Essential Oil Properties: Natural “Antivirals”?

Modern pharmacological science has produced many effective antibiotics for combating bacterial infections, it has been far less successful in developing useful antiviral agents, or “viricides”. It’s time that science looked harder at the natural antiviral properties of essential oils (more about this below).

Artisan Aromatics offers you the best quality essential oils for the best natural health experience and maximum antiviral protection The quality of essential oils varies greatly so, for the best therapeutic results, choose our company, Artisan Aromatics Essential Oils, for the best quality oils sourced from around the world and bottled by hand in USA.

Here’s a link to just a few of our quality Essential Oils with Natural Antiviral Properties.

In addition to 180 individual essential oils, we also offer several Essential Oil Blends with Antiviral Properties like “Good Defense”, “Safe Travels”, “Robbers” and more.

To make best use of your purchase of anti viral essential oils or anti viral blends, choose one or more of our Personal Aromatherapy Inhalers,  Aromatherapy Diffusers or Aromatherapy Necklaces & Accessories.

Viruses are hundreds of times smaller than bacteria and could not be seen until the development of the electron microscope.  Viruses are also harder to kill because they are not exactly “alive” in the first place. Unlike the bacterium, which is a living cell that has all the biological “machinery” for carrying out life processes, including reproduction, a virus is nothing more than a single or double strand of RNA or DNA in a coat of protein.  Just as it does bacteria or any foreign invader (such as a transplanted organ), the immune system rallies to fight off viruses  In the case of viruses that produce the common cold, measles, or some forms of pneumonia, a healthy person’s immune system is able to fight the virus off.  Other viruses, such as those that produce Ebola, rabies, Hanta virus, SARS or corona viruses may overwhelm the body before the immune system can mount an effective defense.

Jane Buckle, author of Clinical Aromatherapy in Nursing, says that synthetic viricides are difficult to manufacture and that none appear to be totally effective and are accompanied by moderate to severe side effects. Viral diseases represent a significant threat to health worldwide since mainstream treatments are lacking and since new viruses appear all the time from unknown sources.

Essential Oils – Use Through the Ages

The effectiveness of some essential oils as both antibacterial and antiviral agents has been known for quite a long time. It was observed that people who worked in the lavender distilleries and in other industries using essential oils rarely contracted the bubonic plague (caused by the Yersinia pestis bacillus) that swept through Europe in the Middle Ages, killing more than 30% of the population in affected areas. It was common for people to carry bundles of dried herbs mixed with essential oils on their person. Several recipes for preventing plague with essential oils became popular during this time. Lavender was the most popular but, in addition, cedarwood and cypress were often used. Anecdotal evidence for the effectiveness of essential oils against both bacteria and viruses has been gathered in more modern times and has steadily accumulated and many scientific investigations have been conducted since the 1950’s.

More Recent Studies of the Natural Antiviral Properties of Essential Oils:

Dr. Jean Valnet, the famous French surgeon, reported his clinical success in treating serious cases of shingles and influenza with a mixture of essential oils in the 1980’s. Some of the oils he used include pine, thyme and lemon which are widely used as antivirals in clinical aromatherapy practice today.  During the 1990’s clinical success in the use of essential oils against viral infections was also reported by Dr.’s Franchomme and Peneol.

Research demonstrating the antiviral effects of essential oils has been largely ignored by mainstream American medicine, European companies are more actively involved in the development of natural alternatives to synthetic medicines. In Europe, commercial antiviral preparations employing essential oils have been available for some time.