Pain treatment is without doubt as old as the human race. Anyone who has been faced with the pain of the people around them, especially if this is a loved one, knows how much they want to be able to help. As a result, human history contains different healing methods, some foolish, some not so much and you can read more about them below.
Brief History of Different Pain Treatments
According to the beliefs of ancient cultures, pain was punishment from the Gods and this is one of the main reasons why they had religious offerings and sacrifices. What’s more, South Americans had a practice known as trepanation or creation of holes in the head to bring relief from pain whereas native North Americans held pain pipes to the person’s skin with the aim to pull out all the pain. Greek women were given willow leaves to chew during pregnancy. Furthermore, in the middle ages, Theriac was used for pain treatment and it contained 64 different compounds in a honey base. Opium was another common analgesic of the 19th century, however, by 1830, opiate addiction had become a big problem and there was a need to stop the opium trade, which is commonly known as the First Opium War.
The Attempts to Make Opium Safer
Since the 1830s, there were a lot of attempts to make opium a safer analgesic for medicinal purposes. In recent times, it has taken the form of a drug known as Tramadol which is prescribed against acute pain after surgery, birth, pancreatitis, neuropathy, chronic back pain, etc. Nonetheless, this drug has numerous side effects such as dizziness, nausea, dry mouth, indigestion, etc. Believe it or not, the withdrawal symptoms from this harmful drug can last up to 8 days.
Unfortunately, even though it has detrimental side effects, Tramadol continues to be used and manufacturers usually advertise it as the safer alternative of other opioids like hydrocodone and oxycodone. Nonetheless, according to a study from 2010 done by the Kentucky Regional Poison Center, the number of Tramadol emergencies increased from 401 to 1009 on a yearly basis. In 2010, there were more than 16,000 Tramadol related ER visits in the U.S. With this in mind, we should do everything in our power to find natural and safer alternatives to these detrimental meds.
Essential Oils Can Alleviate Pain
Wintergreen
This essential oil has numerous medicinal properties such as analgesic, anodyne, antirheumatic, antiarthritic, antispasmodic, antiseptic, aromatic, astringent, carminative, diuretic, etc. It also has natural methyl salicylate, the main ingredient of aspirin.
Marjoram
This essential oil has potent sedative characteristics and it is therefore excellent in alleviating ache caused by stiffness, migraines, arthritis, and muscle spasms. It will also relax the heart, diaphragm, and colon. It is considered to have a soothing effect on people who are suffering from emotional pain as well.