Assessment of the Effectiveness of the Eucalyptus Inhallation, on the Upper Respiratory Tract Infections, Among Children 5-15y OLD

Background & Objectives: Humans have long considered the use of plant extracts to relieve the symptoms of diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of eucalyptus in upper respiratory infections in children aged 5 to 15years who referred to the clinics of Zahedan medical university centers from 2018 to 2019. Materials & Methods: A case control study examined in the children aged 5-15 years who referred to the clinic of Zahedan University Centers in 2018-19. A total of 208 people were examined in two groups (Case: Patients diagnosed with acute upper respiratory infection and control: patients matched to the case group). Patients were randomly divided into two groups. To prepare eucalyptus incense, 2 drops of eucalyptus oil were mixed in 750cc of hot water. In the case of Eucalyptus incense, it was prescribed every 3 hours for 15 minutes for 3 days. Also in the control group, the same water vapor was prescribed. Finally, the patients of both groups were evaluated by the researcher on the third day and the information was entered into the CARIFS questionnaire, then the data were analyzed in SPSS22 software. Results: The present study showed that eucalyptus fumigation in all upper respiratory tract infections such as colds (P = 0.016), rhinitis (P = 0.032), sinusitis (P = 0.028), pharyngitis (P = 0.043), Otitis (P = 0.046) and laryngotracheitis (P = 0.014) significantly improve patients' symptoms. Conclusion: In general, incense causes clinical improvement in children with upper respiratory tract infections. As a result, it is possible to use this substance along with other treatments according to the patients' clinical conditions.