AROMA

I have had good luck using candles, aroma therapy dispersers, and oils.

My first experience using aroma therapy for my RLS was with a votive candle that was sold as "aroma therapy for anxiety". The scent was jasmine, but it was a sweeter jasmine scent than I've every smelled. Actually, I think it smells like plumerias...the flowers used to make leis in Hawaii.

After about 10 minutes of sitting close by the burning candle, my legs not only settle down, but they feel GOOD! As if they've been massaged. While burning the candle, I usually try to read or watch television. I've also had one sitting by my computer, NOT BURNING, and I still smell it and relax.

I've also tried keeping a candle with me at a movie theater or in the car, and just smelling the wax (not burning). Something about it, quiets things down. Just inhaling the aroma, from the UNlit candle, and I feel my whole body relax. Maybe it's something from my childhood? I don't know...but it is sold as a therapy for anxiety. So, maybe there is something to it.

DISCLAIMER: Many people have purchased the same candle I have and yet, I have not heard of anyone else finding it useful. I'm beginning to think that aromas have different effects on everyone, so it's best to find your own.

If you are concerned with the danger of burning a candle, or if you want a faster scent that fills a room faster, you might try a dispenser of scents. I have an aromasphere, made by Homemedics, which is basically a small quiet fan that blows the aroma. These little machines can cost as little as $20 and come with jars of scented crystals. They also should come with felt pads on which you can drip essential oils. I drip jasmine oil on mine and run the machine every night in my bedroom.

Essential oils are NOT made to be put on your skin. But you can experiment with different ways to put saturated pads near your pillow or wherever you are sitting. If you find a perfume or vial of oil that you like, carry it with you when driving or flying. Just bringing it out and inhaling the aroma a few times may be something that will relax you and ward off a bad RLS attack.



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