and through a great deal of scientific research. As well as helping out in emergencies, aromatherapy lets you think proactively about the long term health of your child.

The essential oils used in aromatherapy are 100 percent pure, natural essences distilled from a variety of plants. These are very concentrated substances, measured in drops. Using just one drop is not unusual. The essential oils come from flowers, leaves, roots, resin, seeds, fruits, and wood, depending on the plant species.

The first essential oil people often buy is lavender because it's so versatile. It can help with the healing process of cuts and grazes, and is the best thing for burns. Plus it smells nice and can be diffused around the home, or put in the bath for when you want to relax and have a good sleep. That's just one oil. Add a few more and you get not only their individual properties, but the fact that when two or more essential oils are mixed together, they make a new therapeutic composition, able to perform tasks not possible for the individual oils on their own. So you get two things -- individual oils, and a whole array of mixes. Combining essential oils into unique blends gives aromatherapy depth, richness, and tremendous flexibility.

You will discover that the healing power of nature, in the form of aromatherapy, is very easy to use at home. Because the essential oils come in volatile liquid form, there are lots of ways they can be used. The only things you will need in addition to essential oils are a few small empty bottles, some carrier oil like almond oil, and a diffuser. Most other things you might need are likely to be in your home already.

In terms of therapeutic potency, most essential oils have a shelf-life of approximately two years. However, the therapeutic properties of the citrus oils, such as lemon, are said to diminish after six months. But even when an essential oil has lost its therapeutic vibrancy, it can still be used in all sorts of ways. Lemon, for example, can be used in a room diffuser or air-freshening spray, or even to wipe down kitchen surfaces, or freshen the laundry.

There's no telling when a child might get sick. They can walk out of their bed in the middle of the night and complain of an ache or wake up with a cough. With aromatherapy, it's often possible to deal with the situation right then and there. That's a great relief when you have a crying child asking for your help. Essential oils are not a cure-all and won't be able to assist with every crisis you'll have to deal with as a parent, but they can deal with more than you think they can. As you discover this, you'll wonder how you ever managed without them.


 

This article was excerpted with permission from the book Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child, ?2000, published by New World Library, Novato, CA, USA 94949. www.newworldlibrary.com

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About The Author

 

VALERIE ANN WORWOOD, one of the word's leading aromatherapists, has been practicing for more than 20 years. An aromatherapist to royalty and heads of state, she teaches and conducts workshops around the world and is an active member on the executive council of the International Federation of Aromatherapists and runs her own clinic in England. Her many books include The Compete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy, The Fragrant Mind: Aromatherapy for Personality, Mind, Mood, and EmotionThe Fragrant Heavens, and Scents & Scentuality.