Aromatherapy for Health Professionals by Price, Price

Aromatherapy for Health Professionals, Third Edition Edited by Shirley Price, Len Price Paperback: 576 pages Publisher: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier First Released: 2007, 2008

Source: Bought from Books-A-Million

Back Cover Description (slightly modified):
The new edition of this highly successful book provides a clear and authoritative in depth study of aromatherapy as practiced in modern (mainly UK) health care settings. It gives valuable information for any health professional wishing to develop their understanding of the subject, providing the in-depth knowledge needed to use essential oils in the practice environment.

Outstanding Features:
* Reader-friendly layout and design makes the material accessible and easy to follow.
* All oils specified in the national (UK) curricula are covered in detail.
* Case studies illustrate practical applications for concepts and techniques discussed in the chapters.
*Contributed chapters, written by nurses and midwives from various hospital and community settings, address topics such as Midwifery and Childbirth, Learning Disabilities, Stress, Intensive and Coronary Care, Care of the Elderly, and Supportive and Palliative Care.

New to this Edition:
* Fully revised and updated discussions throughout include 24 new essential oil profiles added to this edition.
* Updated information on health and safety provides crucial information on safeguarding both the practitioner and the client.
* Additional references and new research have been added to this edition, as well as updated and revised tables.
* New illustrations make key points easier to understand.
* Chapters on carrier oils and essential waters have been updated and expanded.
* The touch and massage chapter has been thoroughly revised.
* The index has been extensively revised to include essential oil properties and indications.


Review:
This will be my last review of an aromatherapy book, which will doubtlessly be a relief to most of you. But I've been astounded by the results I've gotten using essential oils (some of which I'll post later on this blog so you can understand my interest), and I wanted to learn even more.

I found Aromatherapy for Health Professionals tremendously interesting. It offered information on practical application with a focus on healing while explaining the science (what we know of it, anyway) behind why essential oils work the way they do.

It was basically a medical textbook and often used medical terms. Most of the terms were defined in the glossary in the back, but their meaning was usually obvious from or defined in the text, so you don't have to have medical training to understand this book.

The book included information on tests and case studies in which essential oils were used to treat medical conditions (both for physical healing and to calm or lift the mood). I also gained an understanding of why the cautions given in other aromatheraphy books where given so I now feel confident that I can use essential oils effectively and safely. The charts on lethal doses (for ingested and topical) for a number of common essential oils were also tremendously reassuring.

Most of the book (Sections 1 and 2) was for a general audience and wasn't specific to the UK. Section 3 was more about using essential oils for specific problems (in the critical care unit or a nursing home, etc.) in the UK medical setting, but there was still a lot that was applicable to anyone using essential oils. Section 4 was short, but got very specific about practicing aromatheraphy in a medical setting in the UK and then worldwide.

The Appendix contained useful charts and lists showing which essential oils are effective in treating which problems. It also listed safety information, like which essential oils can be toxic in high dosages or have potentially unwanted side-effects, like irritating the skin. Finally, it listed about one hundred essential oils, their chemical content, what actions they cause and what they are good at treating, and safety information specific to that oil as well as observations about its use taken from case studies, etc.

If you're really into using essential oils and enjoy making up your own blends, especially for health problems, I'd highly recommend this book as a wonderful resource.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Contents:
Section 1: Essential Oil Science
*The Genesis of Essential Oils
*Chemistry of Essential Oils
*Quality and Safety
*Power and Hazards
*Traditional Use, Modern Research

Section 2: The Foundations of Practice
*How Essential Oils Enter the Body
*Hydrolats: The Essential Waters
*Touch and Massage
*Aromas, Mind, and Body
*Aromatic Medicine

Section 3: Aromatheraphy in Context
*Aromatherapy and Primary Healthcare
*Stress, including Critical Care
*Pregnancy and Childbirth
*Learning Disabilities and Autism
*Care of the Eldery, with particular reference to dementia
*Palliative and Supportive Care

Section 4: Policy and Practice
*Aromatheraphy in the UK
*Aromatheraphy Worldwide

Appendix A
I: Essential oils for general use
II: Indications for uses of essential oils

Appendix B
I: Uterotonic oils which facilitate delivery
II: Emmenagogic essential oils
III: Disputed emmenagogic oils
IV: Neurotoxic and/or abortive oils not used in aromatheraphy
V: Neurotoxic and/or abortive oils occasionally used in aromatheraphy
VI: Potential skin irritant oils
VII: Phototoxic oils
VIII: Contact-sensitizing oils
IX: General properties of essential oils

Appendix C
Occupational Health and Safety

Appendix D
Essential oil: definition for aromatherapeutic purposes

Glossary
Useful Addresses