Palliative and Elderly Care Using Aromatherapy

Oona'o Haynes, clinical aromatherapist, herbalist and NHC staff member, works with the elderly, offering holistic palliative care. She utilizes her training in aromatherapy to gently and non-invasively ease the challenges that the elderly and terminally ill often face.

Appetite Stimulation

The elderly commonly lose their appetite. Nutritional compromise, skin breakdown, and eventually death are a result. Conventional drugs often have many side effects and take a week or more to work. Inserting a feeding tube depletes the patient's quality of life and is invasive. Aromatherapy, with indirect inhalation and/or topical application, has proven to be effective in promoting patients' appetites, often within 24 hours. Meals monitored by staff show an increase of food intake from zero percent the first day to 25% by the third day and up to 75% and more by the 7th to 10th day. These are measureable, effective outcomes without harmful side effects.

Pain Management

Aromatherapy is being used successfully for pain management, especially the geriatric population. Patients who are experiencing high levels of pain (often after hip, knee, or back surgery) have a hard time participating in their daily rehabilitation regime. Direct application and application adjacent to the pain site(s) at designated times of the day and night have resulted in a definite decline in the perception of pain and an increase in comfort level. Patients on various narcotics and pain patches have stated they had "some" relief but felt "better" overall, after the aromatherapy treatment. The patient is able to respond better to the rehabilitative process and has a speedier recovery.

Alzheimer's Patients

Aromatherapy with direct and indirect inhalation has decreased anxiety, agitation and "sundowner" symptons. This improves the quality of life for the patient who, as a result of aromatherapy, is more relaxed and less stressed. The patient wanders less, is more prone to be redirected easily by staff and less likely to incur a fall which can result in serious injury. Traditional drugs for Alzheimer's often have side effects such as dizziness.

A Few Facts

• Toxic potential of chemical drugs well documented. In the American Medical Association (Nov. 27, 1987, p.2891), we are told that one patient in every thousand admitted to a hospital will be killed by the medicine they receive there.

• According to the Chemical Marketing Reporter (Jan 2, 1989), as a result of the 68 milion prescriptions for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) given American sufferers of arthritis, 10,000 to 20,000 deaths occur each year.

• Chemical drugs are regularly given product licenses although exact mechanisms for them are not understood and, according to the American Office of Technology Assessment, 75% of all currently available treatments have not had sufficient scientific scrutiny.

For more information on Oona'o Haynes and her work with the geriatric community please contact us. For more information on Aromatherapy please contact us or view our calendar.