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Reply
| | From:  Eerie7 (Original Message) | Sent: 10/11/2006 9:57 PM |
Aromatherapy for Children
Although the use of aromatherapy is typically associated with adults,
children can also benefit from the healing and soothing powers of
aromatherapy. They are very attracted to different scents and love to
experience it through diffusion, baths, massage, inhalation, and even
topically.
Children particularly enjoy creating aromatic blends for their own use.
Whether creating a blend to help calm themselves at night, or helping to
identify the essential oils or blends to use on burns or wounds, aromatherapy
can be a fun way for children to participate in their healing through an
effective natural therapy.
There are few rules of thumb when it comes to aromatherapy for children.
First of all, since children are much more sensitive than adults, the
concentration of essential oils in their blends should be at least three
times less than adult blends. I also recommend that children under the age of
5 should not use aromatherapy directly (bath or massage). Instead, use the
essential oils in a nebulizer and run it for just 10 minutes in the room. The
other option is to use hydrosols or floral waters instead of essential oils
in their bath.
Children can safely use the following essential oils: Lavender, Roman
Chamomile, Orange, Lemon, Neroli, Rosemary, Eucalyptus, Grapefruit,
Marjoram,
Dill, Cardamom, Rose, Basil and Melissa.
So what are the most common childhood ailments, and how can you safely
use
aromatic blends on your children? Try creating the following recipes at home
for a natural healing alternative. In future Health and Beauty editions, you
will learn more about the holistic aspects of aromatherapy for children and
teenagers.
To create these blends, pour your essential oils into a 10 - ml bottle, and
fill will organic vegetable oil.
Colds and Flu
2 drops Rosemary
1,8 cineole
2 drops Eucalyptus
Rub Blend on the chest and middle back. Add a few drops of the aromatic
blend
to your child's warm bath water and let him / her soak for at least 15
minutes. Pour 4 drops of the aromatic blend on a tissue and have your child
breathe it in deeply.
Wounds and Burns
Dab 1 drop of pure, undiluted Lavender essential oil on the afflicted area.
Do it just once.
Immune System Booster
2 drops Rosemary
1,8 cineole
3 drops Ravensara
Massage the solar plexus and lower back, chest and middle back. Add a few
drops of the aromatic blend to your child's warm bath water and let him / her
soak for at least 15 minutes. Pour 4 drops of the aromatic blend on a tissue
and have your child breathe it in deeply.
Sweet Dreams
1 drop Roman Chamomile
2 drops Lavender
2 drops Orange
This is a wonderful blend for story time! Massage the forehead and temples,
neck and back. Add a few drops of the aromatic blend to your child's warm
bath water and let him / her soak for at least 15 minutes.
Toothaches
2 drops Roman Chamomile
Rub the essential oil directly on the cheek.
Joy and Laughter
3 drops Orange
2 drops Lemon
Massage the solar plexus and abdomen, friction the back. Pour 4 drops of the
aromatic blend on a tissue and have your child breathe it in deeply.
Tummy Aches
2 drops Basil
2 drops Dill
Massage the tummy clockwise with the blend as needed.
Lack of Appetite
2 drops Cardamom
2 drops Dill
Massage the solar plexus and abdomen. Pour 4 drops of the aromatic blend
on a
tissue and have your child breathe it in deeply.
Motion Sickness
4 drops Lemon
1 drop Ginger
Massage the solar plexus. Pour 4 drops of the aromatic blend on a tissue and
have your child breathe it in deeply.
Source Unknown |
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Reply
| | | From: Eerie7 | Sent: 10/11/2006 9:58 PM |
Children and Aromatherapy
Care must be taken in treating children with essential oils, although there are any number of safe ones. Use one-third to one-half the adult dose, or a 1-percent dilution (five or six drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil), and don't forget that citruses may irritate the skin.
Chamomile, melissa and fennel used as massage oil, or taken as herb tea, soothe a variety of tummy-aches-and the problems that can lead to stomachaches, such as frayed nerves, anxiety and overexcitability. Colic, gas pains, nausea and food allergies are also good candidates for these remedies. A study from Israel found that a chamomile, fennel and melissa herb tea with licorice helps stop crying and fussing in infants with colic. Researchers think that essential oils relieve muscle spasms caused when babies swallow air as they eat. Nineteenth-century parents gave colicky babies a "gripe water" of dill, fennel or anise, and East Indian and Lebanese mothers still use dill to ease colic. A European carminative water contains fennel, chamomile, caraway, coriander and bitter orange peel, all known to kill bacteria and relieve flatulence.
Most digestive woes are helped by a simple tummy massage.
Tummy-Rub Oil
2 drops Roman chamomile
1 drop fennel
2 drops dill
1 drop melissa
1 ounce carrier oil
Mix together and massage the tummy gently.
A relaxing treatment for children before bedtime is a warm lavender and chamomile essential-oil bath. Most children love taking aromatherapy baths, particularly if they have their own personal blends, and may want to get involved in choosing and blending scents. Popular fragrances include orange, grapefruit and tangerine-all antidepressants and relaxants. (See the Baths section of the "Aromatherapy Body Care" chapter for proper dilution guidelines for kids.) Nature's gentle relaxant teas such as melissa, lavender and chamomile can calm a nervous, overstimulated, cranky child, make headaches go away, or gently induce sleep-as well as help soothe a worn-out parent!
A child suffering from a headache, sleeplessness or overexertion will find relief in a cool compress of lavender placed on the forehead. Frankincense used in a vaporizer or as a massage oil is safe and effective for respiratory congestion or infection, even for infants. Other safe essential oils for children include mandarine, marjoram, neroli, jasmine and petitgrain. Treat a fever, measles, chicken pox or mumps with a tea of yarrow, catnip, peppermint and elder flower; ginger with a touch of lemon juice is also effective. The soreness of mumps is relieved by syrups and gargles made from teas of thyme, roseiruses. (If you use melissa, be sure it is the real thing and not citronella or lemongrass; these don't have the same healing properties.) Use these essential oils in a steam or make a tea from the herbs. For teething pain, give chamomile tea and rub the gums with a little diluted clove oil on your finger.
The following formula may be used for swollen tonsils, mumps and other lymphatic swelling in the neck area:
Neck Wrap
2 cups warm water
8 drops lavender essential oil
Mix the water with the essential oil. While the water is still warm, soak a soft cloth, preferably flannel, in the water and wring it out. Wrap the cloth around the neck. Cover with a towel to hold in the heat. Remove before it gets cold. Repeat as many times as you wish.
European children were once given "dilly pillows" filled with aromatic herbs such as lavender and dill to send them off to dreamland. The scent was also considered a digestive. Add chamomile and thyme to prevent nightmares.
Dilly Pillow
1 cup total:
lavender flowers
hops strobiles
lemon-balm leaves
chamomile flowers
dill seeds
Fold a 5" x10" piece of cloth in half and sew up the edges, leaving just enough room to stuff the herbs inside. Combine the herbs in equal parts to make 1 cup. Stuff the herbs into the material, then finish sewing it up. Place beside or under the child's regular pillow. |
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Reply
| | | From: Eerie7 | Sent: 10/11/2006 10:17 PM |
A Soothing Tip for Babies and Children Place 4 drops Lavender and 4 drops Chamomile on a tissue and place between the sheets 1/2 hour before bedtime. Remove tissue before child gets in bed. Use this tip yourself and tuck inside your pillowcase. Sweet Dreams! |
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