Essential Oils for Urinary Symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if essential oil aromatherapy works to improve urinary symptoms in adults with multiple sclerosis. It will also learn about the safety of essential oil use in this population.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does essential oil aromatherapy reduce urinary urgency, frequency, and incontinence episodes in participants with multiple sclerosis?
* What medical problems do participants have when using essential oil aromatherapy?

Researchers will compare essential oil aromatherapy to a placebo (a look-alike neutral oil with no therapeutic properties) to see if essential oil aromatherapy works to improve urinary symptoms in multiple sclerosis patients.

Participants will:

* Use essential oil aromatherapy or a placebo oil every day for 6 weeks
* Complete a urinary symptom scales to record the frequency, urgency, and any leakage episodes each day
* Fill out quality of life questionnaires at the beginning and end of the study

Conditions

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Neurogenic Bladder Disorder
• Urinary Incontinence (UI)
• Urinary Urgency
• Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS)

Interventions

OTHER

Essential Oil Blend (Lavender, Rosemary)

This intervention consists of a standardized topical blend of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) at 3% and Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) at 2%, diluted in apricot kernel oil as a carrier. The blend was formulated to target neurogenic lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis, based on the antispasmodic properties of Lavender and the neuromodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties of Rosemary. The essential oils used are batch-controlled for chemical purity and concentration. The blend is applied topically via gentle circular massage on the lower abdomen, for a total duration of 6 consecutive weeks. This specific combination, route of administration, and target population distinguish this intervention from other aromatherapy studies that have used single oils, inhalation methods, or non-neurological populations.

OTHER

Neutral Carrier Oil (Apricot Kernel Oil)

This intervention consists of pure Apricot Kernel oil, used as an inert placebo comparator. The placebo oil contains no active essential oils or therapeutic compounds. It is identical to the experimental intervention in terms of appearance, color, viscosity, volume, packaging, and method of application, ensuring effective masking of participants and outcome assessors. The placebo oil is applied topically via gentle circular massage on the lower abdomen, for a total duration of 6 consecutive weeks, mirroring exactly the administration protocol of the experimental arm.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Oran 1

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-09-30

Primary Completion

2026-12-31

Completion

2027-03-31

Countries

• Algeria

Study Locations