Ailment: Scabies
Remedy: Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil, melaleuca alternifolia essential oil, properties, traditional healing uses, recipes, warnings.
Comment posted by Hoping for the best of Cincinnati, OH, USA on 16 April 2023 at 10:54 5442
NO
Been struggling with sores, lesions, skin pain for four plus years and hope all of us find relief. After six dermatologists, one actually listens. Diagnosis was perforating dermatitis which is hard keratin build up under the skin that pushes through creating holes in the skin. I still think the underlying issue is demodex mites. SOMEWHAT HELPFUL SO FAR Spironolactone Rx (Rx means prescription), Liquid Bandaid, Prosacea brand topical sulfur, salt baths, fluocinonide liquid Rx, sit in portable sauna 10 to 15 mins daily, clean the sores with hydrogen peroxide, apply permethrin NIX lotion, eat beef more than I ever have, apply tea tree oil aloe vera mix. Other Rx products tried unsuccessfully include doxycycline, antivirals, mupirocin topical antibacterial, metronidazole, eucrisa and nystatin.
Additional note on 23 April 2023:
The prescriptions I mentioned in my previous comment ARE helpful, but it is sometimes unclear which are most helpful. I also use both 0.5 and 1.87 ivermectin cream, which can be purchased without a prescription, and elidel prescription cream. Sunlight also seems to help. Some days I feel like this will never get solved, but at least I’ve gotten some improvement over the past 2 years.
Comment posted by D Harrison of Eureka, CA, USA on 11 April 2023 at 4:24 5440
YES
Sudden rosacea and blepharitis onset at age 60. Did Keto. No sugar, no gluten. Did liver cleanses. For months. Added vitamin D to clear skin, couldn’t sunbathe enough. Still no improvement. Added multivitamins. Daily. Thought about the chlorine in bathwater being a factor. Bought 15 stage water filters....added powdered vitamin C to baths. Reduced the temperature. Still nothing worked, still had red acne and pustules. Bought new soaps, EWG verified stuff with no harmful chemicals. Lotions. Lots of money... Then decided to try castor oil on my eyelids for my nightly dry eye. Instant improvement in my dry eye rather than getting up 3x a night with my eyelids dried and stuck to my eyeballs....I finally went all night with my regular tears moisture. Then I dug into researching that success some more....Demodex mites cause both rosacea and Blepharitis! Diluted tea tree oil on skin. BAM! Skin cleared. Maintaining nightly castor oil on eyelids. Aggressively now boiling sheets, clothes, hoodies. Daily eyelid cleansing, face, head, neck, shoulders. My facial skin is no longer bumpy, red, or irritated with pustules....it looks like porcelain. It’s only been a week since I attacked this from the mite standpoint, but I AM SO RELIEVED. This battle lasted over a year. Large quantities of mites have been found in biopsies of rosacea papules and pustules. Keep that in mind.
Comment posted by Barbara of Salt Lake City, UT, USA on 25 February 2023 at 23:13 5424
As I read all this information, I realize that most people are very confused about Demodex and the remedies. I believe that is because the skin conditions they cause vary, just like any other disease, from mild to severe. What works in a flash for some people doesn’t work at all for others because of the severity. There is a list of things that kill Demodex mites, but Demodex mites are a reflection of how well, or poorly your immune system is working. The immune system attacks these normal skin mites if they get out of control. If you are sick with anything that disrupts the immune system, it doesn’t have to be a disease it can be a temporary condition, the mites can grow large enough to plainly see without a microscope. They are actually a good indicator of weak immune health. The very large mites usually occur with a severe infestation and horrible rash. People who only have rosacea or a mild condition will most like not see visible mites. It really annoys me when people say they are never visible. Not normally, of course, but in severe cases you most definitely see them! Just because a person isn’t experiencing visible mites, doesn’t mean they don t exist.
Comment posted by Che of Baltimore, MD, USA on 24 August 2022 at 3:17 5379
YES
I have been struggling with treating these little devils for the last few months. I was a full time Lyft driver and I believe one of my passengers passed them along to me. It was so bad that I felt that I had to stay away from people completely. What I found that works for me is castile soap with a few drops of tea tree oil added. I chew a whole clove of garlic every day. I use coconut oil with a few drops of TTO on my skin and witch hazel with TTO on my face after bathing. I am reducing stress and eating healthier, no liquor drinking or cigarette smoking.
I clean excessively with bleach everywhere at least twice a day, drying sheets and clothes often. I detail my car twice a week while spraying the interior down with homemade TTO spray.
I am mostly free of the mites after several weeks with this routine. You have to be aggressive and excessive but I promise you, it will work.
Reply from David Niven Miller
There is no need for all the cleaning for a mite infection. Read the Grow Youthful web page on mites and the paragraph on mite transmission. No need to clean house, car etc.
Comment posted by Oneinheaven of Tom Bean, TX, USA on 16 July 2022 at 0:51 5368
We had scabies. We didn’t realize it for a while so they were really bad when we did realize. When I found this website, my husband’s left leg was swollen into his foot he was so infested. He started borax HP baths immediately and was 75% better in about 3 days. Then he stalled out. He realized they were in his hair so he had to start soaking his head for about 20 minutes in his baths. After a few weeks he was about 95-98% better. During this time he’d take ivermectin. In all he said he took 17 doses. We use the one from tractor supply dosed by weight. One thing you’re not told is the iver seems to rile up the scabies so he always had some added rash after a dose. We chose not to use permethrin. My husband had so many sores I couldn’t imagine putting poison on his skin. We are VERY natural minded.
Next story is mine. The scabies finally got me about 2 months after my husband. After fighting them 2 months, I was worse chasing them all over. Disheartening to say the least. One day I was doing more reading on scabies and came across moxidectin. It sounded promising with similar side effects to iver which is minor minimal yet a much longer half-life in the body. I was so frustrated I took it doses by weight on the tube again, tractor supply. The scabies seemed to be more active after taking it which I expected so I was doing 2-3 borax baths a day. I ended up adding ACV and epsom salts too. The borax and bathing degrades the acid mantle of the skin which actually gives the scabies more open feeding so it’s a double edged sword imho. Anyway, 12 days after taking moxi I woke up and felt different like they’d left. My sores quickly began to heal and I didn’t feel vulnerable anymore. I’m now almost 3 weeks out from the moxi dose. It took almost 2 weeks for the moxi to run them off. I’m still bathing once a day, sleeping on a drop cloth and hot washing all clothes and linens in borax.
My husband took a dose of moxi when he was far enough out from his last iver dose to be safe. He did experience some breakout the next few days but the moxi seems to have taken effect quicker on him. We did SO MUCH MORE to mitigate or deal with the awful spreading bumps. Lots of Diatomaceous earth. We found tea tree, rosemary, clove and lavender essential oils to be the most effective. However scabies still spread we couldn’t rid the body completely. They were in my nose! Someone needs to figure out what is different in some people’s body chemistry to make them impervious. Our 15 year old daughter was never affected. This has been horrific and my heart goes out to everyone dealing with it. We even found many things to be grateful for throughout this ordeal. III John 1 2 Beloved I pray that you may prosper and be in good health just as your soul prospers. Thanks for allowing me to share.
Comment posted by Jennifer Remington of Tucumcari, NM, USA on 11 January 2022 at 21:13 5333
YES
The simple and cheapest answer is a 10% sulfur soap which can be bought for around $5 per bar. Use 8-10 drops of high quality tea tree oil in your bath and scrub down and lather up with the sulfur soap. Stay in the warm bath for around 20 minutes or so. When you get out your skin may be mildly irritated so carefully blot dry with a towel. Be sure to wash your face with a wash cloth using the sulfur soap and leave it on for around 2-3 minutes then gently rinse off with cool water. The combination of the sulfur scrub and the tea tree oil in the bath will kill most of the mites and after about 2 months your problem will be either under control or eliminated entirely.
Comment posted by Chaos Is of Toledo, OR, USA on 19 February 2021 at 0:42 5292
YES
I'm not sure which type of mite that I have because my Dr thinks I'm a little nuts simply because he cannot see what I can. I have been dealing with them off and on for about 4 years. I am a pre-diabetic. Stress sometimes gets the better of me as I suffer from anxiety disorder, OCD, severe depression and untreated ADHD. I use salicylic acid in an acne scrub. I use it in the shower. Just leave it on for two to five minutes and it brings them to the surface. It stings a little but only because it's working. I recently began using 50-50 vinegar water mixture to spray my furniture and perimeter inside my home. As well as, using it to clean the mold from the walls and window sills. This is when I notice the mites in my hair to be terrifyingly uncontrollable. I honestly can say, I have tried most of the treatments on the list. Coconut oil in my conditioners really helps, and tea tree oil helps some of the time. I am constantly doing laundry and changing my clothes and bedding. I vacuum several times a day. Even my front porch. Ugh. Good luck everyone. May you find peace and clarity soon.
Comment by David Niven Miller: your heavy laundering, cleaning and vacuuming are unnecessary. Read the Grow Youthful web pages detailing the three main types of human skin mites to see how they are transmitted. Stress and anxiety weaken your immune system and are probably the main cause of the mite build up.
Comment posted by David Miller of Perth, WA, Australia on 25 May 2019 at 13:58 5151
Reply to Riley Geddings of Tampa
Please click on the Tea tree oil link at the top of this page.
Also, many of the comments answer your question.
Question posted by Riley Geddings of Tampa, FL, USA on 25 May 2019 at 0:1 5149
How much Tea Tree Oil do I mix with other ingredients? ie Drops, or what? Thanks
Comment posted by Lin Bee of Mesa, AZ, USA on 10 January 2019 at 3:48 5113
YES
After reading a February 2016 post by Eve from NV on using Mustard, we put together our own treatment. We put some TTO (tea tree oil), borax and ACV (apple cider vinegar) in spray bottles and began to spray ourselves all over two times a day especially after our showers. In just two or three days we began to see an marked change in our skin and the itching began to diminish. We began to feel like we were at an end of a two year ordeal that left us thinking we would never be the same again. I cannot thank Eve enough for her post and if I could I would send her a bouquet of flowers and much more.
We continue to spray ourselves and add dry mustard from time to time when we think it is necessary. We cut out all sugars, beef and all dairy for two years to the point that we lost 10 pounds each. Now we are adding small amounts of low fat organic beef and some coconut sugar but very little of that. I do not eat cheeses as the mites love that stuff. I have yet to read about anyone deleting foods from their diet but we found that it is imperative to do so as the mites would not stop causing acne all over us. As I sit here writing this, I feel such relief and thanking my God for this blog posting site where others who suffer can tell their sad stories and post what they feel has helped or not helped.
I also want to add that essential oils such as TTO and Eucalyptus oil have been very useful. I am thankful to have my skin back and in reality my life back. We have not gone anywhere for two years because of this horrid condition. I will continue to spray my skin daily with the spray and use mustard to work with or as a deterrent to these most awful parasites. One must try to keep their immune systems up and take supplements and get lots of sleep and drink lots of water. We try to get in about 10-14 glasses a day but we live in AZ so that’s why. Most people can get by with at least 8 glasses but 10-12 is better especially in the summer months. We found a great soap on eBay called Defense that is made of TTO and Eucalyptus that really gives us a good cleansing washing off any mite faeces and dead skin that accumulates during the night and day. I don’t shower twice a day any more as my skin can’t take a lot of washing. So, one shower with daily spraying is what we do. I hope this helps someone suffering with Demodex mites infestation. There is a cure and I have just outlined it. It worked for us and it will work for you but you must do it and be faithful about it.
PS. I wanted to add why the ACV borax TTO spray works. The ACV takes the hard shell off the eggs and the borax kills the larvae. That is the magic bullet. The mustard kills the mites in 50 seconds when they come in contact with it - even mustard water. Use only powdered dry mustard not the bottled, ready-made kind. That is filled with fillers and spices that the mites may like. Buy powdered mustard and dilute it with water. Use a q tip in your ears and nose. Put the mustard water on a sponge or wash cloth to wipe down your skin in the shower and finish your shower with the ACV spray. Use Neem soap or TTO soap to wash with. You have to do this for the rest of your life to keep them away because once you have had a mite infestation, you are susceptible to them again. God bless and good luck!
