THE EFFECT OF LEMON AROMATHERAPY ON MENSTRUAL PAIN IN ADOLESCENT GIRLS AGED 12–15 YEARS IN HAMLET IV PERDAMAIAN VILLAGE BINJAI DISTRICT LANGKAT REGENCY

Background: Menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea) is a gynecological condition caused by elevated levels of progesterone and increased production of prostaglandins (particularly PGF2α), which trigger intense uterine muscle contractions, resulting in lower abdominal cramps before and during menstruation. This condition has a high prevalence in Indonesia and significantly disrupts daily comfort, often causing adolescent girls to have difficulty concentrating on their studies, feel drowsy in class, and even miss school. Objective: This study aims to determine the effect of lemon aromatherapy on menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea) in adolescent girls aged 12–15 years in Dusun IV, Perdamaian Village, Binjai Subdistrict, Langkat Regency. Method: This quantitative study employed a pre-experimental design using a “one-group pre-test post-test” approach without a control group. The study sample consisted of 37 adolescent girls selected using simple random sampling from a total population of 60. Pain scale measurements were taken before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the intervention inhalation of lemon aromatherapy and the data were statistically analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. Results: The pre-test results showed that the majority of respondents, namely 89.2%, experienced moderate menstrual pain, and 5.4% experienced severe pain. After the intervention (post-test), the respondents’ pain scores decreased dramatically, with 89.2% shifting to mild pain and the percentage of those with moderate pain dropping to 5.4%. The Wilcoxon test results showed a Z-value of -5.754 and a p-value of 0.001 (p < 0.05). Conclusion: There is a significant effect of lemon aromatherapy on reducing the level of menstrual pain in adolescent girls. Lemon aromatherapy has been proven effective in relaxing muscles and is recommended as an alternative complementary therapy for treating dysmenorrhea.