Journal article
Therapeutic Potential of Tea Tree Oil for Scabies
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol.94, pp.258-266
2016
Abstract
Globally, scabies affects more than 130 million people at any time. In the developed world, outbreaks in health institutions and vulnerable communities result in a significant economic burden. A review of the literature demonstrates the emergence of resistance toward classical scabicidal treatments and the lack of effectiveness of currently available scabicides in reducing the inflammatory skin reactions and pyodermal progression that occurs in predisposed patient cohorts. Tea tree oil (TTO) has demonstrated promising acaricidal effects against scabies mites in vitro and has also been successfully used as an adjuvant topical medication for the treatment of crusted scabies, including cases that did not respond to standard treatments. Emerging acaricide resistance threatens the future usefulness of currently used gold standard treatments (oral ivermectin and topical permethrin) for scabies. The imminent development of new chemical entities is doubtful. The cumulative acaricidal, antibacterial, antipruritic, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing effects of TTO may have the potential to successfully reduce the burden of scabies infection and the associated bacterial complications. This review summarizes current knowledge on the use of TTO for the treatment of scabies. On the strength of existing data for TTO, larger scale, randomized controlled clinical trials are warranted.
Details
- Title
- Therapeutic Potential of Tea Tree Oil for Scabies
- Authors
- Jackson Thomas (Author) - University of CanberraChristine F Carson (Author) - University of Western AustraliaGreg M Peterson (Author) - University of TasmaniaShelley F Walton (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringKate Hammer (Author) - University of Western AustraliaMark Naunton (Author) - University of CanberraRachel Davey (Author) - University of CanberraTim Spelman (Author) - Burnet Research InstitutePascale Dettwiller (Author) - Flinders UniversityGreg Kyle (Author) - University of CanberraGabrielle Cooper (Author) - University of CanberraKavya E Baby (Author)
- Publication details
- American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol.94, pp.258-266
- Publisher
- American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Date published
- 2016
- DOI
- 10.4269/ajtmh.14-0515
- ISSN
- 0002-9637
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2016 The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450076202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
- Tropical Medicine
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