Tea tree oil is one of the famous essential oil that is widely being used for its various medicinal properties especially to keep the hair, nails and skin healthy.
It has various health benefits that are backed by science and it is found to be safe when used as directed by a healthcare provider.
[thrive_text_block color=”blue”]When applied externally on warts for several days, tea tree oil can help get rid of warts and also helps to re-epithelization of an infected area.
To get the desired result, soak a cotton ball with few drops of diluted tea tree oil and apply it over the wart for few minutes, 2 to 3 times a day until warts start to diminish. [01][/thrive_text_block]
Tea tree oil is derived from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia. As its name contains tea tree, people often mistook this tree with the plant which leaves used to a tea. But, remember that the leaves of the tea tree do not used to make a black or green tea.
Melaleuca alternifolia is a native plant of Australia, where it is used over several decades for its medicinal properties. Usually, Australians crush the leaves of this tree to extract an essential oil and use it to treat skin diseases and inhale it to relieve a cough.
Today, its 100% undiluted essential oil is available in any pharmacy. Also, diluted tea tree oil with 5 to 50% strength is widely available.
Several studies confirm the anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties of the tea tree oil. [02] [03] Thanks to the “Terpinen-4-ol”, an active compound of tea tree oil which is responsible for various benefits of this oil. An anit-microbial activity of terpinen-4-ol has been scientifically proven and being researched further. [04]
It also plays a role in the activation of white blood cells, which eventually enhances the ability of the body to fight against various germs and external intruder. [05]
All these properties of tea tree oil make it a useful remedy to treat the various bacterial, viral and fungal infection naturally and gently.
How Does Tea Tree Oil Works?
Tea tree oil exhibits its health benefits by working as an antiviral, anti-bacterial and by activating the white blood cells that result in enhancing immunity.
Antiviral
Though various studies show the possible benefits of tea tree oil as an antiviral, till the writing of this article no studies have been conducted that demonstrates the effect of tea tree oil on human papilloma virus. But its highly possible that it can work against HPV. [06], [07]
Immunity Enhancer
As discussed above, tea tree oil found to be an effective activator of white blood cells, which mean it has the ability to enhance immunity which will help to get rid of HPV.
Sanitizer
Anti-microbial properties of tea tree oil make it a good cleanser agent. HPV can spread via skin-to-skin contact so avoid it, one can use homemade hand sanitizer.
To make one, just add 3 drops of high-quality tea tree oil & 2 drops of lavender oil to the 2 oz of aloe vera gel and mix it thoroughly and add the mixture to the squeeze bottle.
How to use tea tree oil to remove warts?
It can be used in various ways to get rid of warts. Apply directly to warts, blend it with other useful essential oils or mix it with acne cream that contains mild salicylic acid.
Tea tree oil available in multiple concentrations including 100, 10 and 5 percent. Getting 100 percent concentrated oil is a good idea, as you can always dilute it later. You can buy this 1-ounce tea tree essential oil from Amazon.
Get 2 to 3 drops of 100% concentrated oil on a cotton swab and apply directly to the wart for 4 to 5 minutes. To hold the cotton ball in a place you can use surgical adhesive tape. Do this twice or thrice a day for a few days to see a good result.
Also, you can mix one part of sandalwood oil with one part of tea tree oil and rub the mixture over wart twice a day until warts start to fade away. [08]
Another method is to mix 2 to 3 drops of this oil with acne cream that contain mild salicylic acid. The wart removing abilities of salicylic acid is proved by various studies and using salicylic acid is one of the primary line of treatments for wart. Apply this combination once a day for a few days.
Risk & other things to consider
Though few studies show good results pertaining to the use of tea tree oil for wart removal, more data is needed to establish the safety of use.
Tea tree essential oil should not be ingested or taken internally for any purpose, it may cause allergic reaction, confusion, and ataxia. [09]
It must be applied externally to warts. Use of tea tree oil as an external application is relatively safe and adverse events are minor as well as self-limiting. If you see any kind of allergic reaction after applying oil, you should consult the doctor.
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Bottom line: As we can see, tea tree oil is an inexpensive and natural alternative to various chemical-based topical wart removal agents.
Tea tree oil is not a magical wart remover. It may trigger mild to moderate skin irritation in some cases and may fail to yield any result in some patients, but it is a handy essential oil you need to try once before applying anything else.
Off course, you should take advice from your doctor before applying anything to your warts. [/thrive_text_block]
References:
[01]Millar BC, Moore JE. “Successful topical treatment of hand warts in a paediatric patient with tea tree oil (Melaleuca alternifolia).” DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2008.05.003
[02] Carson CF, Hammer KA, Riley TV. “Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree) oil: a review of antimicrobial and other medicinal properties.” DOI: 10.1128/CMR.19.1.50-62.2006
[03]Li WR, Li HL, Shi QS, Sun TL, Xie XB, Song B, Huang XM. “The dynamics and mechanism of the antimicrobial activity of tea tree oil against bacteria and fungi.” DOI: 10.1007/s00253-016-7692-4
[04]J. May C. H. Chan A. King L. Williams G. L. French. “Time–kill studies of tea tree oils on clinical isolates.” DOI: 10.1093/jac/45.5.639
[05]Budhiraja SS, Cullum ME, Sioutis SS, Evangelista L, Habanova ST. “Biological activity of Melaleuca alternifola (Tea Tree) oil component, terpinen-4-ol, in human myelocytic cell line HL-60.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10519561
[06]Schnitzler P, Schön K, Reichling J. “Antiviral activity of Australian tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil against herpes simplex virus in cell culture.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11338678
[07]Li X, Duan S, Chu C, Xu J, Zeng G, Lam AK, Zhou J, Yin Y, Fang D, Reynolds MJ, Gu H, Jiang L. “Melaleuca alternifolia concentrate inhibits in vitro entry of influenza virus into host cells.” DOI:10.3390/molecules18089550
[08]Haque M, Coury DL. “Topical Sandalwood Oil for Common Warts.” DOI:10.1177/0009922817691536
[09][National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM); Tea Tree Oil; Available from, as of Sep 14, 2018: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/tea/treeoil.htm **PEER REVIEWED**