MRSA and Tea Tree Oil

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a skin condition that may be treatable by tea tree oil. A study that started in '07 will end in 2010 on the possibility that tea tree oil might prevent and/or tea the skin condition.

MRSA is a form of staph infection. Staph is a bacteria present on every person's skin. When the skin is broken and the immune system is weak, it's possible for the infection to get into your system. In fact, staph isn't just a skin disorder. It can also enter the digestive tract, the lungs or the blood. These sorts of infections are rarer, but staph is everywhere. That's one of the reasons that MRSA, the antibiotic resistant version of the bacteria probably developed. Since so many people in the past have taken antibiotics, sometimes for very little reason, the staph present in the human system had to find a way to survive and MRSA developed.

The reason it occurs so frequently in hospitals is because many patients are at least somewhat immune compromised and on antibiotics. While antibiotics don't cause MRSA directly, they can help MRSA evolve. And because hospitalized patients are already sick, it gives MRSA a foothold.

Once a patient is infected with MRSA, it can be difficult to combat. Most of the time it's treated with a battery or combination of antibiotics, in the hopes that it won't be immune to all of them or that it won't be able to hold up to a bunch at once. The most effective antibiotic is vancomycin, but in Japan they've found vancomycin resistant strains, so this treatment might not work forever.

Tea tree oil has been a long time secret weapon against acne, athlete's foot, eczema and other skin conditions. It's also known as Melaleuca oil or Australian tea tree oil

Some people have a dermatitis reaction to tea tree oil because it's fairly strong. It, along with lavender, has been linked to hormonal shifts (three cases in which boys grew breasts) and as such should not be used by pregnant or nursing women.

In a weak solution (from 4%-1%) in soap, the tea tree oil can be used to prevent MRSA in hospitals. Prevention seems to be more practical than treatment because once MRSA sets in--it can take a long time to reverse.

Tea tree oil can't be a viable solution for everyone who has MRSA because stronger doses can result in skin lesions, dermatitis or blistering. But anything lower than a 1% solution might create tea tree oil resistant MRSA.

Sources:

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/herbsupplementguide/a/TeaTreeOil.htm

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1617686/tea_tree_oil_body_wash_may_fight_deadly_mrsa_bug

http://parenting.ivillage.com/gs/gshealth/0,,3q70,00.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735