Essential Oils for Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a complex and baffling health condition that is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States and Canada. It is estimated that approximately 5 million Americans are suffering from this condition. Because conventional medicine has very few effective options to offer at this point, people with this condition are often branded as hypochondriacs and told that their problem is in their head.

Many people with fibromyalgia experience severe and debilitating pain that tends to move around the body. In addition, people with this condition often exhibit neurological problems that can manifest as memory loss, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, and depression. Since this condition has a neurological component, it is very convenient for these people’s symptoms to be discounted as signs of neurosis.

This condition is very real and it is horribly disabling and debilitating to those experiencing symptoms. The lack of medical support, family support, and social support can be incredibly isolating for people with this condition. This can heighten the suffering of those who are already in deep physical and mental pain.

There is a building body of research that is pointing to the likelihood that fibromyalgia is not an “auto-immune” disorder, but is instead caused by a number of different infectious pathogens. Some of the pathogens that may cause the symptoms of fibromyalgia are mycoplasmas and a variety of emerging bacteria that are carried by insects. These pathogens are not easily detected because they tend to reside inside our cells instead of in the bloodstream. Special testing methods are required to detect the specific pathogen that may be triggering symptoms for a person with fibromyalgia.

It also appears that the severity of symptoms a person has may be related to the number of different pathogens that the person has. A person can experience pain and other symptoms that are very resistant to conventional methods of treatment, because the pain can persist as long as the pathogenic load is not reduced. Simply suppressing symptoms such as pain does not work very well or work for very long for people with this condition.

One very effective way to manage fibromyalgia is through the use of essential oils. Essential oils can help people with fibromyalgia in a number of different ways. First of all, they can relieve the pain of fibro. The pain relief people experience is frequently marked and rapid, even when the pain does not respond to heavy duty steroids or opiates. This in itself is a wonderful thing because pain can be addressed naturally, reducing the risk of unwanted side effects and reducing the risk of addiction to painkillers.

Another benefit of using essential oils is that the oils can have a marked effect on one’s psychological and emotional state. This is partly due to the fact that the molecules that compose the oils have the capacity to cross the blood-brain barrier, and positively effect the mind. The effects of the oils can range from relieving anxiety and improving sleep, to increasing concentration and relieving depression. The use of essential oils can relieve many of the neuropsychiatric and emotional problems related to this condition that are most disconcerting to the patient and to the people surrounding her or him.

The essential oils are also very effective at improving the immune system response. This improves the body’s ability to fight of any infectious processes that have taken a hold.

Many essential oils are also antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral, and are active against mycoplasmas. The oils directly kill the pathogens that may be disrupting the person’s health and well-being. People with fibromyalgia often respond to treatment with essential oils very rapidly because the oils rapidly reduce the pathogenic load that is present in the body. Each essential oil is often active against a broad spectrum of pathogens, and when these oils are used in combination with each other, their ability to deal with a wide range of bacteria, fungi, and viruses is enhanced.

Essential oil therapy can result in increased energy, significant pain reduction, improved concentration, better memory, increased metabolism, better sleep, reduced anxiety, reduced depression, better range of motion, improved blood circulation, and a significantly better quality of life.

Because the pathogens that may be responsible for fibromyalgia are often quite resistant to treatment, the essential oils need to be used at a higher concentration than in traditional aromatherapy. Some of the oils that I have seen people respond well to include eucalyptus, frankincense, lemon, and lavender.

People with fibromyalgia often shy away from aromatherapy as an option because many of them are chemically sensitive and have strong reactions to fragrances. The essential oils are natural plant extracts that bear no resemblance to toxic chemical perfumes. When people with fibromyalgia have a temporary increase in symptoms, such as headache, when exposed to an essential oil, it is a detoxification response and a healing crisis response, not a result of chemical sensitivity. The difference is that the person may feel discomfort temporarily, but after that they feel a significant improvement. On the other hand, when the person is exposed to a synthetic chemical fragrance, the person will spiral downward, because the chemical has increased, not decreased, the toxic load in the body.

Essential oils are potent multifaceted natural medicinals that are incredibly beneficial when addressing the complexity and diversity of symptoms that people with fibromyalgia experience. These powerful substances may offer hope to people who may have been hopeless in the face of their baffling and cunning illness, if they are open to a natural alternative.

Source by Farah Khan