Oils for inhalation

Inhalation is part of the therapy of various respiratory diseases, and the best natural essential oils for inhalation are those containing bioactive compounds with therapeutic properties.

About three dozen essential oils - with proven clinical efficacy - are officially recognized by the European Pharmacopoeia, and they include oils that are often used to treat respiratory conditions beyond complementary medicine.

Indications

The main indications for inhalation with essential oils include colds and flu with cough, rhinitis and sore throat, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, laryngitis, tracheitis, laryngotracheitis and tracheobronchitis, epiglottitis, pharyngitis, peritonsillar abscesses; inflammation of the paranasal sinuses (maxillary sinusitis).

Used inhalations with essential oils in inflammation of the lower respiratory tract, primarily as an auxiliary method of cough treatment in acute and chronic bronchitis and bronchiolitis, as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonias.

Essential oils contain terpenes and terpenoids, sesquiterpene lactones, esters of carboxylic acids, phenylpropanoids and other compounds. The composition of essential oils is due to their complex effects: by inhalation - when inhaled - biologically active substances pass through the trachea into the bronchi, and from there into the bronchioles and alveoli of the lungs (where the blood is enriched with oxygen).

So the tiny molecules, easily reaching all parts of the respiratory tract, help fight viral and bacterial infection, relieve inflammation and symptoms such as cough, runny nose and sore throat.

In addition, inhaled essential oil substances can enter the bloodstream and have a calming or tonic effect on the CNS.

Used oils for inhalation for dry cough, runny nose:

• Inhalations for dry cough
• Essential oils for colds

Mucolytic and expectorant essential oils for inhalation for bronchitis: Oils for bronchitis.

Inflammation relieving oils for inhalation for throat are discussed in detail in the material - Use of essential oils for sore throat.

What oils are used for inhalation?

If the cough is dry, it is recommended to use essential oils of eucalyptus, peppermint, oregano, tea and clove tree, basil, frankincense. When the cough becomes moist, oils acting as expectorants will help: Atlas cedar, common pine, medicinal rosemary, peppermint, thyme (thyme creeping), laurel, tea tree and the same spherical eucalyptus.

Essential oils for nasal inhalation - fir, cedar, cypress, eucalyptus, peppermint - are not only strong antiseptics, but also work as decongestants, that is, they relieve swelling of the mucous membranes of the nasal cavity. For more information see. - Treatment of runny nose inhalations.

Eucalyptus oil for inhalation is valued for its antiviral and antimicrobial properties and anti-inflammatory activity, which are provided by the cyclic ester - monoterpene 1,8-cineole or eucalyptol (which accounts for 73% of all chemical components of this oil). [1]

Inhalations with this oil ease and soothe coughs in any respiratory disease. And many experts believe that this is the best oil for inhalation, as it has been proven not only to relieve bronchial spasms and reduce the intensity of inflammatory processes (by blocking pro-inflammatory cytokines), but also to destroy the accumulated tracheobronchial secretion and cleanse the respiratory system.

The basis of peppermint oil is the terpenoids menthol and menthone (together 65-87% of the composition); there is also 1,8-cineole (5-12%). Menthol, when inhaled, creates a cooling sensation that can soothe a feverish and sore throat and eliminate nasal congestion. Peppermint oil for inhalation helps fight viral infection, helps improve mucociliary clearance of the respiratory tract and relaxes the muscles of the windpipe, making it easier to breathe when coughing. Menthone (terpene ketone) neutralizes the action of free radicals, i.e. It is an antioxidant. [2]

Tea tree oil for inhalation for sore throat or cough is little inferior to eucalyptus oil (although it contains 4.5 times less 1.8-cineole), and in antiviral and antibacterial activity far exceeds peppermint oil, because it has in its composition almost 30% terpinen-4-ol. [3]

In acute bronchitis with non-productive cough fir oil for inhalation weakens its attacks, and with productive cough - facilitates expectoration of sputum and relieves bronchial spasms. [4]

Essential oil of Atlas cedar, used for inhalation for coughs, helps to liquefy sputum, and for runny nose - thick nasal secretion. Rosemary essential oil has a similar effect due to its high content of 1,8-cineole (almost 45% of the total composition).

Like the plants themselves, oregano and thyme essential oils contain powerful antibacterial components - phenol derivatives of the terpenes carvacrol and thymol. Many herbal cough remedies contain extracts of these herbs.

Sage essential oil for inhalation, containing about 15% eucalyptol, as well as thujone (22-60%), alpha-pinene, borneol and camphor, is an effective expectorant. However, the predominance of the monoterpene ketone thujone, which negatively affects the CNS, limits the use of this essential oil as it can cause convulsions. Therefore, this oil can be used only for so-called cold inhalations, when a few drops of oil are dripped on a swab and its vapors are inhaled. [5]

Olbas brand essential oil blend and its synonym (produced in Russia) - Breathe oil for inhalation - contains oils of peppermint, eucalyptus, juniper, clove tree, caeputa (a variety of tea tree) and gualteria, as well as L-menthol. The oil is intended for the prevention of respiratory infections: it is used by cold inhalation. The instructions for Breathy oil state that it can be used in children from 12 months of age, but clove oil is contraindicated in children under two years of age, and peppermint oil and L-menthol - up to five years of age.

Some sources recommend using sea buckthorn oil for inhalation for sore throat, but this oil is not an essential oil and it does not contain volatile volatiles (it contains omega fatty acids and carotenoids). It is more rational to lubricate inflamed tonsils with this oil. Read more - Sea buckthorn oil for sore throat. [6]

Peach oil for inhalation is no less problematic to use - for the same reasons, but it can be lubricated nasal passages in case of dryness of the mucosa in the nose or to soften crusts in the nose with runny nose in children. [7]

Oils for inhalation in pregnancy

Such essential oils for inhalation as juniper, clove and cajaput oil are contraindicated for pregnant women. In addition, peppermint, oregano, thyme, sage, fir, cedar, tea tree (due to hormonal and neurotonic effects), cypress (in the first half of gestation) are not used during pregnancy.

More information in the material - Inhalation in pregnancy.

The list of essential oils contraindicated for breastfeeding women is a little smaller, but keep in mind that sage essential oil reduces lactation.

Inhalation oils for children

The ability to use oils for inhalation for children depends on their age, since the lung lobes continue to grow until the age of three, and the bronchopulmonary system is fully formed only by the age of seven.

Essential oils are extremely potent substances, and their use in children requires special caution. For safety reasons, it is contraindicated to use eucalyptus oil for inhalation until the age of one year (in some recommendations even until the age of three); clove oil until the age of two; fir oil until the age of three; thyme oil until the age of five; peppermint and rosemary oil until the age of five; tea tree oil until the age of 10, and oregano and cedar oil until the age of 12.

How to make inhalations with essential oils

The therapeutic properties of substances contained in the molecules of essential oils are manifested by evaporation, so hot steam inhalations are carried out

A two-hour interval should be observed between the intake of food and medication and the beginning of the procedure. All preparation consists in filling a container with hot water (for adults t +60°C, for children t +40°C), adding to it the appropriate number of drops of essential oil and then inhaling the vapors (bending your head over the container and covering it with a towel). When coughing, inhale through the mouth and exhale through the nose; in rhinitis - vice versa.

The duration of the procedure, which is carried out once a lazy day, for adults should be no more than five minutes, for children under seven years - two minutes, under seven years - one minute. And the course of treatment should not exceed three to five days (depending on the condition and doctor's recommendations).

A single dose of essential oil added to water (per glass) is given in their instructions and is usually: for eucalyptus oil, 4/2 drops (adults/children); fir or cedar oil, 4/2; tea tree or thyme oil, 2/1; peppermint oil, 3/2; oregano oil, -2/1; cypress oil, 2/1.

Despite all the primitiveness of this "technology", it is effective, although doing such procedures with an inhaler is certainly more comfortable.

By the way, the inhaler for essential oils should be steam or heat vaporized, also or it can be a Maholda inhaler (inhaler Makholda) designed for such procedures.

Experts advise to beware of incompetent recommendations to use essential oils for nebulizer compressor or ultrasonic: they are not suitable for inhalation with essential oils, because the vaporization of volatile substances does not occur. Read more in the publication - Inhalation for bronchitis nebulizer, as well as in the material - Inhalation for colds.

To disperse essential oils into indoor air (so they can be freely inhaled), there are household hot diffusers (which heat the oil, releasing its active ingredients) and cold diffusers - electro-pneumatic devices like the Nebulizing Essential Oil Diffuser.

Contraindications

Inhalations with essential oils have contraindications:

• elevated body temperature;
• hypersensitivity and history of allergies;
• nosebleeds;
• coughing up bloody sputum;
• cardiologic and pulmonologic diseases of chronic nature;
• post-stroke condition.

Inhalation is contraindicated:

• with eucalyptus oil - for bronchial asthma, whooping cough, high blood pressure, liver and biliary tract diseases;
• with peppermint oil - for bronchospasms, asthma and sleep disorders;
• with fir oil - for stomach ulcers, angina pectoris, kidney inflammation, epilepsy;
• with tea tree oil - in hypotonia and disorders of the autonomic nervous system, as well as in hormone-dependent tumors;
• with cedar oil - for nephritis and neuroses;
• with sage oil - for very bad coughs, kidney problems and epilepsy;
• with oils of oregano and thyme - for cardiac arrhythmia and myocardial ischemia.

Consequences after the procedure

Most essential oils are rapidly absorbed after inhalation administration, can cross the blood-brain barrier and interact with receptors in the CNS, and then affect other functions. Although, as experts say, the accelerated metabolism and short half-life of active compounds of essential oils minimize the risk of their accumulation in the tissues of the respiratory tract.

Negative effects after the procedure - if essential oils are used incorrectly - can occur in the form of headache, nausea, irritation of the respiratory tract mucous membranes and allergic reactions, bronchial spasm and asthma attack, as well as the development of sedation.

Dangerous respiratory complications are possible after a procedure using peppermint oil in the inhalation treatment of upper respiratory tract catarrh or bronchitis in children. Inhalation of eucalyptus oil can also cause respiratory and central nervous system problems in children.

Care after the procedure

After inhalation with essential oils, you should rinse your mouth well with warm water and wash your face.

Eating is possible not earlier than an hour and a half after inhalation. It is also not recommended to drink water, talk loudly (straining the vocal cords), exercise and walk (in cool weather) for the same period of time.

Despite the positive reviews about the high effectiveness of such procedures, resort to the use of essential oil for inhalation should be after consultation with a doctor and on his prescription.