We may be fierce and independent, but that time of the month can leave us clinging to our duvets clutching a hot water bottle.
We’re all guilty of taking a tablet or two of Ibuprofen to ease the pain, but apparently there’s a home-made remedy proven to be a lot more effective straight from the kitchen press.
According to researchers at Babol University of Medical Sciences in Iran, thyme oil provides faster pain relief from menstrual cramps than pain killers.
Researchers conducted a trial using 84 volunteers aged from 18 – 24 years of age.
The women were split into three groups, with one group prescribed ibuprofen, another 2% essential thyme oil and the last a placebo medicine for their period cramps.
The women recorded pain intensity on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being not painful and 10 being very painful.
Before treatment those in the 'thyme oil' group had rated their pain at around 6.57 which then rapidly decreased to a 1.21 in the first cycle, and again dropped down to a 1.14 in the second round. In the 'ibuprofen' group, their pain went from 5.30 to 1.48 and then 1.68. Statistically the tests showed that thyme oil was categorically more effective than its man-made pain killer counterpart.
Better start stockpiling the thyme oil now.
