Wishing you a very merry Christmas
&
Happy, healthy & prosperous
New Year
Charles, Jan, Justin, Karla, Bart, Steve, Carole, Ally, Kirsty & Sarah.

The last few months have been quite a struggle for many, including us, but thanks to your tremendous support and the unstinting efforts of our team we have been able to trim our sails and batten down the hatches for the stormy weather ahead.

However, according to a news analysis in the Financial Times, there may be some unexpected breaks in the cloud for our industry already. London’s masseurs, physiotherapists and alternative therapists are seeing a surge in demand for their services as the economic downturn sends the stress levels of City workers soaring. In fact, as a sign of growing competition for the ‘pampering pound’, one massage therapist, who provides massage sessions in homes and workplaces across London, is plannning to double her team of six qualified masseurs to cope with the increased demand, particularly from large corporate clients.

Increased corporate bookings are not just due to enlightened employers. Health and safety legislation means that companies could face litigation if they fail to help stressed-out employees. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999), which require companies to assess risks from hazards at work, explicitly mentions the danger of employees developing stress-related illness as a result of their jobs.

But the provision of stress-related services to employees is not quite the full picture. As well as receiving relaxing treatments on the masseur’s table, City workers are getting the qualifications needed to sell such treatments themselves in case their current job is cut. The Relaxation for Living Institute, a London-based business providing training and therapy for stress-related illnesses, has stopped accepting applications for its professional masseur course because it is fully booked until the new year. Forget plumbing, stress relief seems to be the new opportunity for a second career! I reached for Jennie Harding’s Stress Management in Essence.
Self-help stress management.
Jennie Harding is an experienced writer, lecturer and therapist. She was Senior Lecturer at the Tisserand Institute and has led self-help stress management workshops for staff at a number of major corporations.

Stress Management in Essence is one of Hodder Arnold’s informative and instructive ‘In Essence’ series of beautifully illustrated books, which are designed to enable therapists or students of holistic therapies to evaluate, understand and help themselves as well as to provide advice to clients, friends or family.

As the author points out, stress affects all aspects of our existence: that is the physical, mental and emotional elements of daily life. The key to sustaining relief from stress is to recognise stress patterns and then to understand how to manage them better. This book introduces means of developing self-awareness and provides a guide to simple, holistic means of stress relief.

Whilst the book concentrates on practical application with step-by-step photographs of relaxation routines, it enthuses and encourages further study with questionnaires, case studies [there are fascinating scenarios of ‘Prehistoric’ and ‘City’ man], FAQs and detailed information on how to develop your skills.

Divided into three sections, Section 1 of the book examines stress and how it occurs, Section 2 explores ways to deal with physical, mental and emotional stress patterns, as well as recognising important lifestyle factors which may have an influence, and Section 3 goes to work with some key stress-beating strategies which go straight to core areas of your life where stress may start to manifest.

Apparently, although I had never really thought about it, often the level of clutter in the home is mirrored in the car, which is the means whereby you transport yourself (assuming you have a car) through your world. It seems that many feel their car is an extension of their home space and relate to it in a similar way,adding features like DVD and game-playing equipment to the car. Even my own 20-year-old pocket-rocket had such a thing fitted in the dashboard. Thankfully, Justin removed it. Still, it is not only electronic gizmos that cause me stress in a car.

As one who recoils at the sight of any litter in the interior of his car, I am constantly distraught about the amount of detritus that lies scattered in Jan’s car - wellington boots, dog leads, shopping bags, umbrellas, empty soft drink cans, etc. Therefore, I was delighted to note that the author of this splendid book suggests that a proper interior clean-out of a car may diminish slightly the stress of driving. I’ll tell Jan!
    
A horrifying fact.
Almost 5,000 people died from pressure sores and ulcers in England in the past five years, government figures revealed the other day.

The Department of Health admitted in a parliamentary answer that 4,708 people had died at least in part to untreated sores from 2002 to 2006. In comparison, MRSA killed 6,201 people over the same time period.

A pressure sore, decubitus ulcer, or bedsore is an ulcerated area of skin caused by continuous pressure on parts of the body overlying bone in those confined to bed for long periods. However, healing is hindered by the reduced blood supply to the area, and careful nursing is needed to prevent local gangrene. The patient’s position should be changed as frequently as possible, and the buttocks, heels, elbows, and other areas at risk kept clean and dry. It starts with superficial redness, turning to blue and progressing to fat and muscle necrosis which, if unchecked, can lead to destruction of bone and septicaemia. What can be done?

Prevention is best. Thomas Bartram’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine advises you wipe over possible areas with whisky or vodka following with macerated oil of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum L.), but I would think this unlikely in a hospital environment. Although bed patients are encouraged to spend at least 2 or 3 hours out of bed daily, I suspect that several are unconscious and therefore it is not possible in their case. Of course many kinds of bed-care aids exist, such as inflatable rings, water beds and padded protection, but is there time to use them? At the turn of the last century,official medicine used Lassar’s paste or zinc and castor oil ointment, which are probably still effective, but I doubt that Lassar’s, or Dithranol, paste, in particular, which is a mix of dithranol, salicylic acid and zinc, used primarily as a short-contact therapy for psoriasis, is used today because it can cause irritation, stains the skin, and may also stain bed linen.

Whatever, I have read that pressure sores are an area where traditional medicine has limited success, and nurses using aromatherapy have been rewarded by the healing which has occurred using essential oils. Be this the case, and I am sure that there are several medical professionals who  will tell me if it is not, this is an area, like MRSA, where essential oils can perhaps help save lives. Cicatrizant oils such as Frankincense (Boswellia carteri Birdw.) and Helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don), together with a strongly antiseptic oil could be used in a spray with water when the sores are suppurating - 10 drops in 100ml water, shaking well each time before spraying the area. Oils like Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Enghl.),Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) and Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth.) are both cicatrizant and antiseptic.

Shiley Price’s Aromatherapy Workbook suggests that, if the skin can be touched, gently apply a little from a mix made from 5 to 6 drops of essential oil in 50ml of macerated Calendula oil (Calendula officinalis L.), which itself has cicatrizant effects on wounds and persistent ulcers. This oil will also help to strengthen the skin if the mixture is massaged in gently twice a day. Compresses may be useful also, but check that the dressing is non-stick.

Personally, I have had favourable reports about the use of Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) but it does stain the bed linen, so I am told, and so probably wouldn’t be very welcome in hospitals. Do others have experience of pressure sores, and any suggestions for their treatment?

Sorting Tangerine from Mandarin.
Hello, I am the new owner of Aromatherapy Today, the international journal for those who are passionate about aromatherapy, and at present am researching mandarin oil for our next issue, e-mailed Deby Atterby [deby@aromatherapytoday.com].

The web is sketchy on Citrus reticulata and I am trying to get together substantial information about the chemical differences between mandarin and tangerine.

Your site mentioned slight differences in odour and taste but, as that was written in 1998, do you have any additional information that I may look at? Phew, that’s quite an ask but let’s see what I can come up with.

When I was writing in 1998, I probably opted to treat mandarin and tangerine as one species (Citrus reticulata Blanco), and ignored the multiplicity of interspecific or intergeneric hybrids because my source of reference did the same, as mandarin and tangerine oranges have been given species status, considered the same species or merely varieties of one species. Also, the name tangerine is used generally in English-speaking countries but mandarin elsewhere, due mainly to the methods of marketing and advertising fresh fruit [Weiss, E.A. Essential Oil Crops, p.482-91.CAB International 1997]. Furthermore, whilst the various mandarin oils are well known, tangerine oil has never been of great significance. However, I now know more.

Mandarins are pretty complex, since they include several species plus a certain number of hybrids. The main groups are:

Satsuma(Citrus unshiu (Mak.) Marc., which is the main citrus grown in Japan, where it is called unshu mikan. There are cultivars with different times of ripening, from early to late. Cultivars include Owari and Okitsu.

Tangerines or Clementines, which can be distinguished by their rather deeper coloured rind in contrast to the paler aspect of the satsuma. The clementine belongs to the species Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan., with several cultivars like ‘Clemenules’, ‘Fina’ and ‘Monreal’, while ‘Dancy’ is Citrus tangerine Hort. ex Tan.

Mediterranean mandarin, which I suspect is the true source of most commercial mandarin oils, because it is the most common mandarin in the Mediterranean basin, belongs to the species Citrus deliciosa Ten. and usually has seeds. Common cultivars are ‘Mediterranean’ or ‘Willowleaf’ and ‘Avana’. That said, several references consider Citrus reticulata to be synonymous with Citrus deliciosa, which it is not.

Other mandarinsinclude Citrus reticulata Blanco or ‘Ponkan’, Citrus temple Hort. ex Y. Tan or ‘Temple’ and Citrus nobilis Lour or ‘King’.

Therefore I hope you will appreciate I am in a quandary, because, often, when the composition of mandarin oil is described, the authors refer to oils obtained from different mandarin species, seldom is the botanical origin not specified, and when it is, sometimes it is not univocal. Also, mandarins are commonly described by botanical classifications that are different to the ones I have mentioned above.

For example, both Deby and I (in my Price List) refer to the botanical source of mandarin and tangerine oils as the same species, namely C. reticulata, which is probably not correct. Thus, for this exercise, I shall stick strictly to what I believe are the true botanical origins of these oils, C. tangerine and C. deliciosa, tangerine and mandarin respectively.

Fortunately, most of the literature published before 1979 relating to the composition of mandarin oils has been reviewed [Shaw, P.E. Review of quantitative analysis of citrus essential oils. J. Agric. Food Chem., 27, 246-257.(1979)]. Among the papers cited by Shaw, two were on the composition of satsuma (C. unshiu), three on clementine (C. clementina), three on tangerine (C. tangerine), and two on mandarin (C. deliciosa). You will note that there was no reference to C. reticulata at all, and so are we to assume that it was considered synonymous with C. deliciosa?

However, since the data found in literature, particularly for tangerine, are scant, and not recent, it is difficult to identify possible differences among these oils, particularly the minor components. Nevertheless, it is possible to determine some quantitative differences among some major ones that are common to both oils.

Mandarin oil can be characterised by a lower content of limonene than tangerine oil (maximum 77% in mandarin oil versus 87% minimum in tangerine); a higher level of g-terpinene in mandarin, 12% minimum versus 4.5% maximum in tangerine. Also, mandarin oil has higher levels of a-sinensal and methyl N-methylanthranilate than tangerine. [Citrus. 2002. Eds. Giovanni Dugo & Angelo Di Giacomo. In the series Medicinal and Aromatic Plants - Industrial Profiles, published by Taylor & Francis]

Remediesfor Raynaud’s.
My son suffers from Raynaud’s Disease, which he finds quite debilitating at times. Do you sell a pre-mixed blend which can be used for people suffering from this condition? e-mailed Stephie Griffiths. We don’t, but I’m sure that I can come up with something you can do yourself.

Raynaud’s Disease isn’t catching and is not really a disease, more a physiological phenomenon relating to the arteries and the sympathetic nerves supplying them. People who are very sensitive to the cold can be affected by this condition, in which the fingers, hands and sometimes feet suddenly turn pale and numb. In severe cases they may turn blue and there may be burning pains. Very occasionally the sufferer may get gangrene.

Numerous people in Britain suffer from the disorder at some stage in their lives, the vast majority are women. The attacks usually last for no more than 15 to 30 minutes, but you can never tell. In most cases the phenomenon is caused by the contraction, due to cold, of the small arteries supplying blood to the surface of the skin. Occasionally it can result from the vibration of using power tools or drills; from drugs that have been prescribed for other ailments; from the pressure of gripping or carrying something; or from cigarette smoking. In my own case, it is invariably due to gripping the steering wheel too tightly on a cold day when not wearing gloves, or is this merely temorary cramp?  All the same, it also sometimes happens when I am holding a knife and fork.

Raynaud’s disease (or Raynaud’s syndrome, as it is also known) was named after Maurice Raynaud (1834-1881), a distinguished French physician who discovered the condition in the early 1860s - when he described it as ‘a case of local asphyxia of the hands and feet, leading to gangrene’.
Self-help suggests wearing long thermal socks, gloves, fleece-lined shoes and a hat in cold or wet weather. I do, and it certainly helps. I have not, however, resorted yet to wearing a nightcap, bedsocks and gloves in bed and keeping a vacuum flask of hot coffee on the bedside table in case I wake up cold, but I am sure that it would be wise as I do get occasional attacks during the night, but is it truly Reynaud’s syndrome?

Biofeedback practitioners believe that worry or nervous upset may reduce the amount of blood flowing to people’s extremities - especially their fingers and toes. This is thought to apply particularly to anyone who is prone to Reynaud’s disease.

Therapists recommend sufferers to train themselves to warm their extremities using a hand-held thermometer which indicates when warmth is restored to the affected areas. By relaxing and imagining being in a warm situation (such as on a sunny beach or in a warm bath), and observing the effect on the instrument, it is possible to learn quite quickly to control the condition. This is an interesting concept, but I have not tried it myself. Have you?

Fortunately for Raynaud’s sufferers, and with not a little help from The Fragrant Pharmacy, Valerie Ann Worwood’s timeless tome, essential oils can provide an extremely effective remedy to their problem.

Valerie Ann suggests that you can either make your own formula from a choice of Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.), Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.), Clove (Zyzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L.M. Perry), Rose Absolute (Rosa damascena Mill.), Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii (Roxb.) J.F. Watson), Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L’Her.),Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce Batt. & Trab.), Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) and Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), or simply follow her own. I know what I would do!

Valerie Ann’s treatment is a two-part regime of baths and massage, using two formulas on alternate weeks. Here is the formula for the first week. Make a synergistic blend using these proportions, or use these amounts in 30ml vegetable oil for a massage oil.

15 drops Nutmeg  5 drops Lavender  10 drops Geranium

Bath twice a day - in the morning and before going to bed - using 6-8 drops of the synergistic blend in the bath. While you are sitting there, massage your fingers and toes. Add 1 drop of the synergistic blend to each millilitre of vegetable oil to make the massage oiland apply it all over your body except the face. Get your partner or a friend to massage your back. Pay special attention to your toes and fingers but do the lot - arms, legs, bottom, tummy, chest and shoulders. Do this daily. If an attack occurs, use the massage oil as opften as you like and double up on the fingers and toes.

If your toes and fingers are always extremely painful and your skin is perhaps fragile, add 50 drops of Tagetes (Tagetes minuta L.) to 30ml of made-up massage oil. This may seem a rather large amount to add, but you are reading it right. Use this formula massage oil during the first two weeks.

The second formula, which is used alternately with the formula above until the condition eases off and relief is obtained, is used exactly in the same way - in the bath and as a massage oil, for a week.

10 drops Black Pepper  10 drops Geranium 10 drops Nutmeg

Meanwhile, eat lots of onions and fresh garlic. Cut out coffee and tea and drink herbal teas instead which, personally, I think I would find difficult! Although essential oils cannot cure the condition, they can help easing the symptoms.

Bumper rose crop.
2008 brought a record rose harvest in Turkey and Bulgaria, estimated to exceed 14,000 tons of flowers - nearly 50% more than last year.

In Turkey, the harvest was very good in terms of quantity (8,500 tons) with normal yields. Late, but heavy, rains saved the rose bushes, which had been in bad condition following several months of drought. According to estimates, the factories in Isparta produced nearly 2 tons of oil and in excess of 7 tons of concrete.
In Bulgaria, production was up very sharply, reaching 6,000 tons. This was not unexpected, given the uncontrolled expansion of rose growing over the past four years, boosted by the arrival of EU funds. This boom, which was delayed in the previous two years by unfavourable weather conditions, has led to a serious problem in harvesting, with a shortage of labour driving up the price of flowers. For the first time since the revival of the Bulgarian rose market, many flowers remain unpicked.

Further, it was a very bad harvest in terms of yield, especially for rose oil, for the second year running. The balance between rain and heat, which is crucial in May and June for producing good quality roses, has been seriously affected by climate change.

Inevitably, the Bulgarian rose industry is now entering an adjustment period: there too many producers (18 this year), too many plantations and not enough labour. The production for this year is estimated to be 1.5 tons of oil and 1.5 tons of concrete.

Morocco enjoyed its first good rose harvest in three years, but with total flower production of no more than 1,000 tons the country remains a minor source, despite the good quality of its concretes.

Despite the bumper crop, the prices of rose blossoms shot up again this year, with 20% rises in both Bulgaria and Turkey.

This increase is unavoidable in Bulgaria, where the shortage of pickers bolsters their demand for wages on a par with other agricultural sectors, in keeping with the general trend toward higher prices for agricultural products. The cost of harvesting currently amounts to 50% of the price of the flower, compared with 30% three years ago.

The planters in the Turkish villages are also pressuring the factories for more compensation, keeping prices the same in both countries, as last year. In Morocco, consistent yearly increases have raised the price of rose blossom to an identical level.

Consequently, the prices of rose oil and absolutes are rising for the second consecutive year, reflecting the increased cost of flowers and energy.

Also, since the end of the harvest, there has been a sustained demand for rose oils and concretes of all origins, despite the increased production and higher prices. The trend toward the globalization of the market for rose products continues, with increased consumption in perfumery in the Middle East and India, and above all the development of activities in natural cosmetics, for which the prestiege and intrinsic qualities of the rose make it a genuine luxury product in the eyes of consumers.  

Finally.....
Do let us know if there are any particular courses you would like us to run in 2009, as I am drawing up the list now.
 

charles@essentiallyoils.com

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