Tea tree oil is considered to have medical and cosmetic benefits, being included in lots of herbal supplemements and skin care products manufactured and sold all over the world. Being part of an ancestral tradition, there are native people from Australia who use tea tree oil in local traditional medicine. They inhale the oil from crushed leaves as a remedy for coughs and colds.

The leaves can also be applied on wounds or be soaked for infusions. The use of tee tree oil wasn’t that popular until a researcher, Arthur Penfold, wrote an article about its antimicrobial effect According to his study, tea tree oil was eleven times more powerful than phenol, an antimicrobial substance widely used in the past.

After Penfold’s article about tea tree oil an entire industry emerged. Leaves were usually cut manually and distilled immediately afterwards. After World War II the production of tea tree oil went into decline due the appearance of effective antibiotics. After the 70s when the interest for natural products was revived, commercial plantations appeared, so that at present, there is an entire mechanized tea tree oil industry which exploits the medical benefits of this natural cure.

Tea tree oil is recognized as a powerful antiseptic but it also contributes to skin care treatments and different ailments. Doctors reported the benefits this plant has against dermatitis, moderate acne, insect bites, ivy poisoning, ear infections and minor wounds. It is important to keep in mind that tea tree oil is recommended for external use only, those who took it orally experienced symptoms like ataxia and drowsiness. Allergic reactions were also reported in some cases, particularly under the form of skin rashes.

For a 0.1% tea tree oil dilution, studies revealed that from an experimental group of 725 people only one subject reported an allergic reaction. Another case study was conducted on a group of youngsters and they were administered products containing both lavender oil and tea tree oil. The results were not encouraging for the oral administration, which remains doubtful.

Like all alternative medicines tea tree oil is used as a solution for people who try to avoid antibiotics. Traditional medicine appreciates this natural remedy and more and more people turn to it because of its efficiency. The medical action of all herbal cures is nevertheless a lot slower than that of an antibiotic, therefore, in very severe cases, turn to a health care provider for assistance instead of relying on the long-term effects of an antibacterial substance like tea tree oil.

Store shelves are lined with cleaners shouting “antibacterial kills 99% of bacteria. The public is convinced that they must use cleaning products that contain antibacterial properties to clean their homes and in their personal hygiene. However, the use of antibacterial products can be detrimental to you, your family’s health and the environment.

A report on the Center for Disease (CDC) website stated no evidence suggests that there is evidence that the use of antibacterial soap containing 0.2% triclosan (active ingredient in antibacterial cleaning products) provides a benefit over plain soap in reducing bacterial counts and rate of infectious symptoms in generally healthy persons in the household setting. Plain soap and water, in other words, gets rid of the majority of germs that linger on the hands and body.

Additionally, another study concluded that there was no difference in infectious disease symptoms over a one year period in 228 inner city households using antibacterial cleaning products and those products that did not contain antibacterial agents. These findings further highlight the need to educate consumers on the limitations of antibacterial cleaning products.

The use of these so called antibacterial cleaning products claims to kill 99% of bacteria. However what becomes of the remaining 1%. This 1% remaining becomes the super germ. The overuse of antibacterial cleaning products breeds stronger and stronger organisms and thus less resistance to cleaning agents.

Furthermore, in order for antibacterial products to really remove 99% of bacteria, the cleaning agent should be left on the area which is being cleaned for at least two minutes for it to be effective. Most people do not have the patience to properly use antibacterial cleaning products.

Our bodies have an immune system to fight off bacteria, germs and virus. When we continually fight germs and bacteria with antibacterial cleaners we are hindering our immune system to naturally fight off these germs and viruses. Thus are immune system is continually weakened.

In Scientific American journal, it states “It appears that after, say, spraying a counter with an antibiotic cleaner, some chemicals linger and continue to kill bacteria but don’t get all of them. The ones that survive develop a tolerance: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Soon we have populations of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

What is this stuff doing in households when we have soaps? asks molecular biologist John Gustafson of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. These substances really belong in hospitals and clinics, not in the homes of healthy people.

In June of 2000, the World Health Organization warned that antibacterial products directly contribute to the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The American Medical Association (AMA) says (bacterial) resistance ascribed to overuse of antibiotics is a growing problem, and there is concern that some types of infections will eventually not be treatable with antibiotics.

On June 13, 2000, the AMA advised consumers to avoid extensive use of “antibacterial soaps, lotions, and other household products. The AMA has also urged the Food and Drug Administration to increase regulation of antibacterial products.

So next time you purchase that antibacterial cleaning product keep in mind that they are hindering your natural immune system, and these products are very detrimental to the environment.