Here’s an observation result where peppermint was found to be effective in reducing Pruritus Gravidarum
A 2012 study investigated the efficacy of peppermint essential oil on women who are in their second or third trimester of pregnancy and are experiencing moderate or severe pruritus. The patients were attending Rasoul Akram Hospital in Rasht in 2011. The materials used in this study include 60 mL of peppermint oil 0.5% in sesame oil for the case group as well as a placebo which is 60 mL of sesame oil for the control group. The respondents were instructed to apply the oils twice a day, for two weeks. The results of the study prove that peppermint essential oil is effective in reducing the severity of skin itch. The researchers in the study also purported that menthol is the material that’s responsible for easing the skin itch. (1)
Another study in 2016 investigated whether peppermint essential oil is an effective treatment for chronic pruritus. The 50 subjects are attending Al-Hussein University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt, from June 2014 to June 2015. The study had two groups. The first group was assigned to have the 5% crude peppermint oil in petrolatum applied on the area with skin itch. While petrolatum base will be topically applied to the participants in the second group. Both groups have 25 respondents. All of the fifty selected participants were diagnosed with chronic pruritus due to hepatic, renal, or diabetic. The topical application was done on the affected areas twice a day for two weeks. The result of the study yielded that there was a significant improvement in the patients who used the peppermint oil while there was no significance among the patients who used the placebo. For this reason, the researchers concluded that peppermint essential oil is acceptable as a treatment for skin itch. Moreover, they purported that peppermint essential oil can alleviate itch by activating A-delta fibers and k-opioid receptors. (2) Hence for your or your family’s itch concern, peppermint essential oil would be the right choice to treat it.
References:
- (1) Amjadi M.A., Mojab F., Kamranpour S.B., The Effect of Peppermint Oil on Symptomatic Treatment of Pruritus in Pregnant Women. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (2012), 11 (4): 1073-1077
- (2) Elsie L.T., El Mohsen A.M., Ibrahim I.M., Mohey-Eddin M.H., Mohamed L Elsie. Effectiveness of topical peppermint oil on symptomatic treatment of chronic pruritus. Dove Press Journal. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology (2016) 333-338
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