Research Information System
in: HEALTH & SCIENCE 2024-IV, Prof. Dr. Arif Ayar, Editor, EFE ACADEMY, İstanbul, pp.75-88, 2024
Aromatherapy is a specialized field of treatment with medicinal plants and is based on using oil molecules extracted from plant extracts for therapeutic purposes. These oils are usually extracted from various parts of plants, such as the main flowers, leaves, twigs, branches, roots, and stems, and are known for their intense scents. These scents are part of the plant's natural defense systems (Gultekin, 2021). Plants produce two types of oil: fixed oil (carrier oil) and essential oil. They are called “essential oil” because they evaporate when left at room temperature, “etheric oil” because they volatilize like ether, and “essential oil” because they are fragrant and used in perfumery (Bilgic, 2017). Fixed oils are usually extracted from the initial seed and kernel parts and are odorless or slightly fragrant. Although essential oils are mostly used in aromatherapy applications, fixed oils are sometimes preferred. In aromatherapy, fixed oils are mostly used to dilute the essential oil before application (Unal et al., 2021). To obtain effective results from aromatherapy, the application should be done within the appropriate time and methods. Aromatic oils can be used alone or formulated by mixing various oils. These methods are carried out in four main ways: topical application, internal (use of vaginal or anal suppositories), oral, and inhalation. The applied oils affect all body systems by entering the nervous system or the bloodstream (Bilgic, 2017). There are documents that Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, used lavender essential oil to calm wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. She also used myrrh essential oil in the patient care process for its wound treatment, skin diseases, and anti-inflammatory properties (Bilgic, 2017; Gnatta et al., 2016). Aromatherapy is a technique that has positive results in the nursing field and is included in the Nursing Interventions Classification System [NIC] (Lee Park, 2018). Today, aromatherapy, as a prominent method among complementary and holistic therapies, is widely used to solve many medical problems, including physical and psychological problems (Zor et al., 2021).