Why you should have tea tree oil in your medicine cabinet

Why should you add tea tree oil, a traditional Australian remedy for many things, to your own personal first-aid kit? Here’s a sample of what you can do with it!

Credit: DennisSylvesterHurd via Flickr Creative Commons.

Tea tree oil is a very popular alternative remedy these days, but it is not a mere fad — the Bandjalung, an indigenous people of Australia, have been using it for a very long time. And during the Second World War, Australian soldiers were sent off to fight with a bottle of tea tree oil to fight infections after injury. Tea tree oil is a very versatile product that makes a great addition to any home’s first aid kit. It acts as a natural disinfectant and anti-inflammatory, and it comes in handy in many situations.

Burns 

Small burns, like those resulting from touching a hot oven dish or an iron, can benefit from a little tea tree oil. When I (a little bit of a careless person) burned myself on the iron, I decided to test tea tree oil out as a burn burn treatment. It worked like a charm — no scar was left and the burn healed much faster than it would have had without the tea tree oil. Tea tree oil can be used diluted or undiluted.

Cuts and scratches

First, you should clean the wound with water first, and then apply a small amount of tea tree oil directly to the site. Some homebirth midwives even use tea tree oil on vaginal tears after childbirth!

Verrucas and warts

Using undiluted tea tree oil on verrucas and warts, in generous quantities, may make it disappear. Apply tea tree oil twice a day to the wart only (leave the surrounding skin alone), and place a band aid over the wart. Some people who practice alternative medicine even say that it’s possible to treat that other kind of HPV — genital warts — with tea tree oil.

Hair treatments

You will find tea tree oil in plenty of cosmetics, but especially in shampoo. Tea tree oil is traditionally used to treat scalp problems, including dandruff and an itchy head. If you would like to try this for yourself, you can buy a shampoo that contains tea tree oil, or you could add it to the shampoo you are currently using yourself.

Mouthwash

Because tea tree oil kills bacteria and has a nice, fresh smell, it works really well as a mouthwash too. Do be aware that some sources, including the American Cancer Society, say that tea tree oil is poisonous when swallowed and that it can cause hallucinations, vomiting, and stomach cramps — among other things. If you want to be on the safe side, it appears to be a great idea to spit it out after you are done rinsing.

Acne 

Studies have shown tea tree oil to be just as effective as benzoyl peroxide, a really nasty treatment for acne. Acne treatment is actually one of the traditional uses of tea tree oil, and it’s used heavily diluted with water. People with acne who want to give it a try should not expect instant results, but they can be sure to experience far fewer side effects than those using more conventional (and very aggressive) remedies. - www.trying-to-conceive.com