Lavender-thymol as a new topical aromatherapy preparation for episiotomy: A randomised clinical trial

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of topical lavender-thymol in promoting episiotomy healing. This placebo-controlled, single-blinded, randomised clinical trial involved 60 primiparous women. REEDA score was used to evaluate the outcome of the trial. On the 7th post-partum day, women in Placebo-treated group had worse Redness, Edema, Ecchymosis, Discharge and Approximation (REEDA) score of 3.93 +/- 3.65 compared with those in Lavender-thymol-treated group (2.03 +/- 1.7) with significant difference (P = 0.013). Visual analogue Scale (VAS) score for pain at episiotomy in Lavender-thymol-treated group was 3.5 +/- 1.9, whereas in Placebo-treated group it was 2.1 +/- 2.2 (p = 0.011) for dyschezia, 3.8 +/- 1.7 and 2.8 +/- 1.6 in Placebo- and Lavender-thymol-treated women, respectively (p = 0.023). At 7th post-partum week, dyspareunia was more severe in Placebo-treated group compared with that in Lavender-thymol-treated group (5.3 +/- 2.7 vs 2.7 +/- 1.5 and p < 0.001). Topical aromatherapy using lavender-thymol was highly effective, suitable and safe for episiotomy wound care with little or no expected side effects compared with that using placebo.