Ailment: Mites (demodex mites)

Remedy: Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil, melaleuca alternifolia essential oil, properties, traditional healing uses, recipes, warnings.

Comment posted by T-Town Mom of Tulsa, OK, USA on 2 September 2013 at 6:4       1357

Braveheart, don't use hydrocortisone on your face. That can cause a really bad rebound rash. It will help at first, then be way worse than before. You might to leave that out of the regimine and try the TTO again.

Comment posted by t57yearold of Philadelphia, PA, USA on 18 August 2013 at 8:31       1332

I first had the symptoms of the demodex mite back in mid-January (it's now mid-August). I had it in my scalp, my eyelashes and eyes, then it fell to my back and right arm, a few below my waist, and dug out big lesions/nests for itself. The doctor gave me permethrin for scabies and I applied 3 treatments of that over about 4 months, and they worked temporarily, but not fully. In the beginning, I was trying all kinds of things (borax, hydrogen peroxide, etc.) but the tea tree oil products (shampoo, face wash, body wash, straight oil) seemed to work the best. However, in the last month or so, I think (not sure) I developed a yeast infection, mainly in my nose and belly button and also pubic region. I think I over-killed all the bacteria and the yeast just had a heydey. It itched like crazy, so it felt like the demodex, but it was sort of a white linty thing on my skin, and didn't "bite" and leave lesions in the horrible way the demodex mite did. Cut out the tea tree oil, and am using an over-the-counter yeast infection cream, and things seem to be calming down. I think (cross-fingers) I am at the end of this nightmare. Have horrible scars on face and back and arm, and a few on my butt and legs. And I'm vigilant, and scared stiff to try any of my old hair or skin products....nothing by Neutrogena for me, and even that has me on edge. In any event, if the tea tree oil seems not to be working, check to see if the nature of the itch is different....it may have worked too well and made the yeast on you happy.

Comment posted by Saffronhill of Belleville, Illinois, United States on 13 August 2013 at 20:8       1321

Remove oil from eyes with whole milk. It has fat and will grab the oil and wash it out as you poor the milk across your eyes. Water takes much longer and is not as effective.

Comment posted by A w of Nsw, NSW, Australia on 13 August 2013 at 15:25       1320

Do NOT put pure tea tree oil (or clove oil) onto eye lids, it will burn the tissue and cross through the fine epithelium on the eyelid into the conjunctiva. Use tea tree shampoo on the lids, debride with a cotton tip that has been soaked in bicarbonate soda ( 1/4 teaspoon in 50mL warm water). If you ever get any oil into the eye, do not use water, tea tree oil is not water miscible and the oil will spread over more of the conjunctiva exacerbating any burn, instead neutralize with natural yoghurt then rinse in cool water.

Question posted by Beth of Mountain View, CA, USA on 12 August 2013 at 6:2       1315

I have dust mites, not the kind you're talking about-these ones don't bite, but I feel all the same feelings of it on my skin (except getting bites). Will these suggestions help me too? I've had this for two weeks now. I took a bath in peppermint oil and it killed the adults, so no more scalp walking after that, but have the tickling all over my scalp & body as they hatch. I'm going crazy, I can't do anything else but deal with these bugs! I'm so behind on everything. I'm taking 3 showers a day, sometimes a bath instead. I've tried a lot of things. I tried a) shampoo with tea tree oil in it (and still am), which b) I added peppermint oil to. Now, in addition to that, c) I've also added tea tree oil and lavender. I've taken a bath in tea tree oil plus lavender and the next day saw a lot of dead ones out of my scalp, but I can't do that very often, as it uses up too much. d) I tried a bath in borax & hydrogen peroxide, and dead ones came out, but not nearly enough. It was posted this kills both eggs & bugs, but not for me, so I don't know why it didn't work. e) I tried the same thing, just scrubbing it all over, thinking I did it wrong, but no-although I got a bunch off of my hands, nowhere else. f) I'm about to try a bath in eucalyptus oil, hoping that works-I read it does. I just ordered the clove oil, hoping it will kill dust mite eggs, and bugs for me. You all write so calmly about this, but it's driving me crazy! How deep under the skin do these things hide? (dust mites) Does anyone know about dust mites vs demodex mites? I'm pretty sure mine are dust mites (which usually don't get on your skin, but they have for me & I've read they have for others. I'm not cured, am presently in the process of dealing with this. After I take a shower using tea tree oil shampoo I notice an hour of relief, but then they come back. I assume the hour of relief means some get killed? Initially I was putting the shampoo all over my body also, but have just started putting the 2 oils, lavender & tea tree oil combined on my body. I just wish these things would all die! Today. Driving me crazy. It's what I do, like what my life's about now..... 3 showers a day (and my bodies ready for more, but can't shower every second)

Comment posted by AA of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan on 12 August 2013 at 3:47       1314

YES
Ive been using a very mild mix of tea tree oil amd sweet almond oil for the past three weeks and its worked wonders!

Background / symptoms:
I have been diagnosed with rosecea over a year ago and have been on anti biotics for it on and off. While on anti biotics my face completely clears up, but when I go off them the rosecea flares up again. It was mostly on my cheeks and chin, but had recently started attacking my nose and literally disfiguring it. It's mostly red patches on my cheeks and chin and a couple of boils, with just boils on my nose. I have not detected it anywhere else on my body. By the end of it, since nothing else was working, my dermatologist wanted to prescribe roaccutane (which I refused). When I was initially diagnosed with it, my eyes used to burn a lot and my vision had somewhat deteriorated. However, with time and meds, this symptom has completely disappeared. I'm someone who regularly does yoga and I also walk / run twice a week - however, the rosecea reacts very badly to any physical exercise that makes my face flush (and so both yoga and running). apart from the vanity aspect, it has been especially hard to reconcile with the fact that something i really rely on to destress and to stay fit and something as healthy as yoga and running impact my skin so negatively. However, two weeks ago I stumbled upon this and a couple of other forums that recommended the use of tea tree oil with different oils for rosecea or demodex mites and decided to try it. In terms of demodex mites - i dont have itchy eyebrows or eyes, and my eye lashes and eyebrows are still intact and have not fallen out, so don't know if i also have a demodex mite infestation. Even if I do, it's prob not such a serious one. So far I've just bought a small bottle of 100% tea tree oil which cost me about 4$.

Proportions: I started out with just one drop of tea tree oil in about 50 drops of 100% sweet almond oil (tea tree oil is SO potent) and increased it by a drop or so with every application. At some point - when the mixture was about 50/50, I felt it had become too strong (my cheeks started becoming crusty and rough and mildly itchy) and began adding almond oil to it instead of tea tree oil. At times if i still find the mixture to be too strong, i apply almond oil directly to my face about fivr minutes after applying the tto and almond oil mixture. Currently I am back to the original very diluted version I had started with and it's continuing to work.

Frequency: initially I was applying it twice a day, once In the morning and once at night. I normally wash my face with soap (a natural sandalwood and rose soap) at night before I sleep, and just rinse it with water in the morning, so I would apply the mixture after washing my face. A week into it, i started washing my face with soap twice a day ( evening - after coming home from work so as to remove my makeup, and at night before I sleep) and apply the mixture after. I apply almond oil randomly in between if my cheeks feel dry and uncomfortable.

Results: I immediately felt relief with even the very first application and saw my skin improve steadily during the first week. There were no additional break outs, the swelling COMPLETELY disappeared, my nose has totally gone back to its original shape and the dis figuration has completely gone, and there have been no additional breakouts on my face! It's been pretty miraculous considering nothing else was working! However, there has been no substantial improvement in the past two weeks - in that my cheeks are still a little pink (although definitely not as pink as they used to be) and they're still a little crusty. I'm now considering making a face wash with honey, castor oil, sweet almond oil and tea tree oil, which may balance and moisturise my skin a little more? I had read about it on either this forum or another forum I forget. Will keep you guys posted. Let me know if you guys have any recommendations?

Although I haven't experienced the symptoms described here with regards to an itchy scalp, my hair falls in clumps in the shower ( I had extremely thick hair to begin with and now it's substancially thinned out), and so I've started a hair application of tea tree oil as well. I wash it once with shampoo just to clean it, rinse out the shampoo, then mix two drops of tto with shampoo in my palm, mix it and very thoroughly shampoo my hair with this mixture. I leave it in for about five mins and rinse it out. Then I condition as I normally do. This has made a massive difference to my hairfall and barely any hair falls in the shower. although the recommendation was to shampoo with tto everyday, ive just continued with my original routine of shampooing my hair every third day (i have really curly hair). I have also mixed in a two to three drops of tto in my body butter which I apply post shower. I apply this all over my body as a precaution (lol I'm really paranoid of the mites / rosecea spreading all over my body - is that even possible?!)

Questions:
1. a couple of days ago my lips have started becoming a little crusty. It doesnt show, but i can definitely feel it. it like when your lips really dry up in the winter and then feel a little hard and stiff. it initially started on my upper lip and now feels like its spreading to my lower lip. i have been applying vaseline which hasnt made any difference. I'm unsure if this is bc of mites (if I have mites could they have infested my lips? Can they?). could it also be bc of the tea tree oil - it may have spread to my lips when i applied it to my face or while i was sleeping? Is this rosecea? maybe its a reaction to some lipstick I've used. Has anyone else experienced this?
2. Can mites spread faster and to other areas of my body if I use the tto treatment with my shampoo and if in fact I have mites on my scalp? Any idea?

Sorry for such a long post, thought it might be helpful for someone or the other out there, and thank you for this fantastic remedy, it's really been a godsend!

Question posted by MaryJoe of Mission, Texas, USA on 6 August 2013 at 19:38       1306

YES
I'm so happy for you. My story sounds very similar to yours. I am currently using the tea tree oil...I just add tons of it to my baby shampoo. I was just wondering, what did you moisturize with. You mentioned your shampoo and soap, and the mix you used on your eyes, but I didn't see what you used to kill the mites on your face. I'm thinking maybe you had a food allergy or intolerance to wheat and removing it allowed you to improve your immune system. Plus wheat is just bad for you. I actually think I'm allergic to the mite bites. After I feel the crawling and itching I usually see a red blotch that looks like the beginnings of a pimple but most of the time it just flattens and turns brown. some look like hyper pigmentation and some are so small they look like freckles. Sometimes they just get hard and the bump just doesn't go away. Did you experience any of this? I'd really appreciate your response. This has been the worst year of my life, and my life has been pretty terrible:)

Comment posted by Elky of Weehawken, New Jersey, USA on 5 August 2013 at 1:44       1304

YES
Wow, so glad I found this site too. I ordered everything TEA TREE last week because I had heard about this, but had not seen so many testimonials. I've had seborrhea on scalp and face before, but don't know why this huge outbreak. Female 51, had painful UTI (staph A) a month ago and took 500 mg a day for 7 days of Cipro. Since then developed staph symptoms in nose. Doctor said it's not really an "infection" just a colony that's overgrown. (??) prescribed nasal ointment bactroban. Went to eye doc and he said belpharitis, which I had in the past and prescribed antibiotic Azacite. So it seems the mite and bacteria go hand in hand. Killing the infection does not kill the mite. Are we sure if it is a mite or as someone said an aphid spider? I KNOW I feel them in my nose and eyes especially at night. I have a lot of potted plants on rooftop of shed which aligns right next to my kitchen window. This year i have put out big bowls of water for birds and feed them a fair amount of bread everyday. So, I feed a stray cat, about 5 squirrels, about 50 birds come and go and saw a raccoon outside my window the other night!! Does anyone know if we can pick these up from wild animals? Also, I own a couple of "Terminator Zappers" with the copper circles. Hulda Clark thought these things could kill tiny parasites. Any thoughts? Can any type of lights kill them in your bedding? Blue lights? Thanks! Will start treatment soon and update.

Comment posted by itchy of Valley Stream, NY, USA on 2 August 2013 at 15:41       1301

YES
I am so happy that I found this site! I thought I was going crazy! I've been having all the same symtoms! I didn't know if I was really having those itching, crawling feelings or I was going nuts! Where can I get the Tea Tree Oil and other solutions. Why don't the doctors look into this condition instead of telling people that they're crazy. Now I have to tell my daughter and husband. Plus I watch my granddaughter. I wonder where I got it..?

Comment posted by carfeld of Flower Mound , Tx, USA on 28 July 2013 at 2:41       1293

YES
I also decided the cause for the "rash" on my upper lip area to be the Demodex mite. I was fighting a bronchial/lung infection (2 days in the hospital). A week after release the bumps started to appear...I suspect the mega doses of steroids and antibiotics lowered my immune system. After 3 different Dr visits and various diagnosis...I took to the internet for self diagnosis. The discovery of this mite hit the nail on the head. I stopped the pills and steroid/antibiotic creams for supposedly Shingles...which actually made it worse. Using calamine lotion seemed to briefly help before I uncovered the mysteries of the Demodex critter. Tea Tree oil at 100% is drying things up under the nose, but due to their life cycle I expect more bumps to appear when new eggs hatch. So relieved to find the cause which baffled the Doctors. I also believe in controlling body ph so will stop eating wheat and sugars. Back to total veggies/fruits. Will also try Clove oil as was suggested. Thanks for all of your input and good luck to all.

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