TEA TREE OIL
Place in Therapy
Place in Therapy:
The evidence on using tea tree oil to treat lice is scarce and evidence that exists is unclear, due to a lack of in vivo studies. While it has been shown to be effective at killing lice in vitro and ex vivo, there was only one RCT performed in children that used a tea tree/lavender oil combination product. There is no consensus as to an effective concentration (dose) of tea tree oil and duration of therapy from the lack of data. Larger, well-designed randomized control trial needs to be done before a recommendation on the use of tea tree oil can be made. However, for someone interested in using a natural health product, tea tree oil has shown some positive results and could be used in that case.
When considering safety, tea tree oil is a topical agent and should not be ingested orally due to a risk of toxicity (confusion, inability to walk, disorientation, ataxia and systemic contact dermatitis. If used as a topical agent, it is well tolerated with only local irritation, inflammation, allergic contact dermatitis and local burning and stinging that could occur. There is not enough information to recommend use of tea tree oil during pregnancy or lactation and animal studies have shown tea tree oil can put the baby and mother at risk, therefore patients in these populations should be counseled to avoid it.
References:
The evidence on using tea tree oil to treat lice is scarce and evidence that exists is unclear, due to a lack of in vivo studies. While it has been shown to be effective at killing lice in vitro and ex vivo, there was only one RCT performed in children that used a tea tree/lavender oil combination product. There is no consensus as to an effective concentration (dose) of tea tree oil and duration of therapy from the lack of data. Larger, well-designed randomized control trial needs to be done before a recommendation on the use of tea tree oil can be made. However, for someone interested in using a natural health product, tea tree oil has shown some positive results and could be used in that case.
When considering safety, tea tree oil is a topical agent and should not be ingested orally due to a risk of toxicity (confusion, inability to walk, disorientation, ataxia and systemic contact dermatitis. If used as a topical agent, it is well tolerated with only local irritation, inflammation, allergic contact dermatitis and local burning and stinging that could occur. There is not enough information to recommend use of tea tree oil during pregnancy or lactation and animal studies have shown tea tree oil can put the baby and mother at risk, therefore patients in these populations should be counseled to avoid it.
References:
- Barker SC, Altman PM. A randomised, assessor blind, parallel group comparative efficacy trial of three products for the treatment of head lice in children – melaleuca oil and lavender oil, pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide and a “suffocation” product. BMC Dermatology. 2010; 10:6
- Canyon DV, Speare R. A comparison of botanical and synthetic substances commonly used to prevent head lice (Pediculus humanus var. capitis) infestation. Int J Dermatol 2007;46(4):422-426.
- Williamson EM, Priestley CM, Burgess IF. An investigation and comparison of the bioactivity of selected essential oils on human lice and house dust mites. Fitoterapia. 2007; 78: 521-525.
- Veal L. The potential effectiveness of essential oils as a treatment for headlice, Pediculus humanus capitis. Complement Ther Nurs.Midwifery. 1996; 2(4): 97-101.
- Tea Tree Oil. In: Natural Standard [Internet Database]. Somerville, MA: Natural Standard. Updated Periodically. Retrieved on March 5, 2013 from: http://www.naturalstandard.com.proxy.lib.uwaterloo.ca/databases/herbssupplements/teatreeoil.asp?#
- Miller, PF. Parasitic Skin Infections: Lice and Scabies. In: Canadian Pharmacists Association. Patient Self-Care. 2nd Ed. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Pharmacists Association; 2010: 679-688.