h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ok - it has been suggested that Aromatherapy might help a particular problem that I have at present.....

The problem is a swollen knee - (according to the medical profession it's either bad bruising (now lasting several weeks), a blood clot or gout.

All of it now made worse by slipping last weekend and the swelling realy getting bad.

Now Aromatherapy....I think it's achieved by smell
(I no longer have a sense of smell)
or massage
(fat chance it's painful enough already) so........

Can Aromatherapy help me if I can't smell and/or don't want to be massaged ??

I expect there are several therapists about - what do you all reckon??

No. Aroma therapy may do something for the mood, perhaps, but not for the knee.

Go to a orthopedian. Get xray / MRI whatever to find the true cause. Get surgery. Bruising shouldn't last weeks.

Find another doctor than the one who checked the other time.

Get well.

If you don't want to be maassaged, then I'd knock the idea on the head straight away!

If it's because you fear the pain of being touched, then it can be got around. Compresses can be used to reduce the swelling for starters.

And a good massuesse would know exactly the right sort of massage to do and how much pressure - if any- to apply.- it's not all Helga the Horrible with big brawny forearms and a sadistic streak, you know!

I've already suggested LMD, and explained olifactory sensation isn't necessary, as the oils - if you chose aromatherpy - go to work via the bloodstream

Smelling the smells is the nice bit - but not terribly necessary; again, a good therapist would be able to make up a mixture of oils to suit your personality type which could also work for the problem as well Thats why you have quite an indepth consultation before you get started - you're treated holistically, remember.

You are *not* just a knee in this profession. We treat the whole person. And if you find a good therapist, it shouldn't be too difficult to sort out.


Thats been my experience, anyway. I think out of all the brews I made, only one client didn't like the balance I achieved, and that was easilly enough remedied.


As a rule of thumb; if you don't like "The touch" of whoever's doing it, then find another one. And I don't mean the massage technique, because I know some excellent massusses who are superbe at their jobs, but who just don't "feel" right when they massage me.

So its up to you to use your intuition and judgement as well.

I had a clot on my knee a while back and yes the bruising seems to last forever a hot bath with a little lavender oil may help and make sure you get some good pain killers

Thanks Milla - another doctor might help - but after the first three who all slagged each other off and disagreed anyway I think I'll try and avoid them - and especially those surgery waiting rooms - you go in with a bad knee and come out with Beriberi or something - they're all ill in there!
Yes Ev - I've thought of the bags of frozen peas sort of thing - though in this weather it's not a great thought.
Don't think I've ever actually "met" Helga the Horrible - but her reputation gets around eh!
My intuition seems to be heading towards............leave it alone and it should sort itself out at the moment
Sephina - I'm trying to avoid any pills right now - they get my stomach my acidic than it already is
I'm trying to stick to the tried and tested Scottish medicine at the moment - Glenmorangie seems to work well
There's also that Italian Chiantie stuff as well

When I said "Compresses" I meant proper, aromatherpy ones, not a bag of Birdseyes best S'hh



Frankly, I'd leave GPs alone - they're for very sick people who don't ask many awkward questions - and if 3 of them cannent agree what you've got, whatever makes you think another one might?

(OK, I'm going to get my knuckles rapped about that; there are some damned good GPs about,but unfortunately, they're in demand, and not easy to find. If you do go for another Opinion, ensure the GPs specific interest is pertinent to what you are suffering from.

Otherwise you're quite likely to be told its a Talia ("Theres a Lot of It About") and then get terribly surprised that you go back a couple of years later with stomach ulcers where the pain killers have done a bit of extra work in the guts they knew might happen, but...would prefer to ignore.

Annoying, isn't it - this ignoring lark

You *could ask for a alterntive set of pain relief/inflamation control that suits your stomach better though. There are alternitives, you just have to prod them into finding one that suits you...and not necessarilly their budget.

Start of the tax year's the best time to kick up a stink. In the meantime, get researching so you can throw a few names of brands about!

Your intuitions *invariably leads you to leave stuff alone and it might get better Just occaisionally, one has to take action about stuff one'd sooner ignore. Believe you me, the longer *you ignore the problem, the longer the medical profession will. Generally speaking, they're great at Acute Stuff, but chronic stuff like pain, gout, etc is a bit of a grey area.

And whilst I agree alcohol is a convenient remedy, it's like anything else - treats the symptoms and not the cause. And offers the dubious joys of weight gain, hangovers and *possible dependency. Not that I think the latter will apply to you, of course. But it is something to take into consideration. Drinks a good friend but a bad master; and its a ing expensive, if palletable way of controlling physical pain. It should be a pleasure, not a medicine - even Glenmorangie or a decent Chianti gets to be a chore after a while.



Serephina is right about the Lavender oil bathe - lavender oil can be disalgesic and anesthic; it also can reduce swelling.

Here endeth my worth

If its large amount of swelling caused by bruising or some inflamatory process in the joint/bone I'd get a differnt doctor and insist on some decent drugs... steroid injection or non-steroidal anti-inflammatorys would spring to mind as a good way to releave the inflammation failing which have you tried Glen Livit?

Which is better in the way of steroid/non steroid injections for gout related synovitus/bursitus 2 Legs?

As an aromatherapist, I'd recommend Juniper compresses - and juniper I believe is used in gin, as flavouring, isn't it?

Would Bombay Sapphire be a good compromise?

Hmm.... Bombay Sapphire would probably be a good compramise with tonic water... I always get the feeling that theres somethign good in the tonic water as well as the loverly wholesome goodness and natures medacine that is the gin Hmm.... steroidal versus non steroidal for grout.... err... not really sure... each has their negative and positive doda....

Well... in my case, neither of em worked particually well, so I'd definately say there's a lot of positive and negative doodahs for each of em

Its quinine in tonic water, isn't it? And quinines good for all sorts of stuff.....

Is it yard arm time yet?

Yard arm time was ages ago... about 11 AM I think Quinine yep thats the one.... good too for stopping cramp apparently

Oddly enough cramp does develope quicky if you're hobbling a bit and using one leg to do the work of two

it is then

Damn! I blinked and I missed it!

I've always found vodka to be very theraputic with quinine meself. I certainly have never suffered cramp in any way, shape or form whilst drinking it, so it must work

Another vote from me on the vodka and tonic front dang... there ain't any booze in my house at the moment

No no - you can keep the vodka - I'll keep the Scotch and the Chianti I think


That way i can do without the painkillers

I also suffer from a bad knee which I've now been told is Osteoarthritis, which is great as I already have Osteoporosis, so now I have the set!

What I would do in your case, given that you slipped last weekend and it got worse as a result, is take yourself off to Casualty at the local hospital. Get them to X-ray it and explain how it first started to give you a problem before the fall but the pain is getting worse since the slip. You will almost certainly get seen by someone more used to knee injuries and conditions than a GP.

My local hospital told me that if I ever get any bruising or bad spraining the best thing is to bypass the GP and go straight to casualty. Obviously, in my case, having Osteoprosis led them to say that but they didn't seem to have a lot of confidence about GP's abilities to deal with joint and limb problems. Fortunately for me, my GP specialised in Sports injuries before he took up as a GP so he's quite clued up on stuff like that, but most aren't and i'm sure you'll get a much better appraisal from the hospital.

Thanks for the advice Radox
Oddly it was the A&E quack that slagged off the NHS Direct people and the local GP - but I won't hold that against him
I have the feeling this evenings Cricket Club "do" may help until possibly Sunday morning so I'll make a decision then
As you say a Sports Injuries person is really the best bet - just got to find one who doesn't want large amounts of Gelt to take a peek

Yes, but as you slipped and the injury got worse I would seriously get it X-rayed. When I broke a kneecap I was walking around on it for 3 weeks before I finally decided I would brave the 7 hour wait at A&E. It turned out it was broken in 5 places. The consultant asked when I had broken it before and I replied 'never'. He said 'you have you know' and showed me where the bone had previously repaired. I still don't know how I broke it the first time.

What caused your knee to flare up in the first place? Did you twist it or did it just start hurting for no apparent reson?

P.S. Don't even get me started on NHS Direct...

Actually it would be interesting to see how aroma therapy would affect someone without a sense of smell. Although you´d need a bigger control group.