Most treatments for nail fungus do not completely clear it, but they can prevent it from spreading. However, these conventional medicines can cause skin irritation and other symptoms. As a result, some people have turned to natural products, such as tea tree oil, to treat the fungus that often occurs on the nails.
While tea tree oil appears to have antifungal properties, its effectiveness in treating nail fungus is unclear. As with conventional treatments, tea tree oil can also cause some unpleasant side effects.
Does it work?
There are very few studies investigating tea tree oil as a specific treatment for nail fungus.
Findings from laboratory studies
A 2013 laboratory study found that tea tree oil is effective in treating the fungus Trichophyton rubrum (T. rubrum). This particular fungus usually affects the nails and can cause the athlete’s foot.
The study showed that tea tree oil was significantly more effective in inhibiting the growth of T. rubrum than a placebo. However, the researchers experimented using T. rubrum cultures grown in a laboratory and human nail clippings. It is not clear whether tea tree oil will have the same effects on infected nail tissue in humans.
Findings from human studies
Two previous studies investigated the effects of tea tree oil on nail fungus in humans.
A 1994 study found that tea tree oil applied directly to the nail fungus is just as effective as clotrimazole cream. Clotrimazole is an antifungal cream available by prescription.
A study published in 1999 investigated whether an antifungal cream containing tea tree oil could help manage nail fungus. The researchers used only tea tree oil as a placebo. Participants used either the combination cream or placebo for 16 weeks.
The combination cream completely cured the nail fungus in 80% of the participants. However, none of the people who used only the oil saw any improvement. This suggests that tea tree oil alone may not be an effective treatment for nail fungus.
Contradictory results
The three studies provide varying results on the effectiveness of tea tree oil as an antifungal nail treatment.
Further research is needed to determine the effects of tea tree oil on humans. Scientists believe that any future research should look at the effects of widely available forms of tea tree oil.
