Essential Oils
Essential Oils for Fibroids
Apr
Essential oils for Fibroids
Fibroids are tumors that grow in or on the uterus. Often, they're so small that they cause no symptoms, and you may never even know that you have them. Other times, they can cause severe pain. Typically, they are not cancerous, but they can cause a lot of discomfort and other serious symptoms.
Fibroids are extremely common. It's estimated that, by age 50, 80% of women will develop them. Fortunately, the majority of these cases involve fibroids too small to cause any symptoms. If you find yourself in the minority of women suffering from fibroids large enough to cause symptoms, that knowledge is probably cold comfort. Fortunately, there are things you can do to relieve the symptoms of fibroids.
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Different types of fibroids
Fibroids are classified by their location in or on the uterus.
Intramural fibroids
These are the most common fibroids, which means they are typically very small. Intramural fibroids grow within the wall of the uterus. While they're usually small enough to be harmless, their location within the wall of the uterus does mean they have the potential to do damage. large intramural fibroids can stretch the uterus, causing a lot of discomfort.
Subserosal fibroids
Subserosal fibroids grow on the serosa, the outside of the uterus. When they grow large, they can make the womb look larger on one side.
Pedunculated fibroids
These fibroids are subserosal fibroids that have grown a stem to support the tumor.
Submucosal fibroids
These are the rarest fibroids, and they grow in the myometrium, or the middle muscle layer of the uterus.
Causes of fibroids
The cause of fibroids is unclear, and there are several different things doctors believe may contribute to their formation.
Hormones
Estrogen and progesterone are produced by the ovaries, and, among other things, they stimulate the regeneration of the uterine lining during your menstrual cycle. It's possible that they may be linked to the growth of fibroids, as well, since they are involved in uterine tissue growth.
Genetics
If your mother or grandmother had fibroids, it's likely that you will too. This means that there's a possible genetic cause for them.
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, your body produces more hormones than usual, and your uterus is growing more tissue than usual. This can lead to the rapid growth of fibroids. They can appear and spread very quickly during pregnancy.
Symptoms of Fibroids
The symptoms of fibroids are largely dependent on the number, size, and location of the tumors. They also depend on age: women going through menopause are less likely to experience fibroid symptoms, likely as a result of their hormone levels dropping. In fact, fibroids may shrink or even disappear after menopause.
Heavy bleeding during periods is one of the most common symptoms of fibroids, especially submucosal fibroids. This bleeding usually includes blood clots, and can even occur between periods. Large fibroids often cause pain in the pelvis and lower back, or a sense of pressure or fullness in the abdomen.
If you notice an increase in menstrual cramping, that's a sign that you may have developed fibroids, as is an increase in urination.
Pain during intercourse is another common symptom. Especially large fibroids may even cause visible swelling of the abdomen.
Treatment
Fibroids are difficult to treat because the cause of fibroids is poorly understood. Medical treatment involves managing the symptoms, addressing potential causes, or both. Sometimes, anti-inflammatory painkillers are prescribed to manage the pain and to limit the size of the tumors.
You may also be prescribed medications to manage your hormone levels. These will lower or stop your production of estrogen and progesterone, which will stop menstruation and can shrink the tumors. In extreme cases, surgery may be necessary to remove the fibroids.
There are many natural remedies, as well. Acupuncture and yoga have been used to great effect, and so has massage. Dietary changes can also be helpful; focusing on foods rich in flavonoids and antioxidants is key.
One of the most useful tips for people trying to treat fibroids naturally is to manage stress levels well, and prevent yourself from getting overly stressed.
How Essential Oils Can Help
As essential oils grow in popularity, people are increasingly turning to them as a natural remedy for all kinds of health problems. There are somethings that essential oils can't help with, but fortunately fibroids aren't one of them.
Fibroids, like so many other health conditions, involve stress and inflammation. Essential oils can be extremely effective at treating these. In fact, stress and inflammation are very treatable with essential oils.
Best Essential Oils for Fibroids
The following are the best essential oils for use in treating fibroids.
Frankincense Oil
Frankincense is one of the oldest essential oils, it's been used for centuries for medicinal and religious purposes. Frankincense has been shown to help prevent cancer cells from spreading and to reduce the size of tumors. While fibroids aren't usually cancerous, they are a form of tumor and this characteristic of frankincense may help.
Frankincense is also said to balance your hormone levels, and can reduce menstrual cramping and other symptoms. By regulating this cycle and reducing hormone levels frankincense may help to reduce or even eliminate fibroids.
Finally, frankincense reduces stress and anxiety, which can improve your condition. Reducing stress is one of the best ways to naturally treat fibroids, which makes frankincense an excellent treatment.
This roll-on frankincense is easy to apply and very portable, which makes it convenient to use. It's made with top-quality frankincense and fractionated coconut oil- nothing else. The purity and quality of this oil are unbeatable.
Lavender Oil
Lavender is an amazingly useful essential oil. It's been widely studied in medicine and most of its benefits have been scientifically proven, which is unusual. While all essential oils are more useful than the medical community gives them credit for, lavender is unique because of the huge volume of research that's been done on it.
Lavender oil is an extremely potent stress and anxiety reliever. In fact, it's so good at relieving stress and anxiety that it's been shown to relieve pain as well. It's even been shown to reduce labor pain in women giving birth.
This means that lavender can drastically reduce your stress, which is key to treating fibroids. It may also help to relieve any pain caused by fibroids.
This lavender oil is made from the finest Bulgarian lavender, and steam-distilled from purity and potency. While other oils can smell harsh, this one is rich, sweet, and floral- just like smelling a field of lavender in bloom. It's 100% pure lavender oil.
Basil Oil
Basil is good for a lot more than pesto, as this basil oil proves. Basil has been used for many purposes. It's a strong, antibacterial agent and can be used as an all natural disinfectant. Basil oil is also rich in antioxidants and flavonoids, which makes it an excellent choice for fibroid-sufferers, since those compounds can help relieve your symptoms and reduce the size of the fibroids.
Basil oil is anti-inflammatory, as well. Inflammation is commonly seen in and around fibroids, and often the cause of fibroid pain as the tissues around them swell. Anti-inflammatories are a well-established pain treatment for fibroids, which is why doctors often prescribe anti-inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen for fibroids. This means that basil oil may be very effective in treating fibroid pain.
Basil oil can also reduce stress. This may be a function of it's pain-relieving properties, but it might be a combination of that, the antioxidants, or other, less-studied components. It may just be that the aroma is soothing. No matter the reason, basil can reduce your stress in addition to your pain, which makes it an excellent treatment for fibroids.
This basil oil is steam-distilled from choice basil grown in the rich soils of India. The smell is fresh, sweet, and a little spicy, and it's sure to soothe you. This oil is 100% pure with no fillers, so it's a great value too.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint is one of the most soothing scents imaginable. The cool, fresh aroma provides almost instant relief from stress. Like lavender, peppermint has been extensively studied and it's benefits are well documented.
Peppermint is incredibly versatile, too. It can improve digestion, relieve upset stomachs, and clear your sinuses. And, of course, it will freshen your breath. ,
For fibroid treatment, the soothing properties are what's most relevant. Aromatherapy with peppermint oil can make managing your stress levels very easy, and that's essential to managing fibroids naturally.
This peppermint oil is steam-distilled, which is a gentle, clean extraction process that yields very pure, very potent essential oils. It's a much better process than the solvents that other manufacturers use.
Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint essential oil has several health benefits including: alleviating headaches and energizing the body.
Vivorific’s peppermint essential oil is: 100% Pure and natural, free from fillers, additives and harmful chemicals, vegan and kosher certified and sealed with tamper evident closure and Euro style dropper cap.
Juniper Berry Oil
Juniper berry is most famous for its role in flavoring gin, but it has many medicinal properties as well. In fact, it's likely that gin was originally made as a medicine.
Juniper berry is a natural cleaning and detoxifying agent that can remove impurities from the body. It also has antimicrobial properties that help to treat skin conditions like dandruff and psoriasis. It can help to relieve anxiety as well, although it may not be as potent in that regard as some of the other oils listed here.
Juniper berry oil helps to regulate menstruation. This involves hormone regulation, and so juniper berry oil may be able to help treat and reduce fibroids. This isn't a use that's been heavily studied, and the anecdotal evidence is sparse, so while it could be an excellent addition to an oil blend, we don't recommend relying on juniper berry oil on its own.
This juniper berry oil is made from juniper trees grown in Hungary. It's steam-distilled to ensure a high-potency, pure oil. What you get in the bottle is 100% juniper berry oil, with no fillers or carriers.
How to Use Essential Oils
If you're new to essential oils, you may be wondering how you're supposed to use them. The first thing you should know is that essential oils are concentrated, potent products. Almost all of them can be skin irritants and you should never apply pure essential oils directly to your skin.
To use essential oils as a topical treatment, you will always need to mix a small amount of the essential oil with a carrier oil. Carrier oils are oils that are gentle or even beneficial to the skin. Fractionated coconut oil and olive oil are very common choices. You can make these topical blends yourself, or you can buy them pre-made like the Frankincense roll-on listed above. That oil is mixed with coconut oil.
Topical essential oil treatments should be applied directly to the area you want the oil to treat. In the case, you'll want to apply the oil to the skin of your abdomen.
While topical treatments are effective, aromatherapy is by far the most popular method for using essential oils. In fact, the vast majority of the medical research on essential oils has focused on aromatherapy. To use oils this way, you add a few drops of the oil to a diffuse full of water. The diffuser will then gentle heat the water to generate steam, and release that steam into the air. This fills the air in the room with the essential oil.
Aromatherapy has a few advantages. First, because you're inhaling the oil, the oil is going straight into your bloodstream. Second, by absorbing the oil directly into the bloodstream, you will feel the effects of the oil very quickly. Aromatherapy is probably the most effective way to use essential oils for fibroids.
Conclusion
Fibroids are a difficult thing to live with, and the medical treatments available for them may not be desirable. Medications that lower your hormone levels can have numerous unpleasant side effects, and using painkillers constantly is not good for you.
Essential oils can provide a lot of the same benefits as modern medicines, but without the nasty side effects. Any of the essential oils listed here may help to treat your fibroids, but a blend of several of them together may be the best way to maximize the health benefits.
Are there any other essential oils for fibroids which were not mentioned in the blog post? Share them in the comments below.
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