Anderson C, Lis-Balchin M, Kirk-Smith M
School of Applied Science, South Bank University, London, UK.
Phytother Res. 2000 Sep;14(6):452-6. doi: 10.1002/1099-1573(200009)14:6<452::aid-ptr952>3.0.co;2-4.
Childhood atopic eczema is an increasingly common condition in young children. As well as being irritating to the child, it causes sleepless nights for both the child and the family and leads to difficulties in parental relationships and can have severe effects on employment. A group of eight children, born to professional working mothers were studied to test the hypothesis that massage with essential oils (aromatherapy) used as a complementary therapy in conjunction with normal medical treatment, would help to alleviate the symptoms of childhood atopic eczema. The children were randomly allocated to the massage with essential oils group and both counselled and massaged with a mixture of essential oils by the therapist once a week and the mother every day over a period of 8 weeks. The preferred essential oils, chosen by the mothers for their child, from 36 commonly used aromatherapy oils, were: sweet marjoram, frankinsence, German chamomile, myrrh, thyme, benzoin, spike lavender and Litsea cubeba. A control group of children received the counselling and massage without essential oils. The treatments were evaluated by means of daily day-time irritation scores and night time disturbance scores, determined by the mother before and during the treatment, both over an 8 week period; finally general improvement scores were allocated 2 weeks after the treatment by the therapist, the general practitioner and the mother. The study employed a single case experimental design across subjects, such that there were both a within-subject control and between-subjects control, through the interventions being introduced at different times. The results showed a significant improvement in the eczema in the two groups of children following therapy, but there was no significant difference in improvement shown between the aromatherapy massage and massage only group. Thus there is evidence that tactile contact between mother and child benefits the symptoms of atopic eczema but there is no proof that adding essential oils is more beneficial than massage alone. Further studies on the essential oil massage group showed a deterioration in the eczematous condition after two further 8 week periods of therapy, following a period of rest after the initial period of contact. This may have been due to a decline in the novelty of the treatment, or, it strongly suggests possible allergic contact dermatitis provoked by the essential oils themselves. The results of this study indicate the necessity of prolonged studies with novel plant extracts as short-term beneficial results could be overturned by adverse effects after repeated usage.
儿童特应性皮炎在幼儿中越来越常见。它不仅让孩子感到不适，还会导致孩子和家人夜不能寐，引发亲子关系问题，并可能对就业产生严重影响。研究了一组由职业母亲所生的8名儿童，以检验以下假设：在常规医疗的基础上，使用精油按摩（芳香疗法）作为辅助疗法，有助于缓解儿童特应性皮炎的症状。这些儿童被随机分配到精油按摩组，治疗师每周为他们进行一次精油混合物的咨询和按摩，母亲则在8周内每天为孩子进行按摩。母亲们从36种常用的芳香疗法精油中为孩子选择的首选精油有：甜马郁兰、乳香、德国洋甘菊、没药、百里香、安息香、穗花薰衣草和山苍子。另一组对照组的儿童接受不含精油的咨询和按摩。通过母亲在治疗前和治疗期间（为期8周）记录的每日白天瘙痒评分和夜间干扰评分来评估治疗效果；最后，治疗师、全科医生和母亲在治疗后2周给出总体改善评分。该研究采用了跨受试者的单病例实验设计，通过在不同时间引入干预措施，实现了受试者内对照和受试者间对照。结果显示，两组儿童在治疗后湿疹症状均有显著改善，但芳香疗法按摩组和仅按摩组之间的改善情况没有显著差异。因此，有证据表明母婴之间的触觉接触对特应性皮炎的症状有益，但没有证据证明添加精油比单纯按摩更有益。对精油按摩组的进一步研究表明，在最初接触期后的休息期过后，经过另外两个8周的治疗期，湿疹病情恶化。这可能是由于治疗新鲜感的下降，或者，这强烈表明可能是精油本身引发了过敏性接触性皮炎。这项研究的结果表明，有必要对新型植物提取物进行长期研究，因为短期的有益结果可能会被反复使用后的不良反应所推翻。
