Warning about Tea Tree oil products for MS patients
Yesterday DH was suddenly weaker than normal. After he showered tonight he could barely stand up. A few hours later, he couldn’t stand up. In fact his legs and arms didn’t want to work at all. This very sudden onset led me to believe it was something new in the house that caused the problem and not his MS.
I think we found the culprit. There was only one new thing around here. He got his hair cut yesterday and they used a conditioner on his hair containing Tea Tree Oil. He liked it and bought a bottle. He used it again tonight.
I did some research and found that sometimes people are hypersensitive to Tea Tree Oil and can have muscle weakness and tremors from using it. I’m betting that with his MS, DH is hypersensitive to it. He won’t use it again and we’ll see if his strength comes back.
At this point, we will take the bottle of conditioner back (it wasn’t cheap) and ask for a refund we will also tell them they need to warn customers that there can be a side effect. From now on he will tell anyone who cuts his hair to NOT use any product containing Tea Tree Oil on him.
Posted on March 12, 2010, in MS related and tagged Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Healthcare, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, side effects of Tea Tree Oil, Writer, Writing. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
Doggonedmysteries 
How totally scary. I am so glad you figured out what had happened. Tea Tree Oil really should have a warning label. It is incredibly potent and has a number of disagreeable side effects. It was an ingredient in a lotion I used on my arms and I wound up with burns.
We were told to use it on Malcolm when he had interdigital cysts and his feet blew up like balloons.
The only reservation I have about assigning DH’s weakness to Tea Tree Oil is the amount that would be absorbed through his hair and scalp would be almost negligible.
Unless it was suspended/dissolved in some sort of carrier able to penetrate the skin (such as DMSO), I think the amount absorbed would be in the nanogram/nanoliter range, hardly sufficient to cause the severe response he had.
I’m not saying it’s impossible, just saying I think it unlikely.
This comment was not sponsored by the Tea Tree Oil Advocacy Council
Will pass this info along! Thank you!
Good point on the ‘dissolved in a carrier’ as even hair dye shows up in our bodies in measurable quantities. However, with an already challenged immune system, even a small amount of something can have a large effect.
Sorry to hear that DH has had such a scary time and hope it is just a temporary blip.
Tea Tree Oil from what I read when I was badly burned by it does have carrier properties like DSMO. That is why it is used in many countries to kill head lice. It penetrates their epidermis.
I hope that this is a very temporary setback for DH and that by the time you read this he’s feeling very much better. xxx
He is doing much better now–thanks and big hugs to you and yours.
I have MS.
Thank You, Thank You, , Thank You, I just washed and conditioned my hair with a Tea Tree Oil product. When I arrived to church, I. was in a lot of pain. I began to get stiff and have a very hard time walking. I have been doing very well actually and eat a planted based diet. I did like you and thought if there was any new Products I was using. Yes. It was my hair care Products. I’m going to the store for a refund also and will suggest that a warning is given about persons with certain conditions and Products containing Tea Tree Oil.
Hope your feeling much better.
Karen
I wish this old post got around more.
Yes, I do feel better. This lasted one day. I ate more vegetables and fruit. I also detoxed my body.
Yes, I do feel better. This lasted one day. I ate more vegetables and fruit. I also detoxed my body.
Karen
Glad you are doing better.