# Tea tree oil **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-tree-oil/112589 "2002-06-06T02:05:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![insider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@insider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insider)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-tree-oil/112589/1 "2002-06-06T02:05:53Z")
Does the oil from the Austrailian Tea Tree actually work or do any good for cuts, scrapes and burns? Or is this just a scam? ---
**Author:** ![broken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@broken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broken)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-tree-oil/112589/2 "2002-06-06T03:04:09Z")
in my experience, it can help, however, you may find that undiluted tea tree oil is way too harsh. If you are interested in using tea tree oil for this purpose, you may want to invest in some type of carrier oil (such as grapeseed oil) to mix with it. A good rule of thumb is that if it burns or seems like it’s irritating your skin, it may be too harsh. After all, you want to encourage your body to heal the wound, you don’t want the oil burning layers off of your skin (which will, in all likelihood, create more scarring). At any rate, this has just been my experience, i’m in no way an expert on this stuff, good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-tree-oil/112589/3 "2002-06-06T03:08:43Z")
Tea (or Ti) Tree oil is a mild antiseptic and disinfectant and was used as such by the aboriginal people of Australia for a very long time. Usually I treat claims for natural remedies with a fair amount of scepticism but this stuff seems to work pretty well. I use it pretty regularly for minor scrapes and cuts, particularly anything that has got a little bit infected and it cleans them up quickly. Works well for shaving rash and pimples (at 35 you’d think I’d be free of pimples but I still get the occasional one). I’ve never tried it on burns There’s a summary of research findings here: [http://herbsforhealth.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thursdayplantation.com%2Ftea\_tree%2Fresearch.html](http://herbsforhealth.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thursdayplantation.com%2Ftea_tree%2Fresearch.html) but note that it was prepared by the Australian Tea Tree Oil Association. ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-tree-oil/112589/4 "2002-06-06T03:24:54Z")
Found another one from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University: “Australian tea tree oil, which is commercially available in the United States, has a wide range of topical applications and is commonly used to treat skin and respiratory infections. Surprisingly, the oil is active against all three categories of infectious organisms: bacteria, viruses and fungi. Tea tree oil is an effective treatment for many skin conditions, such as cold sores, the blisters of shingles and chicken pox, verrucae, warts, acne, large inflamed spots and nappy rash. It is also effective against fungal infections, such as ringworm, athlete’s foot and thrush, as well as dandruff–a mild form of seborrheic dermatitis” [http://www.orst.edu/dept/lpi/f-w98/teatrees.html](http://www.orst.edu/dept/lpi/f-w98/teatrees.html) Conclusion of the report seems to be that Tea Tree Oil is roughly as effective as a range of conventional medicines but didn’t have the side effects that synthetic medicines may. Other advantage that the study above suggests to me is that 1 bottle of Tea Tree Oil can replace half a dozen disease specific treatments. Main reasons I use it is because it is safe, it’s effective and it’s cheap - a 200ml bottle (don’t know what that is in imperial measurements, roughly a third of a pint) will last my family for years and costs about 2-3 dollars. As a bit of trivia, Tea Tree oil was also Australia’s first commercial export. ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-tree-oil/112589/5 "2002-06-06T03:35:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Motog \* > \*\*Main reasons I use it is because it is safe, it’s effective and it’s cheap - a 200ml bottle (don’t know what that is in imperial measurements, roughly a third of a pint) will last my family for years and costs about 2-3 dollars. > \*\* Mrs Motog has just told me I’m an idiot and that we actually buy a 100ml bottle for a couple of dollars - still that seems to last for well over a year. She also says you have to be careful whether you’re buying the 100% stuff or the diluted stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-tree-oil/112589/6 "2002-06-06T07:13:46Z")
It’s also effective against head lice. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-tree-oil/112589/7 "2002-06-06T12:19:32Z")
They sell a whole slew of products with it here in Prague- soaps, shampoos, deoderants, facial wipes and yes, even condoms treated with it. Wifecat loves the stuff, so it’s pretty much all we use in the bathroom. I use the lotion on my face for pimples and it seems to help, and I also use the pure oil on a q-tip when I have an earache/infection (which I get ALL the time). Wifecat puts a couple drops in a glass of water and gargles with it when she has a cold or ???, I guess it tastes like shit, but it soothes her throat. -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-tree-oil/112589/8 "2002-06-06T12:35:19Z")
An Australian chemist has used tea tree and other oils to develop a treatment against golden staph: > **[Australia's medicinal 'gift to the world'](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/14/worlddispatch.research)** > > Scientists believe a new eucalyptus-based treatment may be more effective than antibiotics against dangerous hospital 'superbugs', says Patrick Barkham. > **[The World Today](https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/)** > > The World Today is a comprehensive current affairs program which backgrounds, analyses, interprets and encourages debate on events and issues of interest and importance to all Australians.