Aromatherapy blend of thyme, orange, clove bud, and frankincense boosts energy levels in post-COVID-19 female patients..., Hawkins et al, 2022

Complement Ther Med: Aromatherapy blend of thyme, orange, clove bud, and frankincense boosts energy levels in post-COVID-19 female patients: A randomised, double-blinded, placebo controlled clinical trial

Abstract
Background: A large proportion of individuals who have recovered from an acute COVID-19 infection continue to experience symptoms months later. Post-acute COVID-19 (long-haul COVID-19) can range from serious complications to quality of life symptoms such as fatigue or insomnia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential for inhalation of essential oils to improve energy levels among otherwise healthy female survivors of acute COVID-19 who experience a lack of energy more than five months after recovery. This study was conducted in the United States in late 2021.

Method: This was a randomized double blind, placebo controlled trial to evaluate the potential for inhalation of Longevity™, a proprietary essential oil blend manufactured by Young Living Essential Oils (Lehi, Utah, USA), on energy levels among female survivors of COVID-19 who continue to experience fatigue more than 5 months recovery from the acute infection. Forty women were randomized to two groups: intervention and placebo. Both groups inhaled the assigned product twice daily for fourteen consecutive days. Fatigue scores were measured using the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory (MFSI). Secondary outcomes included scores on each of the MFSI's ten subscales.

Results: Individuals who inhaled the essential oil blend for 2 weeks had significantly lower fatigue scores after controlling for baseline scores, employment status, BMI, olfactory function, and time since diagnosis, with a large effect size (F (1,39) = 6.15, p = .020, partial eta squared = 0.198). Subscale analysis identified subscales of vigor, as well as global, behavioral, general, and mental fatigue as benefiting from the intervention. This study provides evidence that a proprietary aromatherapy blend can significantly improve energy levels among women who are experiencing fatigue after recovering from COVID-19.

 

Have to admit this is something I haven't tried as a remedy for fatigue, but think I'll pass.
Sounds like a lovely smell, though..

 

Proposed method of action? Reason for research this particular product on this patient population? Presumably this was all well thought out and such simple questions can be answered.

Or maybe they had a product so........went in search of a patient group they could palm it off on?

'Nice' smells can improve mood temporarily, certainly more than offensive ones, but I'd be very surprised if they did anything 'medical', which seems to be what's being suggested.

 

Love a good aromatherapy oil to relax...but done have ever given me more energy.

 

This tells us everything we need to know about how useless "fatigue scores" are.

It's like using a broken thermometer and expecting to do chemistry research with it anyway. Makes zero sense for a group of professionals to pretend that fuzzy maths applied on guesstimates about a concept made deliberately ambiguous could be of any use in science. It only makes sense with the understanding that medicine has a very conflicted relationship with science.

 

I used to use frankincense and orange as a room fragrance for Christmas. Very appropriate. Never noticed any energy boost though. Deeply suspicious of this line of treatment, hope they add objective outcomes in future studies. Fatigue scales are not reliable in my view.

 

Love this.

It's like claiming that if you use the right dodgy measure you can claim that feeding someone with a broken leg a bar of chocolate improves their condition and noone bats an eyelid as you wonder if you are on candid camera.

 

I inhaled a clove cigarette in the early 80s and my head raced. Cloves(eugenol) and help clear respiratory disorders.

 

I can't be around essential oils because I have fragrance sensitivities. But I was surprised once when, before bed, I used a strong topical pain gel with lots of menthol. It was so stimulating that I couldn't sleep. After that, I used it during the day for pain, but never again before bed.

 

This kind of thing is the best muscle and soft tissue pain treatment I have ever used, I always have some on hand. I find it relaxing not stimulating though.