Aromatherapy for Women: How to use essential oils for health, beauty and your emotions. Maggie Tisserand

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       How to make tea with your essential oils

Chapter Two

       GYNAECOLOGICAL REMEDIES

      SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE

      A close friend of mine was in a distraught state because she had embarked upon a sexual encounter while on holiday, and was now suffering as a result. Her symptoms resembled those of gonorrhoea, but could have been any one of several sexually transmitted diseases. The vaginal discharge was very heavy and offensive; passing water was painful and burning; she had lost her appetite and had a higher than normal temperature. She also had a pain in her lower abdomen.

      She was feeling so ill and so ashamed of herself that she stayed in bed, and asked me for my help until she felt like going out to the STD clinic. Not knowing what was wrong with her, but knowing that sandalwood oil is used in India for the treatment of gonorrhoea (and that it is completely harmless when taken orally), I recommended that she take 6 drops of pure sandalwood each day, until she was able to have a diagnosis at the clinic. Time passed and when I next spoke to her, she told me that the sandalwood had cleared up most of the symptoms, leaving her with only an irritating discharge.

      A visit to her local clinic, and subsequent tests, had shown that she had a trichomonas infection, and she was given antibiotics. The antibiotics prescribed cleared up the trichomonas but within a few days of finishing the course, my friend recognized the onset of thrush, which she described as ‘a painless secretion of cottage cheese’. Not wishing to accept another course of antibiotics from the clinic, she once again came to seek my advice.

      She is an intelligent woman, used to making her own decisions as to the way in which her body is treated, and when I told her that there were two oils which looked extremely likely to clear up the problem, she readily accepted, quite happy to be a human ‘guinea pig’. Niaouli, reputed to be excellent for urinary infections, and which I had recently started using at home, was chosen, as I felt it would be powerful enough to take care of Candida. Organically grown lemon oil, (which had cured a wart in just over a week) was mixed with the niaouli. I chose these two oils because Dr Valnet ascribes to them the properties which I felt were needed to combat thrush: niaouli is recommended internally for urinary infections, and lemon oil, Valnet says, ‘activates the white corpuscles in the defence of the organism’. Also, intuitively, I felt that out of all the antiseptic, anti-fungal oils, these two would work well together.

      I asked my friend to take three drops of each, in the morning and at night, knowing that it would either be helpful in clearing up the condition, or that it would have no effect, but that either way, it would cause no harm. Before taking the oils, the colour of her urine was a dark yellowish-orange and had an unpleasantly strong odour. Within days of taking the oils the urine became paler while, at the same time, the odour became less unpleasant. The oils were taken each day for two weeks at the end of which the thrush had gone completely, and the urine was a pale yellow colour with no unpleasant odour. Both my friend and I were overjoyed that the experiment had worked so well, and in such a short space of time.

      Almost a year has passed since this treatment took place, my friend has not had a recurrence of thrush, and she feels that genitally she has a ‘clean bill of health’.

      I have spoken to many women who have suffered from thrush. Not only is it physically uncomfortable, but also emotionally disturbing. A woman may feel ‘unclean’ and her sex life is probably not enjoyable, or even nonexistent. This will put a strain upon a relationship if the situation continues for a long period of time. Clinical diagnosis of Candida albicans is only the primary concern, since a woman with thrush is also likely to suffer from depression. It is interesting to note that researchers are now saying that depression is one of the contributing factors to a lowering of the immune system. It has also been proven that a weakened immune system is a contributing factor in the onset of Candida albicans. We can see, then, that women are often caught in a vicious circle. In my opinion, essential oils can break that circle; first by fighting the fungal infection on a physical level, and then by lifting depression on an emotional level.

      Note: Sandalwood oil has been shown in laboratory ‘challenge tests’ to be as powerful in its anti-bacterial action, as many of the broad spectrum antibiotics. Those French doctors who have also studied aromatherapy have perfected a system of testing which they call the ‘aromatagram’. A culture is made from the patient’s discharge and placed in petri dishes. One drop of essential oil (whichever essence is deemed to be the most appropriate) is added to each petri dish of culture and left for 24 hours. The effectiveness of the essential oil is measured by the size of the ‘zone of inhibition’. This is the area of bacteria which has been killed by the essential oil within the time period.

      Essences which have destroyed the largest areas of bacteria are then used to treat the patient. I find this method quite fascinating because there is no necessity to analyse and name the bacteria or fungus, but simply to find the essence or essences which will, quickly and effectively, kill the pathogen. (See ‘Aromatherapy and the immune system’ for more details on Candida albicans.)

      PERIOD PAINS

      Menstruation is not an ailment to be cured, as women are destined to bleed every month for a large part of their lives. However, the accompanying pain and discomfort can be alleviated with aromatherapy.

      Sometimes the pain is only discernible on the first day of a period, and at other times it can drag on for several days, interfering with the enjoyment of everyday life. Occasionally the discomfort is so great that sufferers can only crawl off to bed and wait for a day or two until the worst of the pain has gone.

      Over the years I have taken the recommended homoeopathic remedies, and although I experienced some relief from pain I still dreaded the ‘monthly curse’. It was not until I became involved with aromatherapy that I truly could say ‘I have found the solution to the monthly period pain.’

      Clary sage oil was the essential oil which brought almost instant relief from pain and discomfort. There are two ways of using clary sage – internally or externally. My preferred method is to take two drops of clary sage oil in a teaspoon of honey with a little hot water – sipping the aromatic liquid at the beginning of the period when the pain is at its worst. Sometimes I would take a second dose a few hours later, but usually one dose was all that was required. For those who prefer to use essential oils only externally, clary sage can be used to cure menstrual pain by mixing a teaspoon of fatty oil with two drops of clary sage oil and massaging the lower abdomen, directly above the pubic hair-line. If aches and pains in the lower back are an accompaniment to the abdominal pain, then massage this area also. A third option is to make a hot compress (known as a fomentation) by adding a few drops of clary sage to a bowl of hot water (about 1 litre). Emerse a small towel in the liquid, wring it out, and apply to the lower abdomen. This obviously necessitates baring the skin and lying down for 15 minutes or so until pain relief is obtained.

      Clary sage is a hormone regulator, which means that over a period of time the monthly periods may become completely painless, as mine did, so that pain relief is no longer needed. An added bonus is that clary sage, being a euphoric oil, lifts the heavy, depressed feeling which often accompanies ‘the curse’.

      As a teenager, I suffered badly from abdominal cramps and backache during every period, and only had recourse to codeine tablets and hot water bottles. If only I had known about clary sage when I was a teenager, I might have been more bearable to live with!

      PREMENSTRUAL TENSION

      Many