Guest guest Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Good Morning! Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) This essential oil is a disinfectant and good in healing all skin conditions including acne, athlete's foot, nail fungus, herpes outbreaks, insect bites, warts, cuts and scrapes, scabies, vaginitis. Safety: Like other essential oils, tea tree oil can be toxic if taken orally in excessive doses. Since the maximum safe dosage has not been determined, we recommend using it only topically, where it is believed to be quite safe. However, don't get it in your eye or it will sting badly. In addition, an increasing number of cases of skin inflammation caused by allergy to tea tree oil have been reported. Safety in young children, pregnant or nursing women, or those with severe liver or kidney disease has not been established. Dosage: Tea tree preparations contain various percentages of tea tree oil. For treating acne, the typical strength is 5 to 15%; for fungal infections, 70 to 100% is usually used; and for use as a vaginal douche (with medical supervision), 1 to 40% concentrations have been used. It is usually applied 2 to 3 times daily, until symptoms resolve. However, tea tree oil can be irritating to the skin, so start with low concentrations until you know your tolerance. The best tea tree products contain oil from the alternifolia species of Melaleuca only, standardized to contain not more than 10% cineole (an irritant) and at least 30% terpinen-4-ol. Oil from a specially bred variant of tea tree may have increased activity against microorganisms, while irritating the skin less. Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac. Peacefulmind.com Therapies for healing mind, body, spirit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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