The researchers divided the students into three groups of 28 each, group one was given 200 milligrams of ibuprofen per dose plus 25 drops of a placebo essential oil, group two was give 25 drops of a 2% essential oil of thyme plus a placebo capsule per dose and group three was given 25 drops of the placebo essential oil plus the placebo capsule.
Each group was instructed to begin treatment on the first day of their menstruation, taking each dosage every 6 hours. They recorded their pain intensity before their treatment and an hour after each dose and 24 and 48 hours after they began treatment. They were also asked to jot down how heavy their flow was to see how the treatment was working.
At the end of the study, researchers found that thyme oil reduced more pain than ibuprofen.
One of the benefits of taking a herbal treatment is that you don’t have to deal with acetaminophen, which is notorious for liver damage when you take a higher dosage. Natural herbs contain a number of nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and therapeutic compounds. So there you have it, if you hate taking pain medication, thyme is the healthier and more effective alternative.
