Tea tree oil is among the most researched natural remedies for yeast infections. Also called melaleuca oil, this oil is an excellent alternative if you don’t want to take any chemical drug to treat vaginal yeast infections. But how does this oil work for yeast infections? What are the recommended instructions for its use, and how effective is it as a treatment? This article will highlight and answer all your burning questions about tea tree oil for yeast infection. Read on for all the information you require!
Using Tea Tree Oil
Melaleuca oil is extracted from Australian tea tree leaves. It is produced by steaming the leaves of the tree.
This essential oil has antibacterial properties when applied topically. Due to its quality is used as a natural remedy for many other health problems in specific areas like the throat, gut, and mouth. Melaleuca oil is also commonly used to treat insect bites, lice, acne, nail fungus, and athlete’s foot.
Melaleuca oil is used as an ingredient in many consumer products for personal hygiene, skincare, and household cleaning. In addition, it is found in many products we use in our everyday lives.
How to Use Tea Tree Oil for Yeast Infection
Does this oil cure yeast overgrowth infections? It can if you know how to use it right.
Firstly, you should know that the best way to benefit from melaleuca oil’s curing effect is to use a vaginal suppository. This can be in a pill or dissolvable capsule form. You can find these products online at drugstores, supplement stores, or natural health groceries.
Avoid making your suppository at home. If you don’t know how to dilute the oil properly, the amount you use could be hazardous to your health.
These suppositories usually come with instructions. If you follow them carefully, the right product may help you treat your vaginal yeast infection.
How Much Tea Tree Oil to Use?
Melaleuca oil suppositories can come in different forms, as well as in different dosages.
Although the common vaginal yeast infection treatment suppository is sold in a six-pack. You are typically advised to take it in six days (taking one daily). However, this may vary depending on the product’s brand. In this case, when deciding on how much oil should be used, adhering to the guideline for using the specific product you chose will be the best way to go.
Different products also come with additional factors and cautions to be mindful of. So it’s best to research what your suppository of choice recommends you to do.
Why Do People Use Tea Tree Oil?
There are numerous reasons why people use this oil. According to The National Library of Medicine (NLM), the oil’s benefits can be considered traditional or theoretical.
People use melaleuca oil for skin conditions like bruises, corns, canker sores, burns, eczema, insect bites, rosacea, scabies, psoriasis, skin infections, etc.
Melaleuca oil is also used for respiratory conditions such as Bronchial congestion, cough, colds, and nose, and throat irritation.
Other traditional uses for the oil include but are not limited to body odor, bone and prostate infections, and melanoma.
Melaleuca Oil for Good Vaginal Health
Research dating to 1999 shows that this oil proved effective against the candida albicans pathogens that caused candidiasis. In addition, melaleuca oil has antimicrobial, antibacterial, and cleansing properties that give people better vaginal health.
As a fungus causes yeast infections, and melaleuca oil has antifungal properties, it also becomes a good option as a treatment for this particular vaginitis.
How Long Should You Use Tea Tree Oil for Yeast Infection?
Depending on the severity of your condition, melaleuca oil can showcase signs of betterment for you in as little as one day. But if your vaginal candidiasis is moderate or severe, you might need to stick to your treatment for up to twelve days.
If you don’t see any recovery at the end of twelve days, it would be highly advisable to see your doctor.
How To Dilute Tea Tree Oil for Yeast Infection
No one can guarantee a risk-free treatment if you use tea tree oil for yeast infections with DIY solutions at home. Regardless, suppose you still want to, without consulting a medical professional, you have to dilute the oil. In that case, these steps are for you to take:
Firstly, you need:
- Epsom salt,
- 15-20 drops of tea tree oil,
- Water.
When you have gathered all your ingredients, then get ready to:
- First, take a half tub of water. Make sure it’s lukewarm.
- Next, get your Epsom salt, add half a quarter cup into the water, and mix them well.
- Next, add a few droplets of the oil to this mixture.
- Stir until you see the oil completely dissolve in the salted water.
- Dip the lower half of your body into this mixture for fifteen minutes.
Do this twice every day to fast-track your treatment.
Risks of Using Tea Tree Oil For Pregnant Women
Essential oils are generally considered safe. However, there are some risks of using melaleuca oil during pregnancy that can cause harm to you and your baby.
One of the risks of using this oil if you are pregnant is the potential of your endocrine levels being disrupted. This means that using this oil might interfere with the system that regulates the endocrine hormone. Given that pregnancy heightens sensitivity to hormonal shifts, the impact of the oil is unlikely to be welcomed by the body.
Another reason this oil may be unsafe for pregnant women is that essential oils are not FDA-regulated. Consequently, it’s impossible to say whether or not this oil is safe to use during pregnancy. Although its use in a highly diluted form may be considered low risk in some instances, any level of risk that could endanger the unborn is not advised.
Putting a fetus’s health in danger is never a good idea, no matter how minor the risk is.
Benefits
Besides the data, an academic study in 2015 reported the benefits of melaleuca oil for candidiasis. There are several benefits listed when this essential oil is used for recovery from vaginal candida.
Suppose a drug treatment proved to be ineffective in treating vaginal candidiasis. In that case, tea tree oil suppositories combined with the same drug can activate the effects of the medicine or boost the drugs that end up being ineffective. For instance, melaleuca oil and boric acid can be an effective combination.
When it’s adequately diluted or taken in the form that most fits your health profile, a 2003 study proved that tea tree oil was effective against many strains. These included the most common candidiasis strain Candida Albicans, among other 14 derivatives that proved to be drug-resistant.
Because it comes with antibiotic and antiseptic properties, melaleuca oil prevents fungus growth around the vaginal area, keeping it moist and free of burning sensation or itchiness.
When applied topically, melaleuca oil can successfully treat Trichomonas, vaginal candidiasis, and other types of vaginitis.
Further studies that share the positive effect of tea tree oil use for yeast infection can still be made. But there is a consensus that the proper use of tea tree oil is among the most beneficial natural options for treating vaginal candidiasis.
Side Effects
Melaleuca oil has potential side effects when not used properly.
Some of these can be counted as:
- Scaling
- Burning
- Dryness
- Redness
- Stinging
- Itching
- Allergic skin rash (also known as dermatitis)
- Skin irritation
Note that you should not use tea tree oil if you have eczema. Like many other essential oils, swallowing this particular oil can cause intoxication.
When taken orally, melaleuca oil can cause serious side effects like:
- Unsteadiness,
- Rash,
- Inability to walk,
- Confusion,
- Coma
The best way to ensure you are using melaleuca oil in the most proper form for your unique circumstance is to seek help from a medical professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, yes, it is.
As long as you dilute the oil into doses, that will help you benefit from its medicinal qualities. Then diluted tea tree oil can be used for your penial health as it reduces the risk of causing you trouble with its potential side effects.
Vaginal candidiasis typically settle in the vaginal area.
Dropping tea tree oil on panty liners can not help treat yeast infections. Because panty liners are not in direct contact with vaginal canals where fungus settles (like tampons do). To be effective, the oil needs to get to the fungus to break it down, and panty liners can not provide that access.
If you feel a burning sensation right after using melaleuca oil, it might mean you did not use it sparingly.
In that case:
- Wash the area you applied the oil with warm water,
- Use a gentle soap to remove the oil you applied.
- After removing the oil, use a dampened washcloth as a cool, wet compress on the area.
- After some time, the burning should fade. And if it doesn’t, it might be time to ring your doctor.
Although it is rare to have vaginal candidiasis before puberty, any woman can get it regardless of age.
This is a question that has two answers: Yes, and no.
Exposing your vagina to constant contact with tea tree oil is not recommended if the tampon is soaked in undiluted tea tree oil. That is a road to disaster. On the other hand, if you change it nightly and mix it with warmed coconut oil, you might benefit from its medicinal qualities. In addition, you can treat vaginal candidiasis with proper use.
So, now you decide. If you think you can tend to yourself regularly and with great care, you might put tea tree oil on a tampon by mixing it with coconut oil to treat a yeast overgrowth infection.
Get Professional Help With Doctor Alexa
When looking for remedies for a vaginal infections, DIY solutions may fail depending on your situation. In times like this, professional guidance may become necessary.
Any health problem can negatively impact your overall well-being if not appropriately handled. Unfortunately, no health problem has ever proved to bring joy to our lives. On the contrary, an unknown condition can always cause stress and anxiety in addition to the physical strain it creates. In situations like this, it may be beneficial to seek expert assistance.
DrAlexa gives you complete control of your health and provides effortless ways to access healthcare services from the comfort of your home. Quality health treatment is made possible with our compassionate healthcare provider team.
Our goal is to provide affordable, world-class healthcare services and a patient experience that showcases excellence. You deserve nothing less.
To learn more about your possibilities for receiving the correct treatment you require at an affordable cost and from the comfort of your own home, reach out to DrAlexa today.
