Susan Scott - Essential Oils

The history of essential oils is tangled with the history of herbal medicine, which in turn has been an integral part of natural healing in humans and animals. The use of essential oils dates back to ancient civilizations when they first played a crucial role in spiritual, aesthetic, and nutritional applications. It is known that physicians and priests had been using essential oils for thousands of years according to the Chinese and hieroglyphics manuscripts. Aromatic oils were used in the preserving process in Egypt. Basically, Egyptian temples were enthusiastic with the production as well as blending of oils and recipes. There are at least a hundred and eighty eight references to aromatic oils in the Bible, including spikenard, frankincense, myrrh and rosemary. The production of essential oils goes back to ca. 3500 BC when the ancient water distillation equipment for aromatic oils was employed, which is seen in the present day in the Texila Museum in Pakistan. Ancient Egypt, China, and India were the locations where aromatic oils were produced and used far and wide as fragrances, flavors and medicaments. The oils were also used as food ingredients. There are several examples of using citrus among other oils for desserts and sweets in the ancient Roman Empire, Greece and Egypt. The introduction and reintroduction of recipes in Europe is credited to Marco Polo on his return from a trip to China. Europe adopted the practice of using spice essential oils as food conservation agents.

A large number of naturally occurring essential oil plants have continually been used by the perfume industry among other companies. Recent advancements in science and technology have opened new views in the production of aromatic oils. The new advancement of refining and blending of oils followed in formulations of a great number of industrial products. Methods and techniques have been adopted in different organizations. In the sixties, the cultivation of lavender, patchouli, coriander, linaloe, vetiver, and geranium commenced. The therapeutic use of aromatic plant extracts and essential oils involved both clinical and holistic applications. Clinically, essential oils are administered orally and are commonly used by trained physicians. Holistically, essential oils are employed through a touch-care therapy and massage to treat physical as well as mental disorders. Aromatherapy is the healing use of aromatic oils, and is a recent addition to holistic medicine. There are so many methods used in aromatherapy for animals. Aromatherapy is increasingly popular due to its versatility. The method can be used alone or in combination with other conventional, alternative, complementary or holistic therapies. Caution should be exercised, as it can be dangerous if misused. This is the main reason why it is important to buy the highest quality essential oils, and use them accordingly. With careful use, animals around the world can receive the best that aromatherapy has to offer without endangering them.

Aromatherapy works with animals on different levels: spiritually, evolutionarily, emotionally, conditionally, and physically. There is no certain proof that animals can respond as effectively as humans can to essential oils. However, there have been multiple cases, particularly with dogs, where essential oils have been used as a synthetic fragrance. While it is obvious that animals prefer specific scents and that they are capable of liking certain aromas, there is no direct link to their brain activity. The shortage of complex emotional dynamics in animals simplifies aromatherapy use with them to some degree. Other features, including which essential oils to use, the quality and purity of essential oils, and how they should be diluted, determine the safety as well as the usefulness of aromatherapy with animals. The method is kinesiology aromatherapy, in which essential oils are chosen with regard to a subject reference. It can be difficult to choose essential oils for animals since they cannot exactly tell you how they think and feel; but they will show you varying reactions when presented with fragrances of different essential oils.