Tue, 1 Nov 2011

Category: Essential Oils

Ancient uses for antiseptic oils

If people were able to find so many uses for the essential oils to help combat infections should we not take it a bit more seriously?

During the 16th century people who could read had access to recipes for infused oils, aromatic waters and other methods to treatments with plants. Women would make these remedies for use in the home and they would make lavender sachets, pomanders and other herbal sachets. People would spread herbs on the floor which gave off their scents as people walked on them and during the times of the plague they would carry little bouquets of aromatic herbs. Often these things were dismissed as superstitious but as we have begun to understand more about the use of essential oils we realised that the herbs and oils which were chosen are now known to have antiseptic or anti-viral qualities. We also realise that many of them had insect repellent qualities which were valuable against fleas, lice and other insects which carried the plague disease.

Like this article?