Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) preparations may be as effective as drug therapy for the treatment of stubborn skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

When 10-per-cent tea tree oil-containing creams and soaps were pitted against drug treatments: mupirocin 2-per-cent for nasal infections, silver sulphadiazine I-per-cent for wounds and leg ulcers, and chlorhexidine gluconate 4-per-cent soap for general skin and mucous-membrane infections, the researchers found little difference between treatments.

Overall, of the 224 people in the study, the drug therapies successfully treated 49-per-cent of MRSA infections while tea tree oil cleared 41-per-cent of them. Mupirocin ointment was significantly more effective than tea tree oil for nasal infections, but the tea tree preparations worked better on other skin sites and ulcers than the drug. Furthermore, the tea tree oil treatments were well tolerated, with no adverse effects reported (J Hosp infect, 2004; 56: 283-6).

PROOF! says: Research into the uses of tea tree oil as a natural antibiotic continues to impress. This study provides good evidence that tea tree oil products are a viable alternative to antibiotic treatment for MRSA skin infections. This finding is especially important as infections become harder to treat as bacterial resistance continues to increase. There have been no reports of MRSA resistance to tree tea oil.

PROOF July 2004At The Organic Salon.com you will find chemcial-free natural and organic skincare, haircare and cosmetics, click here for some medicinal skin products.