aromatherapy and air

[nohorn]

Now that essential oils are easily available both in variety and quantitiy, one suggestion is to use them in sick rooms/hospitals to keep viruses or mold spores level down. Is this claim valid? Does the dispersion method matter? (vapors versus dry)? I for one would like less mold spores in my kitchen.

[joko]

i know for instance lavendar, mint and tea tree are natural antibacterials so no reaso why they shouldnt work.

not sure but various scents are known to deter other living things....insetcs dont like citronella an a few other scents, spiders dont like conkers, so whether it stops is because the mould doesnt WANT to grow, and encoursges it to go elsewhere, i dont know - i dont know if mould etc can have a 'choice' in where they 'live'

[nohorn]

Joko: What is conkers?

[rabbitygirl]

I'm not an expert, over and above what I know from selling and using oils for many years. The concentration of oil in the air from any dispersal method I can think of is likely to be insufficient to affect viruses and mould in the air. You would need such a strength, I believe, that the odour and effect on people and pets could be prohibitive.

With anti viral oils (tea tree for example) I would say you must inhale the vapour - from the oil being in hot water for example - to attack a virus such as the common cold. Some oils, where acceptable for direct skin contact, will kill germs, etc., and aid healing.
Lavender in a room burner or diffuser can be very effective at calming and aiding sleep. Used directly on the skin it will aid healing, especially on burns.
I would be interested to know if oils can be used in the way you describe nohorn, but I think your mould spores need addressing by another method and possibly more ventilation in your kitchen.

[nohorn]

Thank you rabbitry girl, that was also my thoughts. Do you advocate any brand of oils? Does the quality vary?

[rabbitygirl]

Nohorn - always buy the best you can afford - invest in quality. Each little bottle lasts quite a long time, even with regular use, to it's worth the extra pennies. With some oils it is imperative, due to its chemical structure, to buy and use the best from reliable retailers.

[fredpuli47]

nohorn, conkers are the product (Seed? Fruit? Nut?) of the Horse Chestnut tree. They are similar to buckeyes in the US. Children in Britain fit them to a length of string,threaded through a hole pierced in the middle.They then play the game of conkers. The idea is that one lets their conker hang, held by the string, and the other tries to break it by swinging their own conker to hit it.

[Bert]

Do you believe in aromatherapy, nohorn? I have several million dollars I'd like to share with you if you would help me get them out of Nigeria.

[fredpuli47]

LOL Bert. I was too shy to ask ! If people want to spend money making other people rich from selling something which has no more than a placebo effect and which has no scientific basis, that's fine.After all it must make them feel better (placebo effect, again). And the vast Beecham drug empire was started on just such an optimistic, unfounded belief The original Mr Beecham's pills were touted as some kind of panacea as 'Beechams' pills. Worth a guinea a box') before the company went on to making remedies which work as claimed.So you never know, some good may come of it all.