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Apr 2, 2008 4:46 pm US/Central
Essential Oils Now Used In Mainstream Medicine
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ―
The healing powers of essential oils have been known for centuries. Now a Fort Worth hospital is the first in North Texas to take those powers to a clinical level.
Megan Morrison's high risk pregnancy has kept her on bed rest for the past six weeks. Her clinical aromatherapy sessions at Harris Methodist Hospital are new.
"I can definitely tell a big difference," Morrison said. "I'm definitely much more relaxed than if I was just to go take a hot bath."
Nurse Susan Shields is trained in clinical aromatherapy. It's centuries-old tradition which uses pure essential oils. Harris Methodist has the only certified program in North Texas.
She said, "What we're using is a combination of bergamot, [and] citrus vergania, which is the true lavender--the relaxing lavender. It does not replace any of the medical treatment that goes on here. It is in addition to; it is complimentary; it enhances."
Shields says there's a big difference between the oils used at Harris and those you can buy at a department store. "We can predict what the effect is going to be because we know the chemical composition of the essential oils," she said. "We know how to most effectively use them for the clinical effects that we're looking for."
In Morrison's case, the goal is to relieve tension and anxiety. Does it work? She's convinced. "It gives me something to look forward to in the day and just helps relax me," she said.
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