“The services which adopt the Scent’Health system will soon notice its benefits…”
Interview with Dr Hervé Staub, a GP and aromatherapist.
Do you really think that a patient's emotional state contributes to their well-being?
Dr Hervé Staub: I’m sure that if someone is persuaded that they have within them the capacity to cure themselves, things have a better chance of working out well. This mental strength can in some cases influence recovery, and in all cases can promote well-being. This can be explained physiologically, as optimistic feelings generate the production of endorphins, which naturally induce well-being.
In what way can the Scent’Health area improve the condition of patients, in your opinion?
Dr Hervé Staub: Breathing in a bouquet of pleasant fragrances puts us in a positive state of mind. In addition, each essential oil present in these synergies has been selected for its physiological impact on the neural pathways and consequently, on the body in general.
Is it a useful supplement to classic treatments?
Dr Hervé Staub : Absolutely … but doctors need to be more open to this kind of supplement. The idea is not to reject conventional treatments, but to use them with discernment, depending on the patient’s disorder and receptiveness. Ideally, GPs should take the time to make a full examination of their patients, in order to approach the person as a whole, rather than focusing on the symptom or the affected organ, because everything is interconnected. By mixing classic therapies with the use of carefully chosen essential oils, you can, for example, moderate the use of some treatments, and/or reduce side effects.
In your opinion, would the use of Scent’Health in hospitals be a progressive development?
Dr Hervé Staub: If doctors become open to the idea, they will very quickly understand the beneficial properties of this system, which makes the patient much more receptive to conventional treatments thanks to the state of well being induced by the experience. Personally, I have great faith in the Scent’Health area. I really hope that it gains a greater presence in hospitals and that more and more medical services adopt this type of initiative.
Will the hospital be able to invest in this type of system, given that cuts are the order of the day?
Dr Hervé Staub: Once this system has made the patient more receptive to conventional therapies, these are logically likely to work faster, which can shorten hospitalisation periods...
Do you "sense" that things are moving forward a little in France, in the field of aromatherapy?
Dr Hervé Staub: It’s clear that certain countries such as Canada, Italy, Japan and the Scandinavian countries use essential oils more commonly in the field of medicine. Although it’s still a little difficult to promote this natural approach in our French faculties of medicine, progress is being made however in the pharmaceutical industry, which is developing training courses in aromatherapy, notably in Besançon, Montpellier and Lyon. There are also a few, not insignificant initiatives worthy of note in hospital departments. At Boucicaut hospital in Paris, for example, doctors and professors specialising in phyto-aromatherapy have used essential oils for a long time as a supplement to treatments, in an oncology surgery unit. This model, operating in harmony between traditional and natural medicine, has already produced some very positive effects… |
