The three day aromatherapy congress/seminar held on 9 to 11 August 2007 was a resounding success! Thanks to all of you who came from far and wide to attend – you will agree that it was well worth the effort.

After a brief welcome by our Chairperson Jessica Hart, Dr Joanne Gilbert had the unenviable task of breathing life into the ICD 10 codes. This she managed with a brief presentation of their classification within XXII chapters. Conditions have been grouped i.e. Chapter I A00 – B99 Infectious and Parasitic diseases, the code for cholera is A00; Chapter II C00 – D48 Neoplasm's etc. In most cases a 3 digit code is not valid, two more numeralsafter the dot provide more information. e.g. the code for Chronic Sinusitis is J32, Chronic Frontal Sinusitis is J32.1.

Chapter XX provides codes for external causes which are relevant in the treatment of IOD (injury on duty) cases e.g. X17 Contact with hot engine, machinery & tools. Joanne demonstrated the classification with a CD created by DXS Systems Pty Ltd which is distributed by the Board of Health Care Funders.

This CD covers all the categories and is easy to use to search for codes. The relevance of the ICD 10 codes was hotly debated by delegates. It was felt that they clinically pigeon-hole clients, rather than treating them as complex holistic energetic beings. The fact remains however, that if we wish to facilitate our clients. access to medical aid funds for therapeutic aromatherapy treatments, we will have to apply the relevant ICD 10 codes once they have been formulated for our profession. A code does exist for palliative care: it is Z51.5. ASOSA will assist members with the application of the ICD 10 codes once we have them. Leonie Munro further boggled our brains with a challenging look at Professional Ethics. She emphasized legislation that therapists should be familiar with and have at hand. See page 10 of the journal for more details.

Dr Lisa Fromsdorf gave a brief but enlightening introduction to Ayurveda. The word comes from two Sanskrit words: ayur meaning „life. and veda meaning „knowledge.. This ancient and all embracing system covers emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of being by seeing consciousness expressed as space, air, fire, water and earth. Three body principles come out of these elements: A Vata body personifies space and air; Pitta = fire; Kapha = water and earth. e.g. Vata would be characterized by movement, light, slenderness; Pitta fiery temperament; Kapha slow, stable, fat.

The ayurvedic practitioner is able to pinpoint the patient.s inborn disposition according to the 3 body principles or a combination thereof, and is able to identify imbalances. Four causes of imbalance are diet, daily routine, lack of stress management, and too much/too little experience. The relevance to therapeutic aromatherapy is that essential oils can be described as Vata, Pitta or Kapha and can used to correct an imbalance. e.g. for a Pitta imbalance use a cooling essential oil. For more detail an excellent book Dr Fromsdorf refers to is “The Earth Essential Guide to ancient Wisdom and Modern Living” reviewed on page 15 of the journal.

After lunch the keynote speaker Dr Daniel Penoël informed, inspired, entertained and challenged the delegates with his personal story entitled The Way of the Aromatic Warrior. He placed into context his position on earth as a medical practitioner, a researcher, a teacher, and an entrepreneur. By mapping his way he showed us the incredible potential open to us as individuals in this country and in the world to participate in the Fifth Aromatic Revolution.

The day ended with two workshops: Yoland Irwin set up an impressive work station to produce a number of excellent pregnancy and baby products. With much weighing and whisking delegates were happy to go home with samples to show for their elbow grease!

Jaun de Beer, Mariet du Plessis and Elda Landsberg enjoying the “aromatic trauma gel” “workshop (below right)
With Yavanee Singh and Heather Hamilton (below left) delegates made an excellent aromatic trauma gel using a simple but tried and tested recipe.

 

Aromatic Warriors Seminar

The two day seminar that followed on 10th and 11th August 2007 was an intensive introduction by Dr Penoël to his practice of Integrated Aromatic Medicine and Phytomolecular Systemic Interfacial Aromatic Medicine.

We began with the Emergency Aromatic Kit which one should not be without! Essential oils were chosen for their pain killing action , antibacterial, antiviral and antispasmodic response, burn/wound healing, minor bleeding. It is important to always include a carrier oil in case of contact with the eyes or mucous membranes or with sensitive parts of the skin.

Chemistry comes alive with Dr Penoël, with the classification of essential oils, in particular the hydroxyl group which are the best anti-infectious molecules. We then looked at the inflammatory process and the specific phytomolecular aromatic response in each case. As a case study the management of acute bronchitis was dealt with in detail with blends being created for each aspect of the treatment identified. Yavanee Singh received a treatment there and then with suction cups on her back followed by a topical application of the final blend. Capsules were filled by Dr Penoël to be taken orally overnight.

The following day Yavanee reported an immediate and impressive improvement in her condition which had persisted for weeks. The final day was a combination of hard science and whimsy with aromatic tea followed by the classification of aromatic molecules and essential oils with researched and demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties; a sentimental solo from Mrs Penoël followed by a challenging question and answer session which revealed as much Dr Penoël.s expertise as the gaping holes in our training. The way forward needs a concerted effort on our part as therapists to increase our knowledge of the aromatic molecules, pharmacology and to familiarize ourselves with available research. Dr Penoël has pledged his continued collaboration and to this end he has set up an international organization: the Intelligent Aromatic Planet Foundation. He has nominated Russel John Dor as his South African representative. Russel can be contacted at thescenter@mweb.co.za and tel: 021 4332124.

The feedback from the congress was overwhelmingly positive, though criticisms have been noted and appreciated, especially with regard to the venue. We will be looking at alternatives in the future. With regard to costs, ASOSA actually made a loss with this congress. We undertook the risk of bringing an international speaker at great cost and have no regrets. We do however wish to make it clear that we will no longer accept payments at the door: a number of people assured us they would arrive on the day for whom we made provision only to be left with no-shows.

Many thanks to the Executive Committee for making it all happen, and to all our sponsors (see page 17 ) who so generously gave of their time and products to make this a success.