A recent study found that inhaling Lemon Essential Oil significantly reduces pain, nausea, vomiting, dry heaving, and the need for anti-nausea medicine.
In a randomized clinical trial, ninety patients who had undergone lower extremity fracture surgery, such as a broken ankle, leg or hip; were randomly assigned to receive lemon aromatherapy or to the control group of an odorless placebo aromatherapy.
The aromatherapy was started in the morning of the surgery and extended at two-hour intervals until the end of the surgery. Aromatherapy was also given in the recovery room, and 16 hours after surgery. Numerical rating scales were used to assess the outcomes before and after the intervention.
This study concluded that lemon aromatherapy significantly reduced pain intensity, post-operative nausea, vomiting, and retching, as well as the need for antiemetic medicine.
