In times past, there’ve been various ostensive medical and traditional methods employed as medicines to treat various diseases and infections. In recent decades, complementary alternatives have been employed to acquire the same medicinal purposes. One of such products is the famous tea tree oil(TTO) to tackle lice.
The tree tea oil is derived as an essential oil from Melaleuca alternifolia, an Australian native plant. It’s very common in Australia and New Zealand. It’s widely used due to its versatile medicinal abilities. These include the:
- Antimicrobial properties
- Antiseptic actions
- Anti-inflammatory actions
- Antifungal activities
- Antiviral properties.
Tea tree oil is also incorporated into certain formulations as an active ingredient used to treat skin infections. It’s also sold as a remedy for various ailments. It’s widely marketed over the counter in places like Europe, Australia, and North America.
Nevertheless, in this review, is explained the use of TTO in lice treatment.
Lice, on the other hand, procure several negative medical effects. The sucking lice obtain their diet from feeding on the body secretions and body fluids (blood) of their host. And chewing lice are scavengers. They feed on the skin, fragments of feathers or hair, and debris found on the host’s body. They live on the host as parasites and lay eggs called nits Which undergoes metamorphosis and also live in the host as their habitat.
Due to the inflammatory and biotic effects of lice, a product like tea tree oil can be used as a surest treatment to this condition due to its putative efficacy.
Table of Contents
LICE; THEIR ENTIRE SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES
Lice are parasitic insects. They belong to the phylum, arthropods. They live and feed on warm-blooded animals like mammals and birds. And in humans, the head louse, body louse, and pubic louse are commonly hosted.
Chewing lice feeds on human skin and debris; as well as sucking lice that suck blood and other bodily secretions.
Body lice are known to transmit common diseases like epidemic typhus, trench fever, and epidemic relapsing fever. Meanwhile, head lice are specified to be harmless, therefore they don’t transmit infections.
They usually spend their whole life on a single host. cement their eggs, called nits, to the hairs or feathers of their hosts. The eggs hatch into nymphs, which molt 3 times before becoming fully grown. This whole process of metamorphosis takes about four weeks.
Scientifically, 5,000 species of louse have been identified about 4,000 are parasitic on birds, 800 are parasitic on mammals. And for the records, Soldiers in the tiers of the First World War suffered severely from the lice and typhus they carried.
During the second world war, the Australian government considered tea tree oil essential for their armed forces’ first aid kits. Prior to this time, the German government boasted of putting the lice plague under control during the first world war, but themselves suffered severely from lice.
Signs and symptoms:
Common signs and symptoms of lice are:
- Itching on the scalp, due to suckling of blood and prevention of blood clotting. Itching in the body or in the pubic area.
- Tickling feelings due to hair movement.
- Lice on your scalp, body, clothing, or pubic, or other body hair.
- Lice eggs (nits) on hair shafts. Nits may be difficult to see because they’re very tiny. They’re easiest to spot around the ears and the nape of the neck. Nits can be mistaken for dandruff, but unlike dandruff, they can’t be easily brushed out of hair.
- Arrays of sores on the scalp, neck, and shoulders. A slight Scratching of these sores can lead to small red bumps making it prone to bacterial infections.
- Presence of bite marks especially around the waist, groin, upper thighs, and pubic area.
Common causes:
Lice, as the case may be are reputed to be highly contagious. Ways of contacting are:
- Head to head contact.
- Body to body proximity.
- Nearness to belongings.
- Sharing of properties among friends.
- Contact with furniture, clothing material.
- Sexual contacts.
Contriving a possible diagnosis for lice:
- Head lice and nits are the easiest to sight usually seen on the scalp and nape of the neck and over the ears.
- Body lice are tougher to find, but they usually can be detected in the seams of underwear.
- Pubic lice are found cutaneously on the skin and hair of the pubic area. Also can be found on eyelashes.
TEA TREE OIL EFFECTS AND BENEFITS
Tea tree oil, TTO, is an essential oil gotten from a tree that’s commonly found in regions of New Zealand and Australia. As stated earlier, the tree was named scientifically as Melaleuca alternifolia. Initially, the name “tea tree oil” given to the oil gotten from this tree was formed in 1770 by captain James Cook, a British explorer, and his crew. Mr. Cook discovered this native herb, for thousands of years, has been used by the Aboriginal Australian people. People used it for antiseptic and anti-inflammatory purposes. By first crushing the leaves and making a mudpack. He first used it to prepare tea and later made a mixture of it with spruce-producing beer.
Albeit, tea tree oil, never gain worldwide popularity until the early 1920s. This was when a Sydney, Australian chemist, Dr. Aurthur Penfold began his meticulous trenches of researches on its robust antiseptic properties. Actually, this work proved that the efficacious declarations on TTO aren’t bogus. In 1929, F.R. Morrison working in tangent with Penfold, published a work titled “Australian Tea Trees of Economic Value.” This led to wild research work on tea tree oil across the globe. However, today, the tree Melaleuca alternifolia is also grown in places like California, South Wales, Egypt.
Additionally, there’s a financial data from a reliable source on market research, Allied Market Research. It says “the global tea tree oil market size was valued at $38.8 million in 2017 and is projected to reach $59.5 million by 2025”.
Properties:
The main active components are the Terpenes:
- Terpinene-4-ol.
- 1,8-cineole.
- Gamma-terpinene.
- Other terpenes and their associated alcohol.
- Its aroma is one of a healthy pleasant disinfectant. It has the odor of camphor.
- Terpenes are volatile, aromatic hydrocarbons and may be considered polymers of isoprene.
- The terpinene-4-ol ingredient also aids to increase the activity of your white blood cells, which help fight germs and other foreign invaders.
Benefits and effects:
The tea tree oil is widely known to have such effects as antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory effects. As such, it’s commercially adopted for production and the active ingredient in certain formulations. Here are lists of its benefits.
- Hand sanitizer: TTO can be used as an ingredient in hand sanitizer due to its antiseptic actions.
- Insecticides: TTO can be used as an insect repellent for insect-like lice and mosquitoes.
- Can be used as an active ingredient of deodorant to deal with bacteria.
- Used on injuries and cuts for antiseptic purposes. Boost wound healing as well.
- Tackle the problem of acne and psoriasis due to its anti-inflammatory activity.
- Kill fungi on nails. Treats athlete’s foot and evacuates molds on bread and vegetables due to antifungal characteristics.
- With proper application, can be used to produce mouthwash to Kill germs in the mouth.
- Used as an ingredient in certain creams to treat skin-related problems.
- Used to treat dandruff which is commonly caused by lice.
With many other numerous benefits, it’s cannot be argued that tea tree oil can be replaced as an alternative to handle certain ailments and infections.
DIY TREATMENT OF LICE WITH TEA TREE OIL
Can tea tree oil be used to treat lice effectively?
It’s obvious, that the ample use of tea tree oil, with further precautions, can deal with lice.
Also, A medical study in Australia found that the combination of tea tree oil with lavender oil was a successful treatment against lice.
Note: Always mix tea tree oil with another substance, like shampoo or carrier oil. Tea tree oil alone can be potentially harsh on your skin. Diluting it makes it more gentle on you.
Read Also: What is Natural Hair Shrinkage and How does it Affects Me?
Tea tree oil with shampoo for head lice:
In other to successfully carry out this procedure, follow the steps.
- Mix a few drops of tea tree oil for every 1 oz of shampoo.
- Wash your hair with the mixed product in the shower or running water.
- After, use a rattail or fine-toothed comb through your hair. Use the comb to get rid of lice or nits (lice eggs) from your hair.
- Regularly use a fine-toothed comb to comb through your hair every 2-3 days after treatment. Do this for about two weeks to make sure the lice are gone.
- Repeat the treatment 9-10 days after the first one to take care of any newly hatched lice or lice that you might have missed.
With a carrier oil:
Alternatively, you can adequately mix tea tree oil with a carrier oil to do the job, e.g lavender oil, Olive oil, Neem oil etc.
Method:
- Apply a mixture of 3 tablespoons (44 mL) carrier oil and 1 teaspoon (4.9 mL) tea tree oil to your hair.
- Wait for about 30 minutes to one hour before washing out the solution. A study by Parasitology Research shows that it will take about 30 minutes for the tea tree oil solution to effectively kill the lice.
- Repeat treatment after two weeks to get rid of newly hatched eggs(nits).
The laundry method:
Hats, pillows, beddings, clothes, underwear, and similar things can contain head lice. Lice can’t live for more than a few days if they aren’t on your body, but that’s still enough time for them to spread. If someone in your home has lice, wash everything that could potentially come in contact with their head and body, such as hair brushes, bedsheets, pillows, and hats, undies.
For this to be effectively done:
- Mix an adequate amount of tea tree oil with your laundry liquids.
- Use the mixed products to launder your clothing and items.
- If you have clothing or items that can’t be machine-washed, you can employ the spray method on your clothes.
Spray method:
If you’re looking for a spray solution:
- Mix the tea tree oil in an alcoholic solution adequately.
- Spray it onto your hair.
- Leave the essential oil in your hair overnight and rinse it out in the morning.
- You should repeat treatment say 9 – 10 days later.
General house cleaning method:
It’s not uncommon for lice to fall out of someone’s hair, and they could potentially spread to other people in your home. Fortunately, tea tree oil can be used in mixture with the cleaning products as a disinfectant.
Wipe your carpets, furniture, and anywhere else that other people may sit or lie down to keep them from spreading.
Elaborately, the treatment of lice using tea tree oil as an active ingredient has been explained. Let’s look further at precautions and borderline that exist.
PRECAUTIONS AND PREVENTATIVES INVOLVED
- Tea tree oil should not be taken orally because it may be toxic if swallowed. Therefore, it should be stored out of reach of children.
- Prior to using tea tree oil for the first time on the skin, spot-test a drop or two on a small area of your skin and wait for long hours to see if any allergic reaction occurs. some individuals who use tea tree oil develop contact dermatitis.
- Likewise, people with sensitive skin may experience irritation when using pure tea tree oil. If your skin is sensitive, it’s best to mix tea tree oil with an equal or greater amount of carrier oil as earlier stated.
- In addition, using tea tree oil in pets may not be safe at all. Certain research reported that more than 400 dogs and cats procured tremors and other nervous system problems after treating between 0.1–85 mL of tea tree oil on the skin and when taken orally.
CONCLUSION
A paradigm shift in treatment infection is necessary to prevent antibiotics from becoming obsolete due to drug resistance. where appropriate, alternatives to antibiotics ought to be considered, tested and recommended methods, both Vivo and Vitro can be applied.
In this case, a naturally existing product like the tea tree oil is held as a strong conviction, to possess active antibacterial, antiseptic, antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Be it as it may be, this alternative should be wildly adopted to enhance infections like lice treatment. Treating lice with tea tree oil comes in handy. It’s a DIY method and so is it effective in its own way.