Anuradha Varanasi
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Written By: Anuradha Varanasi | Updated : July 27, 2016 9:36 AM IST
Migraines are the third most prevalent and also the seventh leading cause of disability worldwide, as per a study conducted by the Global Burden of Disease. While the prevalence of migraines in India is still unknown, headaches are one of the most common symptom that afflicts people. It can severely affect one s productivity and quality of life. Despite this, the exact cause of migraines is still unknown and patients need to undergo therapy in order to lessen the frequency of migraine attacks.
A study conducted by Iranian neurologists from the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences found that lavender essential oil can be effective as a natural remedy for migraines [1]. Lavender essential oil is known to be effective as a mood stabiliser, sedative, anti-hypertensive and is also known to have anti-microbial, along with wound healing, properties. These are the 6 lesser known benefits of lavender oil. In this study, around 47 patients suffering from migraine headaches were divided into two control groups.One group was told to inhale lavender essential for 15 minutes for a total time period of two hours, while the other group was given liquid paraffin as placebo.
These patients were then told to record their headaches severity and other symptoms at 30 minutes intervals. The results revealed that out of 129 headache attacks during this time frame, 92 of these migraine attacks responded either partially or entirely to lavender essential oil. Whereas, in the placebo control group only 32 out of 68 headache attacks responded to the liquid paraffin. The study concluded that lavender oil can be a safe and effective form of treatment for migraine patients.
You can try inhaling lavender essential oil directly from the bottle for 15 minutes every day or else, for a more soothing effect, you can add a few drops to boiling hot water and inhale the steam for a few minutes on a regular basis. You can also sprinkle a few drops of lavender oil on a tissue paper and keep it inside your pillowcase before bedtime for best results. Did you know, lavender oil can also help in providing sinus relief?
Reference
Eur Neurol. 2012;Epub 2012 Apr 17. Lavender essential oil in the treatment of migraine headache: a placebo-controlled clinical trial. Sasannejad P(1), Saeedi M, Shoeibi A, Gorji A, Abbasi M, Foroughipour M.
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