I was recently in Bali, visiting a swimming pool by a volcano - right before my wedding - when I slipped over and fell on the concrete. I landed on my knee, my hand and my chin - and it was excruciatingly painful. In the UK, that would likely have resulted in immediate first aid from the resort - but in Bali, they came running out with an empty first aid box that had a cotton wool pad inside covered in blood.

As I kindly refused the offer of their first aid box - after some language barriers - they went to get the Natural Doctor.  Despite being in shock, I actually burst out laughing at this point because I thought “I actually like the sound of this, much better than traditional medicine - this is magical.” Instead of panicking, I realised I had been met, in my favourite place in the world, with the exact remedies that I would have reached for myself, at home.

The holistic doctor came out with an abundance of essential oils - as my family looked on in horror! And they intuitively shoved a bottle of Cajeput oil in my hands. Being an aromatherapist I applied it, and within 5 minutes, my swelling started miraculously going down - my pain disappearing. I’ve been an aromatherapist for over a decade, but it’s in moments like this - where you feel in shock, pain and fear, and you witness the miracle of essential oils all over again - where you’re humbled at its power.

And so, I wanted to explore the aromatherapeutic first aid powers of essential oils - because they bring us back to our own self-healing wisdom. And that’s to say, they aren’t needed just in isolation - I’m also a firm believer that they offer a complementary approach to mainstream medicine too (which can also be lifesaving).

The power of nature in crisis

That said, we’ve become a culture that has it ingrained that we should seek external fixes.  That we should outsource our power to the mainstream medical system. But what if we also hold medicine in ourselves? What if we intuitively know how to bring first aid to ourselves? 

Whilst I’m not saying essential oils are a replacement for urgent medical care, they can still be sacred plant allies in emergency situations that help us to pause, soothe and regulate in moments of shock - or even physiologically support our bodies, whether that’s through pain relief, or anti-inflammatory properties.

First aid aromatherapeutic properties of essential oils

There are so many different aromatherapeutic properties of essential oils, including:

• Anti-inflammatory - to reduce swelling and redness after injury or strain - Examples: Lavender, Chamomile (German), Turmeric
• Analgesic - to relieve pain - useful for bumps, bruises, or muscle strain - Examples: Peppermint, Clove, Black Pepper
• Antiseptic and anti-microbial - to clean minor cuts, scrapes, bites, and prevent infection - Examples: Tea Tree, Ravensara, Lemongrass
• Circulatory/Warming - to encourage blood flow - Examples: Ginger, Rosemary, Marjoram
• Cooling - to calm heat or inflammation - Examples: Peppermint, Spearmint, Eucalyptus
• Respiratory - to ease breathing in shock or for shallow breathing - Examples: Eucalyptus, Benzoin, Niaouli
• Calming (nervine) - to soothe anxiety, panic, shock or emotional overwhelm - Examples: Bergamot, Chamomile (Roman or German), Rose
• Grounding - to reconnect to the body after dissociation or trauma - Examples: Frankincense, Patchouli, Vetiver

There are so many oils that can help us in moments of emergency - but I’m equally aware that in the moment it can be hard to remember what we need. So, let’s have a look at my Top 5 aromatherapeutic oils to keep in your kit, ready!

Top 5 essential oils for aromatherapeutric first aid

The following oils are great all-rounders with several ‘first aid’ properties:

1. Lavender - a great oil to calm shock, this oil has multiple physiological properties - including pain relief, anti-inflammatory, and shock-relieving!
2. Tea Tree - a wonderful oil for cleansing wounds, bites and scrapes, but also for protecting and restoring our energy in shock. This oil is a great all-round oil to keep in your kit (Ravensara is a gentler alternative if you don’t like the scent so much).
3. Peppermint - a cooling oil, that’s also reviving and pain relieving, making it a common first-aid oil.
4. Chamomile - both emotionally calming, and physiologically anti-inflammatory and grounding, this is a great oil for shock, and also for pain.
5. Frankincense - one to support grounding and breath in moments of shock and trauma - and also good for skin - this is another great one to have in the kit.

Each of these oils has a medicine that can help us in any emergency - there’s a great variety of ‘first aid’ properties in this mix - for many difficult situations.

First aid rituals

When we have had some kind of emergency, one of the first things essential oils can offer is a sense of calm and grounding - so I’ve created a ritual for shock, followed by 2 rituals for some common first aid challenges - wound washing and burn gel.

Rescue Roller - when we are in shock:

• Mix 10ml Grapeseed oil into a roller bottle and add 1 drop Chamomile and 1 drop Frankincense. Roll this on your pulse points as soon as there’s been any emergency, to ground yourself back into your body and restore a sense of calm.  This is the best place to then meet the emergency from.

Wound Wash Spritz - if you’ve had a minor surface physical cut or scrape:

• Mix 100ml sterile water (or Lavender Hydrolat) into a clean spray bottle, and add in 20 drops Ravensara, 5 drops Lemongrass and 5 drops Frankincense. Use this to spray any minor surface wound that needs gentle cleansing.

Minor Burns Gel - if you’ve had any minor, superficial burn (not major burns) or sunburn:

• Mix 15ml of Aloe Vera Gel with 2 drops Lavender, 2 drops Chamomile and 2 drops Helichrysum, and apply gently to the burn to soothe it. 

Trusting your body’s wisdom

The important thing to remember is that our bodies are intelligent - as you begin to work with essential oils in first aid moments, you’ll learn to trust your own wisdom and intuition as to what oils are being called for.  Our bodies are good at craving the oils they need.  

I’d recommend building up a little ‘starter kit’ for aromatherapeutic first aid, as you go - to complement alongside any other mainstream emergency support. As you do, you’ll find that first aid doesn’t have to be just clinical - it can be resourced, calm and sacred with your plant allies, too!

Just begin - and get creative!

Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist

Disclaimer & Safety Advice

Read other articles by Nicole Barton