Tea Tree and Me

I haven't always been a fan of tea tree oil. First off, it stinks and when you are nauseous, that definitely isn't a fragrance you want to have anywhere near you. But here are some reasons why I love it!

Fungal infections -
Athlete's foot is a nasty, really itchy infection that people get on their feet and in some cases it can spread to your hands, etc. At first it looks like a pink rash with small bumps that itches in a "drive you crazy" non-stop way and the more you scratch, the more it spreads. If left untreated, the little bumps turn into blister looking bubbles that contain a clear liquid which causes the infection to spread faster as you scratch them open and the ooze flows to other parts of your foot. (That's what my experience was..I got it on my hands as well but not as bad.)
Treatment: I tried over the counter stuff that didn't work. They are normally creams and with this type of infection, it is important that your skin in the afflicted areas stay dry...so I don't understand the use of cream that takes a while to seep in and may cause your feet to be extra sweaty in your socks. I then went to a podiatrist who gave me a prescription, also for a cream - after a month the infection was mostly gone.
Tea Tree Oil: I bought a small bottle at Trader Joe's just because it was there and I'd heard a lot of good things about it, but I had no idea what to use it for or how. In an itchy fit and out of cream I grabbed the bottle, put some on a cotton and applied it to my foot. Within seconds, it stopped itching. It was amazing. Even with the prescription strength dose of cream, my feet would itch for at least an hour and I had to be care to air them out and let the cream seep in. With this stuff, I just wiped it on and then oil seemed to almost evaporate and my foot was dry.
Note: I have elephant skin, meaning that it is very difficult to irritate it. I've never really suffered from acne or other scalp/skin sensitivity and my typical approach to skin care is to find the most acidic soap or shampoo on the market - if my skin doesn't squeak after washing, it's not clean. So, please do not apply this oil directly to your skin. Please dilute with another oil before applying to your body (as tea tree oil won't dissolve in a water based substance). My husband has a chronic fungal infection on his hand that is stress related, and for him, I diluted a few drops of tea tree oil in some olive oil and applied it with a cotton.

Ear Infections -
I've been hanging out in water way too much in an attend to persuade Mini to turn from breech into a head down position. Hello, ear infection. I looked it up and it's caused by bacteria. Basically, water gets trapped in the ear canal which provides a breeding ground for bacteria.
Treatment: My family has used garlic oil in the past because of it's anti-bacterial properties... But from my experience, it doesn't really do anything very quickly, plus, I don't have any at my house. :o) Ha. So!
Tea Tree Oil: Here comes tea tree oil. I looked online and the suggestion was to put about 10 drops into about a tablespoon of olive oil, warm it up and pour into the affected ear. Hmm. I was in too much pain to warm it up and I was too freaked out to pour all that in my ear. So, I just mixed olive oil and tea tree together got a Q-Tip, soaked it in the mix and very gently pressed the soaked tip on the opening of my ear so that maybe only one or two drops of oil started to run down the sides of my ear canal. I waited a few seconds to see if it would burn or feel better. The pain didn't change but I felt like some of the water in my ear was shifting. So, I repeated the soaked Q-Tip thing a few more times, so that a drop or two went down basically every angle of my ear canal. I laid down on the opposite ear and waited. After 40 minutes the pain was gone and I had a collection of watery, waxy stuff in my ear that I wiped out with a clean Q-Tip. There was still pain if I pressed on my ear, but it was nice to be able to walk around and not have it hurt.
Note: Never, ever pour pure essential oils into your body!

Those are the two infections that I have used tea tree oil on, but it also has anti-viral properties as well. You know warts and stuff like that? It should take care of those too.

Just FYI, the Tea Tree comes from Australia and has been used by aboriginals for centuries. There is a growing plantation of Tea Trees in California since the anti-bacteria, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties are becoming more well known and the oil is becoming more frequently used.