Essential oils are an attractive new alternative treatment
for ADHD. Who can argue with a treatment
that is all natural and drug-free?
Essential oils are popular in the multilevel marketing world—meaning
that you probably know someone who sells it out of their home in their spare
time, like cosmetics or kitchenware.
The problem is, how do you know that the free sample your friend gave
you is anything more than an expensive perfume?
This article is a critical look at the clinical research which has been
done in this area.
Do essential oils
work to treat symptoms of ADHD?
To date, the
only study which has been done to look directly at the effects of essential
oils on patients with ADHD, was done by Dr. Terry Friedman. It was widely circulated by essential oil
marketers on the web, but was never published in a peer-reviewed journal. This
study reported remarkable results with lavender, vetiver, and cedarwood
oils. However, there were only 6
children in each treatment group.
Lavender has had several clinical studies demonstrating its’
usefulness for anxiety and/or depression.
There are also two small studies showing it was useful for inducing
sleep in college students
with sleep problems and in hospitalized
patients.
Cedar oil has been evaluated in one small placebo controlled
(air versus cedar oil) study which looked at the effects of inhalation of the
fragrance of cedar on various physiologic parameters in adults. The conclusion was that cedar oil induced a relaxant
effect.
Conversely, a mid sized (n = 313) randomized controlled study
of carrier oil versus lavender/bergamot/cedarwood oil versus fractionated oils
in patients undergoing radiation therapy suggested that essential oils had no
effect on anxiety/depression or overall psychological health.
Vetiver and lemongrass have long been used as traditional
medicine in South Asia . However, no clinical studies have been done
to confirm that they have calming or focusing qualities.
Ylang ylang and frankincense likewise have no clinical
studies which would support their use as calming or focusing agents.
Complicating all of this is the fact that essential oils are
regulated as supplements by the FDA, which means they are not regulated tightly
like drugs. To be honest, you can not
know for sure that a substance used in a clinical trial is the same as what you
are buying off of Amazon, or from a friend.
There is no way to really know.
Companies set up their own standards of purity, which is great, but it
is impossible to compare company against company or against a clinical study.
What are the risks of
using essential oils used for ADHD?
Although essential oils are natural, they are not without
side effects. In fact, because they are
natural, they are more likely to cause allergic reactions than something
synthetic. Ylang ylang and lemongrass
are well known for their propensity to cause skin reactions when
applied topically.
Very little is known about long term side effects of most
essential oils such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other issues. It is important to distinguish between daily
use and occasional use, as well as between self medication and use under the
supervision of a practitioner trained in Ayurvedic medicine. Lavender has
been suspected to have possible estrogenic effects and heavy use has been
linked to the development of breast tissue in boys.
Do essential oils
have any place in treating ADHD?
Some essential oils may be helpful in treating some symptoms
of ADHD, but there isn’t a lot of evidence out there that says they are
definitely effective and in whom they are effective.
You may want to consider using essential oils in the
following circumstances:
1) You
do not need treatment every day. Because
we know some oils can be a problem if used long term, it’s probably best not to
use essential oils on a daily basis.
However, as a booster treatment on an occasional basis, it’s hard to
envision that there could be problems from these substances as many are at use
already as perfumes.
2) You
are planning to use the treatments as aromatherapy, not inhaled or applied to
the skin. Aromatherapy has the most
evidence supporting effectiveness and the least potential for adverse reactions
outside of allergies.
3) You
are not pregnant. We don’t know what
essential oils will do to a pregnancy.
Talk to your doctor before using any alternative therapies.
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