Clinical Essential Oils: The Birth of Modern Medical Aromatherapy & Clinical Essential Oils

In the 20th Century the medical benefits of essential oils were recognized by a French chemist, Rene-Maurice Gottefosse (1881-1950), who is considered the "Father of Aromatherapy." He "suffered serious burns to the hands in a laboratory explosion, and the wounds soon became gangrenous; he was able to effect a perfect cure using essence of lavender" (Jean Valnet MD, "The Practice of Aromatherapy" pg 66).

In 1928 when Alexander Fleming began his work on penicillin -- the origins of modern antibiotics -- Gattefosse in France was doing his serious investigative research into the therapeutic properties of essential oils. It is interesting that both of these famous pioneers were born in 1881 and died in 1950s. Gattefosse coined the term "aromatherapie" and is now considered the "father of modern aromatherapy".

Pharmacists in France were quick to recommend Eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils for things that were being treated elsewhere in the world with penicillin. Oil of oregano and penicillin have relatively equivalent strength against harmful bacteria.

The big difference is that penicillin and all the subsequent strong, pharmaceutical antibiotics could make a fortune for the manufacturers because they could be standardized, synthesized, and patented, while essential oils were natural substances. So essential oils were largely ignored by the medical establishment except in France and elsewhere in Europe where there was already significant published research.

Gottefossee incorporated a blend of essential oils used in treating the Spanish flue epidemic of 1918. His successor in the practice of aromatherapy, a French medical doctor & surgeon, Jean Valnet "Made use of the healing properties of essences in wartime surgery on some of his patients in Tonkin, and though having only a very limited quantity of his own aromatic essences he was able to treat as many patients as he liked, the results, were consistent" (Valnet pg 66). When he returned to Paris he continued his great work with plant extracts and devoted his life to the research and development of therapeutic plant medicines.

In 1971 Dr Maurice Girault coined the term "aromatogram" for antimicrobial therapy involving essential oils. Doctors would take microbial cultures and use various essential oils in vitro to recognize which oil or blend would be best to treat the disease. Dr Valnet helped to spread this concept to the general public.

Valnet also published the book "The Practice of Aromatherapy" in 1978, which became the first training for Dr Penoel and Pierre Franchomme on essential oils therapy.

The Modern use of essential oils has continued to grow rapidly as chemists like Pierre Franchomme and modern doctors like Danial Penoel conducted research in the laboratory and medical clinic to validate the numerous health and wellness benefits of clinical grade essential oils. Their book "l'Aromatherapie Exactement" (Precise Aromatherapy), published 1990, became the "bible" of aromatherapy at the time. And everyone who has to be trained in the use of therapeutic essential oils after 1990 had to understand its contents.

Essential Oils for the Common Man

Those pioneers could see that they needed to do worldwide training to avoid serious problems for their new industry. Essential oils could be severely restricted in some countries; others would use them in ways that were unsafe. So there began extensive training.

The English-speaking countries were already doing what the French medical doctors called "timid" aromatherapy with too many restrictions and rules. In these countries the oils were greatly diluted and only applied topically.

"You can't really accomplish anything significant with microbes and many health issues that timid approach," says Dr Penoel. "It's like having a wonderful pocket knife without ever opening the blade." You have no real therapeutic value when all you can do is use a two percent (2%) essential oils solution in a carrier oil for topical massage.

While medical doctors in France were prescribing essential oils for internal and external use, the English and American schools of aromatherapy allowed for no ingestion and no undiluted application. According to Dr Penoel, "They were missing most of the power of true medical aromatherapy. And that's why we see in the USA and the UK mostly recreational fragrances and dead, synthetic essential oils in most shops".

The pharmaceutical establishment has always tried to instill fear about essential oil safety even though they are used extensively in the food industry and animal husbandry. The English-speaking aromatherapy establishment seems to want to keep the information so complicated that all medical decisions have to be kept away from ordinary people and only in the hands of trained professionals certified to practice aromatic medicine.

You can care for Yourself Afford-ably, Safely, and Effectively

Because of the simplicity and safety of essential oils, the mission of Dr Penoel and the companies he has worked with has been to empower lay people to care for themselves safely, affordably, and effectively using the most beneficial oils and blends. Because essential oils are so multifunctional, powerful, and effective, a large body of training literature is available online. It can seem overwhelming to the newcomer, but you don't need a medical degree or even a certification to use them effectively. Here are Dr Penoel's instructions for our training:

"We need to distill all the complicated training into its essential simplicity. What you will find in my

training is profound in its background and depth of knowledge and research, yet simple in its teachings and habits. I advocate fundamental habits using... essential oils that will restore health in a deep way. My training is not about the quick cure. A quick cure is like a mirage -- all show but no permanent health" (Penoel, notes from online training, not in print).

Clinical Essential Oils

Monday, October 20, 2014

The Birth of Modern Medical Aromatherapy & Clinical Essential Oils

Essential Oils for the Common Man

You can care for Yourself Afford-ably, Safely, and Effectively

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