by Jackie Hart, MD
Q: I have read that tea tree oil heals dry skin and stimulates blood circulation. Are these claims true? I am a nurse and would like to be able to advise patients about the valid uses of tea tree oil. I am particularly interested in scientific studies from peer-reviewed journals.
A: Some of the health effects attributed to tea tree oil are supported by scientific research. Here is some information you can share with your patients.
Tea tree, or Melaleuca alternifolia, is a plant native to Australia that grows in swampy lowlands and is mainly touted for its activity against inflammation and infection of the skin. The oil from the leaves of this plant has been used in traditional medical practices for thousands of years as a topical antiseptic to treat cuts, superficial wounds, burns, insect bites, and athletes foot. Scientists believe that the component in tea tree oil primarily responsible for reducing inflammation is terpinen-4-ol (Hart et al, Inflammation Research, November 2000).
There are many test tube and animal studies to support its use for some of these purposes more than 20 in the year 2000 alone. These include:
Clinical trials investigating the effects of tea tree oil on people have been much fewer in number, but no less intriguing. This oil could potentially help in the treatment of acne, vaginal yeast infections, and onychomycosis a fungal infection of the nail bed, usually affecting toenails and sometimes called "athletes foot."
In 1990, Bassett and colleagues studied 124 patients with acne. They gave topical tea tree oil to half of the acne sufferers and usual care with benzoyl peroxide to the other half (Bassett et al, Medical Journal of Australia, 1990). The therapies were equally effective, but tea tree oil had fewer side effects, such as skin irritation, than benzoyl peroxide. Also, the tea tree oil took a little longer to take effect.
In a more recent study of 60 people with athletes foot, 80% of those who received tea tree oil showed improvement in symptoms, compared with those who were given a placebo (Syed et al, Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2000). Tea tree oil, therefore, presents an excellent alternative treatment option for this type of toenail infection, particularly because conventional medical care is not very effective. This will not work for everyone, but is certainly worth a try.
Tea tree oil may also help prevent the spread of infections within hospitals. This can happen as health care workers go from treating one patient to another, even when hands are washed very carefully with antimicrobial soaps. Addition of tea tree oil to handwashing products may even prove to help prevent the most resistant organisms from spreading (Caelli et al, Journal of Hospital Infection, 2000).
Precautions
Tea tree oil is also being considered as an ear drop for inner and outer ear infections otitis media and otitis externa, respectively. However, safety for these purposes is unclear, and some researchers raise concern, from animal studies, about possible hearing damage (Zhang et al, Audiology and Neurootology, 2000).
Tea tree oil is for external use only; it should never be ingested. Like many substances applied to the skin, though, it may cause contact dermatitis, which is an allergic skin reaction. In my clinical experience, this happens rather infrequently. To be cautious, start with a tiny amount on a small area of the affected part of your body; however if you are using tea tree oil to treat acne, I recommend testing it first on the back of your hand.
Q: I have read that tea tree oil heals dry skin and stimulates blood circulation. Are these claims true? I am a nurse and would like to be able to advise patients about the valid uses of tea tree oil. I am particularly interested in scientific studies from peer-reviewed journals.
A: Some of the health effects attributed to tea tree oil are supported by scientific research. Here is some information you can share with your patients.
Tea tree, or Melaleuca alternifolia, is a plant native to Australia that grows in swampy lowlands and is mainly touted for its activity against inflammation and infection of the skin. The oil from the leaves of this plant has been used in traditional medical practices for thousands of years as a topical antiseptic to treat cuts, superficial wounds, burns, insect bites, and athletes foot. Scientists believe that the component in tea tree oil primarily responsible for reducing inflammation is terpinen-4-ol (Hart et al, Inflammation Research, November 2000).
There are many test tube and animal studies to support its use for some of these purposes more than 20 in the year 2000 alone. These include:
- In test tubes, tea tree oil inhibited Candida albicans, the organism that causes vaginal yeast infections (Hammer et al, Medical Mycology, 2000)
- In the lab, tea tree oil showed activity against mites (Walton et al, 2000)
- In South Africa, tea tree oil helped treat burns in pigs by cooling the affected area more rapidly (Jandera et al, Burns, 2000); however, scientists in Australia did not have the same success investigating burns in pigs (Faoagali et al, Burns, 1997)
Clinical trials investigating the effects of tea tree oil on people have been much fewer in number, but no less intriguing. This oil could potentially help in the treatment of acne, vaginal yeast infections, and onychomycosis a fungal infection of the nail bed, usually affecting toenails and sometimes called "athletes foot."
In 1990, Bassett and colleagues studied 124 patients with acne. They gave topical tea tree oil to half of the acne sufferers and usual care with benzoyl peroxide to the other half (Bassett et al, Medical Journal of Australia, 1990). The therapies were equally effective, but tea tree oil had fewer side effects, such as skin irritation, than benzoyl peroxide. Also, the tea tree oil took a little longer to take effect.
In a more recent study of 60 people with athletes foot, 80% of those who received tea tree oil showed improvement in symptoms, compared with those who were given a placebo (Syed et al, Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2000). Tea tree oil, therefore, presents an excellent alternative treatment option for this type of toenail infection, particularly because conventional medical care is not very effective. This will not work for everyone, but is certainly worth a try.
Tea tree oil may also help prevent the spread of infections within hospitals. This can happen as health care workers go from treating one patient to another, even when hands are washed very carefully with antimicrobial soaps. Addition of tea tree oil to handwashing products may even prove to help prevent the most resistant organisms from spreading (Caelli et al, Journal of Hospital Infection, 2000).
Precautions
Tea tree oil is also being considered as an ear drop for inner and outer ear infections otitis media and otitis externa, respectively. However, safety for these purposes is unclear, and some researchers raise concern, from animal studies, about possible hearing damage (Zhang et al, Audiology and Neurootology, 2000).
Tea tree oil is for external use only; it should never be ingested. Like many substances applied to the skin, though, it may cause contact dermatitis, which is an allergic skin reaction. In my clinical experience, this happens rather infrequently. To be cautious, start with a tiny amount on a small area of the affected part of your body; however if you are using tea tree oil to treat acne, I recommend testing it first on the back of your hand.