The Wonder of Aromatherapy

A couple of weeks ago, we noticed that Ethan seemed to be breathless at certain times.  It happened quite frequently, sometimes when he was playing and sometimes when he was just walking around.  More often than not, he would giggle and laugh and then he would follow up with a really deep inhalation, as if he was out of breath.  Because I had childhood asthma, I was afraid that Ethan might have inherited it too.  Although breastfeeding does substantially reduce the risk of contracting asthma, it is not 100% full-proof.  So I called Dr Jessica, his PD, and described his symptoms to her.  She said that since Ethan did not seem out of breath, and did not look pale when he was doing so, she reassured me that the symptoms that were presented were not those that indicate the onset of asthma, rather she suspects that it might be habitual as Ethan could have picked up this behaviour from someone he had observed.  She advised us to not make it a big issue though, and not even to tell him “No” when he does it, because that would sometimes encourage the child to do it more and more often.  So we were to monitor the situation and to let her know if it persisted.

Then I remembered that I had not diffused my aromatherapy lamp for a few weeks already.  Me, being careless and all, I dropped the lamp and the diffusing palette at the top cracked to pieces, so it was no longer usable.  Pete suggested that I get the diffuser replaced so that I could diffuse it again.  A few days after that, I managed to obtain the accessory concerned and started diffusing Eucalyptus.  Eucalyptus is well-known for its Asthma-curing properties, and I diffused it diligently every night when we sleep.  Both Pete and I simply love the aroma, and I’ve used it since Ethan was born.  After a couple of days, we were thrilled to noticethat Ethan was not exhibiting the breathless symptom anymore.  Up till today.  So, does aromatherapy do wonders?  Possibly.  We don’t know if what he had was the start of asthma or not (contrary to what the PD said), but we are certainly glad the breathlessness is no longer there.  Yay to Eucalyptus!