Tea Tree Oil (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Carolyn Rodgers, PhD

During my time as a an athlete or should I say hurdler, I had minor scrapes and bruises  throughout my high school and collegiate career. My first encounter with tea tree oil came  after a fall  during my  senior year in high school  at our conference track and field meet. While I was competing in the 300 meter low hurdles, I fell  and  scraped my knee badly. Not only did I lose the lead as a result, but I scraped the skin off my knee down to the white meat (also called your subdermis for my health nuts)!

Melaleuca linariifolia 4 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Front side of the left knee. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, my teammates mother decided to pour some tea tree oil on my knee undiluted  to make sure my scrape did not get infected. Now, I must say diluting the tea tree oil would have been a better idea because there was a sting to go along with the drop of tea tree oil as the oil is really strong to begin with. Needless to say, my knee healed pretty quickly and no germs invaded my body.

Nowadays,  I often treat my scrapes and bruises with tea tree oil and water to kill any germs or bacteria followed by a few drops of vitamin E oil  on the bruise or scrape to prevent scarring. Although,  tea tree oil can be used for more than preventing bacteria infections externally, tea tree oil is also good for treating fungus infections too! I have found that tea tree oil baths  are good for dry skin, eczema  and yeast infections! Did she say yeast infections? Yes,  tea tree oil has been used to treat yeast infections. In fact, some people believe that because tea tree oil has such a strong odor that it should not be used for such things, but they are  so wrong! Most people suggest that  tea tree oil  should be diluted, using only a couple of drops with water and either applying it as a rinse or add to a lotion or  shampoo to treat fungal and bacterial infections. Tea tree oil bath have been suggested for women especially after a vaginal delivery, to prevent any bacterial infections that attempt to enter in after all the poking and probing the physicians, and a medical staff initiate.  After all who knows where the physicians gloves have been even if they came straight out the box .  In short, tea tree oil is a great anti-fungal and antibacterial remedy and these are just a few ways I use tea tree oil. However, I am not a physician or a medical doctor so please make wise decision on your own behalf and consult your physician when in doubt but always do your own research.