Can We Get Relief from PMS with Essential Oils?

Pre Menstrual Syndrome or PMS is a frequent visitor to many women and is usually dreaded by those who suffer from it.  Using essential oils for PMS can really help! From a woman’s teenage years to after her menopause she will experience her monthly cycles, her periods.  For many women this is not too distressful a cycle as they seem to sail through without many uncomfortable or painful symptoms. But for a large percentage of women the symptoms are very distressing and painful indeed.

Symptoms

The physical symptoms are many and varied:  

  • Fatigue,
  • Belly bloating,
  • Headaches,
  • Abdominal cramping and pain,
  • Backache,
  • Constipation,
  • Water retention,
  • Breast swelling and tenderness. 

And then there are the emotional reactions:

  • Teary,
  • Depressed,
  • Irritable,
  • Loss of concentration,
  • Irrational behaviour,
  • Moody.

For these women who suffer so badly from pre menstrual syndrome, the side effects can represent a trial of up to 3 weeks to endure, and PMS can certainly impact on a woman’s quality of life!

What Can Be Done?

PMS is now a recognized medical condition and is treated as such.  While the symptoms can be treated with prescription drugs, these manufactured pharmaceutical products are not really something we want to become dependent on if possible. Essential oils for PMS are a great alternative therapy.

Essential oils can be of immense benefit to help us cope with the symptoms of pre menstrual syndrome. The only difficulty is that each woman will have very different symptoms so you’ll need to mix and match as to which essential oil works for you. But experimentation with essential oils is definitely worth the effort to find relief.

Having said that, Clary Sage is highly recommended as the essential oil of most benefit for this time of the month.

Essential Oils Recipes for PMS

Recipe for Feeling Low or Sad

Ingredients:

  • 9 drops of Rose essential oil
  • 12 drops Clary Sage essential oil
  • 9 drops of Bergamot essential oil
  • 30ml bottle of carrier oil

Directions:

For a massage blend over the entire area, that is over the belly, pelvic area and lower back try the above combination of essential oils

Recipe for Feeling Irritable

Ingredients:

  • 10 drops Nutmeg essential oil
  • 5 drops Geranium essential oil
  • 15 drops Bergamot essential oil
  • 30 ml bottle of carrier oil

Directions:

As Above

Recipe One for Period Pain

Ingredients:

  • 3 drops Lavender essential oil
  • 3 drops Clary Sage essential oil
  • 3 drops Marjoram essential oil
  • Tablespoon of carrier oil

Directions:

Make up a blend with and store in an amber bottle.  Shake and then gently massage over the belly, hips and lower back.

Recipe Two for Period Pain

Ingredients:

Clary Sage and Marjoram essential oils

Directions:

Add a few drops of a mix of the above essential oils to a hot compress and hold over the belly.

Recipe for PMS Tension

Ingredients:

Rose, Lavender or Clary Sage essential oils

Directions:

Take a bath with 5 drops of a combination or on their own.  Relax and allow the teary distress to flow away.

Recipe for Heavy Bleeding

Ingredients:

  • 9 drops of Cypress essential oil
  • 9 drops of Geranium essential oil
  • 9 drops of Clary Sage essential oil
  • 30ml bottle of carrier oil

Directions:

Make up a massage blend with and gently massage the belly region in an anti-clockwise direction.

Recipe for Cramps

Ingredients:

  • 5 drops Lavender essential oil
  • 5 drops Cypress essential oil
  • 10 drops Peppermint essential oil
  • 10 drops Nutmeg essential oil
  • 30mls carrier oil

Directions:

Massage over the whole abdomen and lower back. Do this daily, just before and during your period.

You can also use some essential oils in a bath during your period - but no more than two baths separated by at least one day.  In other words, don't have baths nightly using these oils:

  • 1 drop Geranium essential oil
  • 1 drop Clary Sage essential oil

Recipe to Regulate Menstruation

Ingredients:

  • 3 drops Clary Sage essential oil
  • 3 drops Juniper essential oil
  • 3 drops Chamomile essential oil
  • 30ml carrier oil

Directions:

Make a massage blend and gently massage clockwise around the belly.

For either of these two problems (heavy bleeding or regulating menstruation) you could add the same oils to a bath.  If so, use just a couple of drops of each combination of essential oils to the bath.