Pinkeye, also called conjunctivitis, is an extremely contagious bacterial or viral infection of the outermost layer of the eye and the inside surface of the eyelid. It is a common condition this time of year, when pollen counts are high, allergies are running rampant, and immunity for most people is very low from moderate to severe vitamin D deficiency (from being inside all winter out of the sun).
Symptoms of pinkeye include redness, itching, tearing, swelling, and/or mucous production that can firmly cement the eyelids together while sleeping. I remember getting pinkeye as a child and feeling a bit of panic upon waking in the morning and being unable to open one or both eyes! If this happens to you or a loved one in your home, a warm, wet washcloth compress gently applied to the infected eye (do not rub) quickly dissolves the mucous allowing the eyes to open.
Pinkeye can spread rapidly through a household, which is why action is needed immediately to stop the initial infection. Most folks will quickly run to the doctor’s office at the first sign of redness and irritation. A prescription for antibiotic eye drops or ointment is the usual remedy and relief is mercifully quick once the drops are applied. Before this wonderful relief can be experienced, however, the inconvenience of booking a doctor’s appointment, waiting to be examined, driving to the pharmacy, and getting the prescription filled must be endured. Additional hassles involve missing work and/or school for the parent and child. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just fix this simple infection at home with none of the intervening steps?
You’ll be happy to know that pinkeye is one of the simplest and easiest infections to cure at home with no trip to the doctor required. Even better, what you need to fix the problem may already be sitting in your refrigerator. The remedy I’m speaking of harnesses the power of beneficial bacteria to eliminate the infection. While doctors prescribe ANTI-biotics to kill the pathogens, PRO-biotics work just as well for a minor infection such as pinkeye by crowding them out.
Harnessing the Power of Probiotics to Heal Pinkeye
What you need to remedy pinkeye is a probiotic laden, non-acidic liquid. For babies and children, the most effective liquid that fits this description is human breastmilk. If the Mom in your household happens to be breastfeeding, a drop or two of breastmilk expressed into a cup and then applied with a clean eyedropper to the infected eye will rapidly and magically eliminate the infection. Reapplication may be necessary every hour for a few hours, but in most every case, the infection will be gone well before you could have even gotten an appointment to see the doctor. This remedy works well for newborn babies also, so no need for the eyedrops that are used immediately after birth if you plan to breastfeed.
If there is no one breastfeeding in your home, the next best thing would be a few drops of raw cow or goat milk applied to each eye. I recommend treating both eyes even if only one is showing signs of infection, by the way. Pinkeye is so contagious, that treating only the infected eye will usually result in having to treat the other eye within a short time anyway, so might as well do both from the beginning.
Raw cow or goat milk is loaded with immunity boosting probiotics, just like human breastmilk. These beneficial bacteria work immediately on contact to crowd out and eliminate the pathogens at the source of the infection. Reapplication every hour or so should eliminate the infection quickly, perhaps not quite as fast as breastmilk, but still faster by a long shot than getting to the doctor and filling a prescription.
If you do not have access to raw milk in your community for whatever reason, the clear, liquid part of yogurt or kefir (whey) can also be used as a fast home remedy. Yogurt and kefir are cultured with beneficial bacterial strains and carefully dropping a few drops of this liquid whey into the eyes will produce the same “crowding out” effect of the pathogens. Powdered whey mixed with water does NOT work as there are no live probiotics in such a heavily processed and denatured food. Pasteurized milk also does not work for the same reason.
Getting Pinkeye A Lot? You Need This Supplement
If you find that any members of your family are suffering from pinkeye on a frequent basis, consider adding a fermented cod liver oil supplement to your daily regimen (click here for the best quality sources).
Deficiency in vitamin A, one of the most critical vitamins for optimal eye health, can result in frequent pinkeye infections. Fermented cod liver oil has a healthy dose of natural vitamin A in it and is low heat processed, unlike other cod liver oils on the market where the natural vitamin A is destroyed by heat or chemical processing so synthetic vitamin A is added back in. The same goes for multivitamins which have synthetic vitamin A – not the natural, true vitamin A in fermented cod liver oil. Also note that beta carotene is not true vitamin A. It is a precursor that the body must convert to true vitamin A and many people simply do not make this conversion very well especially if they have any sort of digestive problem.
I simply cannot remember the last time someone in my home had pinkeye since we incorporated fermented cod liver oil into our diet many years ago!
If for some reason the home remedy described in this article does not resolve the infection quickly (usually within 24 hours), the infection may be viral in nature or related to some other underlying condition and seeing a doctor is recommended.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist, author of Get Your Fats Straight
|
|
{ 203 comments… read them below or add one }
just wondering if you have ever checked out this website: http://www.naturalhealinghouse.com
The homeopathic remedies and immune metabolics work great. For pink eye- the notatum drops (immune metabolic) work wonders. I can avoid pretty much any sickness with these resources…they are safe even on newborns. My 6 week old son caught RSV and he recovered within 48 hours of starting some remedies.
kaley
Hi Kaley, will have to take a look at that website. For sure, yes, there are homeopathic drops that work well for pinkeye .. what's nice about using what I listed in this blog is that you don't even need to spend any money or drive to the healthfood store to get anything. You already have it at home.
That's great, Sarah! My son had pink eye once when I was breastfeeding one of his younger sisters. I put some breastmilk in a little medicine cup and used a dropper to put it in his eye. It went away very quickly!
I can also attest to the breastmilk remedy. My son got pinkeye. I applied some breastmilk to his eye. Within 2 days, it was completely gone!
Is goat milk in the can ok?
No, anything out of a can would definitely not work.
I cannot tell you how happy I am to finally be learning this. I loathe pink eye, and we have already had a bout of it this season. I am new to doing things naturally and am happy to be able to avoid giving my kids the antibiotics. We have only been in the process of our food conversion for about 2 months and I have not ordered the FCLO yet, but I know I need to get on it, and this blog just gives me more motivation to do it this week. Thanks, Sarah
A few years ago, I got a horrible case of pink eye. It was late at night when I found out about it (way too late for a doctor appointment) so I went searching through some of my natural remedy books. It was around midnight when I found a “cure” that I had on hand… honey! I took a tiny bit of raw honey and mixed it with a tiny bit of water and dropped it in my eye. By the next morning it looked like it was gone. I did it one more time the next morning, for good measure, but I don’t know that it was necessary. My eye looked like it was sideways and partially slid down my face (I guess from the swelling), it was such a bad case of pink eye. Honey really did the trick. Of course it was sticky so I did follow up about 15 minutes later with a wash of cooled red clover tea (to take away the stickiness and I also read that red clover tea was good for eye problems too)
I tried honey water the last time I had pink eye, just a few weeks ago, and that made it worse. It burned like heck, too. I went right to the fridge and grabbed my raw milk, put some into a bowl (cold) and over the bathroom sink, scooped it up by the handful and bathed my eyes. Instant relief from the burning! It took about 3 days, but it finally started clearing with the raw milk, but I didn’t drop it into my eyes, I just bathed my eyes in the stuff.
I have Sjogren’s Syndrome and tend to have blepharitis and pink eye quite often in autumn and spring. Since pink eye is a viral thing, a doctor is really of little value and antibiotic drops often don’t help – time is what helps. I once received a script from my eye doc for some type of ointment for my eyelids and it GAVE me pinkeye-type symptomatology because of the irritation it created. Now, I use raw milk in my eyes (sometimes I even mix in some cream to make it thicker) and I use plain old coconut oil on my eyelids when they itch. Everything seems to end up IN my eyes eventually, so I try to use the oil only at night before bed. Of course the oils/fats in the milk and cream make your vision blurry for a little while, but it’s worth the end result.
If my eyes and lids are really itching badly, I make up some calendula / chamomile tea and splash that onto my eyes after it’s steeped for about 5-10 minutes and is cooled. Very refreshing. I even drink some while I’m waiting for it to cool enough to use on my eyes. I love stuff that helps from the inside and the outside!
Oops! In my above post, I seem to have eliminated the part about using milk/honey mixture instead of water/honey mixture. When I bathed my eyes with raw milk, I had honey in the milk (not always, but sometimes) and it did help. But the honey and water didn’t work for me and actually seemed to make it worse by making my eyes feel quite gritty. Maybe that was a healing reaction??
“Pink eye” is not a viral thing. It can be, but there are also two other kinds, bacterial and allergic. Antibiotics will certainly work for the bacterial kind if you don’t have success with the home remedies first.
Actually, the type of “pink eye” that is contagious IS actually a virus, usually Adenovirus, and there is an extremely contagious viral conjunctivitis known as EKC, or epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. Many “pink eye” outbreaks are accompanied by an upper respiratory infection, also viral. Certainly bacterial conjunctivitis and allergic conjunctivitis do exist, and those are the “pink eyes” that usually respond to medications/treatments. Viral conjunctivitis is just that- a virus. And like the common cold, you have to let it run it’s course and just try and manage the symptoms and find relief where you can. Obviously, some people have better/stronger immune systems, preventing them from contracting a virus, as there are also some people more prone to getting a virus than others. But if you have an upper respiratory infection, and have passed “pink eye” on or contracted it from another person, then chances are you are dealing with a virus. And unfortunately, these viruses occasionally linger weeks.
A virus can cause a secondary bacterial or worse fungal infection due to the compromise of the corneal epithelium. In any case where your eye is red and so irritated you should really go to your Optometrist and have it checked out. By not going you risk blindness and perforation of your cornea. There are bacterial infection that can perforate your entire cornea within 48 hours. Justifying staying home and treating yourself may cure some of your red eyes but it is really putting yourself at risk of vision loss. Check out an image search of ‘Corneal Ulcer’ to see what you could be at risk of by not being treated
well then Patrick, I hope my doctor can see me within 48 hours or I will be blind? many times it takes longer than that to even get an appointment.
There are 3 major kinds of “pink eye.” Allergic, Viral, and Bacterial. There are lesser likely forms, like fungal infections.
The first two will resolve without antibiotics. The third may or may not clear without treatment but if you don’t use antibiotics, you can develop a corneal ulcer which MUST be treated with antibiotics. You can certainly go to the emergency department, but your primary care doctor, urgent care center or health clinic with license professionals are more than capable of prescribing an antibiotic ointment.
As an emergency medicine physician, I don’t recommend putting any non-ophthalmic substance into the eye. The eye is particularly sensitive to pH. Furthermore, any red eye should be evaluated for scratches to the cornea or foreign body trapped under the eyelid, particularly in contact lens wearers.
You don’t see an optometrist for eye disease. You see an ophthalmologist for eye disease. Optometrists are the trained professionals who fit you for glasses.
One easy way to tell if an initial conjunctivitis infection is either viral or bacterial is how it affects both eyes or more one than the other. Viral tends to start in one eye and doesn’t produce as much yellow mucous, then may or may not start in the other eye days later. Viral will also last longer. Bacterial will usually either start in both eyes or spread within hours to both eyes, Bacterial also tends to have more yellow mucous whilst viral produces tear like fluid. There are antiviral medications which will only work if you get them in right at the start – usually more useful to prevent relapses. Viral is usually considerably more annoying for a longer period unless your bacterial form is an STD based one. Viral will not damage permanently, whereas bacterial in a small number of cases can cause permanent damage if untreated. Also, Herpes has been to known to cause conjunctivitis in rare cases.
I woke up with the beginnings of pinkeye recently – gunked up eye and pick streaks. What was my first thought? HURRAY!!! I can test the raw milk remedy I read about on the Healthy Home Econimist (No really. I actually thought that
) I took a small amount of raw milk to work with me and put a drop in each eye every hour. I also had to explain over and over again what the heck I was doing. It was cool to be able to treat it with something I had in my fridge already versus visiting the doctor and taking antiobiotics, AND getting to chance to share a bit a natural medicine with my co-workers. Oh yeah, and it was gone the next day.
Kelli\’s last post: Green Pastures Giveaway!
Oh yeah. Lovin’ this comment! Thanks for the testimonial Kelli!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Fish Livers in Ancient Medicine- How Does Your Cod Liver Oil Stack Up
I am so excited about this! I have 2 pregnant dairy goats right now! I have never even milked a goat or cow, so this is going to be quite a new experience! God has been leading me to change almost everything in my family’s diet, so I am happy but apprehensive about having raw milk! If anyone has any tidbits of wisdom on this venture (goat milking!) please shoot it to me!!! Thank you and God bless! (Keep it up Sarah! We need more like YOU!)
Raw goats milk, if you don’t know by now, is completely safe if and only if you milk cleanly and store in a freezer for one hour immediately after milking and put in a refrigerator set to 34 degrees at all times. This prevents any bad bacteria, if present, from growing. Drink all milk within ten days and if at anytime it doesn’t smell right, throw it out.
To watchmom3
Take the baby (usually only one) away as soon as it/they are born, DO NOT let them suckle at all or you will get no milk they will keep her dry.
milk the nanny give them a little milk in a pan stick their nose in the milk (you may need to tilt the pan) and they will eat after a duck or two.
TO MILK:
Goats are funny, wash off the udder with warm water, most like milked from their right side, but we had one that wanted milked from the rear, otherwise she would put her foot in the bucket and spill the milk, or get it dirty. Then the process had to start over.
Good Luck
My daughter had pink eye several years ago and I used chamomile tea and honey (cooled – applied with cotton ball) for a couple days and that got rid of it, too. I didn’t know about the raw milk remedy. Thanks for the tip.
Awesome info, Sarah, per usual! Thanks!!
Alix\’s last post: Lyme Disease- A Modern Tuskegee Experiment
Sarah, can’t thank you enough!! I avoided a trip to the doctor and antibiotics! Milk totally cleared up my boys goopy eyes. You’re a lifesaver!!
Love it!!! So glad it worked so well for you!
I have also had great success with colloidal silver. Put a couple drops in the eyes at morning and evening and it will be better the next day or two depending on the severity of the infection. The sooner you treat it the quicker it will heal.
I had finished breastfeeding but had some raw cow milk so I decided to try this out. My DD one eye was infected and I treated it with homeopathic medicine but the next morning both her eyes were infected! I tried out the raw milk and it totally works! I did treat her eye infections with my breastmilk before and that worked too! Its amazing how much you can learn once you start doing your own research. I’m proud to say that I did hypnobirthing with my DD and had no pain meds during birth. She also has never been on anti-biotics and she is 2!
I’m using raw goat milk for my son. He’s pretty traumatized from getting tricked by the eye dr putting in drops so getting him to take eye drops is a chore. But since milk doesn’t hurt, it makes it much easier. He went to bed last night with red angry eyes and woke this morning and they are clear and bright white again. I’m going to keep dosing him all day today to be safe but it’s looking great so far!
I wonder if this remedy would work on cats? My cat reguarly gets sore eyes and the drops from the vet are quite expensive…
Yes it will work for cats.My mother always treated kittens with sore eyes with raw milk.
does this work with breastmilk that has been frozen?
I am defrosting some right now in the hopes that it will work. My eye got goopy today and now it’s really red.
Poor handwashing is the number one cause of pink eye. Bacterial pink eye is one thing but viral pink eye caused by the herpes virus will not respond to breastmilk or any other raw milk. 2-3 days to heal? Abx eye drops would work insanely quicker. A warm compress is the safest way to relief until you can get a prescription. Stop rubbing your eyes after those bathroom breaks..do you have any ideas for a homeopathic hand sanitizer?
Not homeopathic but good quality essential oils like peppermint, lavender and some others work great. Look it up and you can make your own.
You can also take a bath using food grade hydrogen peroxide. BUT ONLY A CAPFUL OR 2 IN A WHOLE TUB! Then be sure to dunk your head or rinse your eye with the water. Cured hubby’s pink eye in days.
would liquid acidophilus work?
Dr told me it is simply a cold in your eye.
yes it is!
Aha!!
Yep, breastmilk is the best! It works for adults too. I have used it on myself (handy, as I am a breastfeeding mama).
I had recurring pink eye for about 3 months. At first I used traditional antibiotic drops, which very effective as I had a severe case, with multiple scratches on the cornea, painful too. When it kept recurring I decided to use coconut oil, [organic]. It worked very well, and is very soothing too. Vision is a little blurry for about minutes, then it’s fine.
I used coconut oil as well for myself and my son. I applied a little in the corner of the eye and then blinked it in. Yes, it blurs your vision, so I apply it at night. The pinkeye was gone when we woke in the morning.
My son had it this week
I’ve got plenty of those remedies on hand. Thanks for posting the info.
I have succesfully usec virgin coconut oil.
me too! worked like magic within a few hours. I was blown away.
My Husband has pink eye right now & he’s been putting Colloidal Silver in his eye & that’s really helping his eye!!!
I think I have it; thanks for this post!
The method in this post works for pets too. I used it to clear an eye infection (not pinkeye) for one of our guinea pigs a couple months ago.
Sarah -
A wise woman (you!) gave me this advice a little more than a year ago when our kids were at the same school. I administered 2 drops every hour for 5 hours. My daughter’s pink eye was gone when she woke up. And off to school again.
Thanks!!!
Blessings,
Mary
My nephew has it and probably my two kids now, too.
We don’t have pinkeye right now, but I sure as heck repinned the link when it showed up in my pinterest feed!
very good for future ref, good to know about the coconut oil and colloidal silver, too.
So strange! I have something going on with my eye. Not sure if it’s pink eye or not, but my eye is very pink. I’ve pretty much done nothing for it, but I’m going to read the blog right now.
Red raspberry tea; better yet, Eye Bright formula from Dr. Richard Schultz of American Botanical Pharmacy.
Remember that recurring pinkeye is a sign of Vitamin A deficiency. Add cod liver oil to the diet and this should make for a big improvement:http://villagegreennetwork.com/marketplace/supplements-superfoods/?pid=20
I use a few drops of Golden Seal Root extract in an ounce or two of distilled water and it clears it right up, humans and dogs. been using this for years. Works great on people that wear contact lenses and get red eye.
thanks for your tip. I think my red eye is related to my contacts. I will look for some at my health food store. I think my cat who seems to have allergies might benefit from this solution also. Do you have something that would help my cat with her allergy. Thanks again Julie
Hi Julie, very often an animal’s allergies are caused by the food they are eating. I’m not sure what your cat is eating but if it’s a store bought processed food it will have many things in it that can be allergenic such as grains, preservatives and dyes. The best diet for a cat is a raw meat diet. They are true carnivores and don’t need any grains or veggies. Their digestive systems really aren’t built to handle them. If you do a search for “cats” on this site you will find several good articles on feeding them a raw diet. We have been feeding our dogs a raw diet for more than 15 years. They have thrived on it.
Last time I had pink eye, I used a brewed tea bag that is.still warm and squirted the tea into my eyes…also put a wet tea bag over each eye while lying down for about 20 minues provdes great relief. It cleared up in a couple of days. Next time…hopefully there wont be….I will try the raw milk…it’s always good to try different remedies.
Wish I had this info last weekend! Spent over $110 between the doctor and the pharmacy for antiobiotic drops. The drops aggravated my borderline glaucoma so I’m keeping my fingers crossed my next tests are still OK. I’ll try and remember this for the next outbreak!
How about poison ivy? Does anyone know a home remedy for that?
Homeopathic Poison Ivy/Oak remedy by Hyland or homeopathic single remedy Rhus Tox.
Rhus tox worked great on my son’s poison oak. We treated it pretty quickly but it was gone in 24 hrs. Also, we’ve used breast milk for eye infections for many years (i’ve been nursing for 18 years~8 kids) and it has never taken more than 24 hrs to clear up.
Colloidal silver works every time. We have used it on cows that got pink eye too.
Colloidal silver works AWESOME. Got rid of it 2 weeks ago in both eyes in less than 2 days
@ashley, A poultice of jewel weed or dutchmans britches (both usually found near poison ivy) will work.
Thanks Sarah! I suffer with some type of eye infection all the time. I will try the milk next time.
My beloved grandpa used to speak out loudly to my mama, with his Swedish accented voice: “The girl! She needs cod liver oil!” I used to think he must have not liked me, but looking back, I think I was his favorite child. Bless him! I’d been badly burned, had crooked teeth, and recurring pink eye to the degree that if someone said “pink eye” I got nervous.
This is making the rounds in Pinterest. I’ve had a ton of (mainstream) friends repin it lately. That could be why!
My mom had it this week, and I shared this info with her.
A little colloidal silver in the eye clears up pinkeye like *that*! (snaps fingers)
We use melted unrefined coconut oil, Tropical Traditions is the brand of our choice, applied directly to the eye; it clears it up quickly.
I know so many people rave about colloidal silver, but I don’t use it in my home at all for the simple reason that I don’t feel comfortable using heavy metals where they could be absorbed into the body and possibly cause long term issues. It doesn’t seem wise to me.
My neighbor just had this…
There are two brands of colloidal silver that are considered safe, one is Utopia Silver, the other is Meso Silver. We’ve used it for years with no ill effect. I usually research something for up to two years before using it.
i use either meso silver or asp in my eye and it clears it up in 3 days..using it twice a day directly in my eye. My cousin had it and she was on 3 doses of increasing stronger antibiotics for it for 3 months, while mine was gone in 3 days (which i didn’t learn until after she had it)
A capsule of Bio-Kult dissolved in some water and used with an eye dropper works wonderfully and quickly, too.
I’ve had great success with honey and a little water. Slight sting at first but soothing after the sting goes away. Usually one or 2 times does the trick.
My whole school caught it in the early 60s. We had to rest for two hours each afternoon and then were allowed to wear sunglasses. Style started with pink-eye!!
I think I may have had pink eye as a child but can’t remember ever going to the doctor for it. I do have to say that there are minute clinics around everywhere that don’t make you wait, they are usually in a Walgreens, Target or RiteAid, and you get your prescription filled there, maybe less than an hour, total. However, I have raw milk, kefir grains (and kefir whey), coconut oil and colloidal silver in my home all the time, so it is good to know I would be taken care of if anything happened. My first instinct would be to put drops of colloidal silver in my eyes. I would hesitate with the coconut oil.. I use it for my face as a face moisturizer and sometimes it gets into my eyes and my eyes get blurry, I don’t like that feeling….
I sure wish I still had some frozen breast milk around (although it would probably be no good anymore) as both of my kids are allergic to dairy so I would not be able to use any of the milk methods. I wish I had known about the breast milk remedy when I was still breastfeeding.
It is my opinion that Sarah is misinformed about what “pink eye” is and how to treat it. Let me respond to some of her points:
“It is a common condition this time of year, when pollen counts are high, allergies are running rampant, and immunity for most people is very low from moderate to severe vitamin D deficiency (from being inside all winter out of the sun).”
No. True bacterial or viral “pink eye” is not related to allergies or pollen counts or immunity or vitamin D deficiency. None of that. “Allergic conjunctivitis” can cause some similar symptoms as bacterial and viral “pink eye”, but of course allergies are neither bacteria nor virus. She is confusing contagious pathogens with inflammatory environmental factors, which are not the same.
“Pinkeye can spread rapidly through a household, which is why action is needed immediately to stop the initial infection”
Contagious “pink eye” is actually not-very contagious.
“While doctors prescribe ANTI-biotics to kill the pathogens, PRO-biotics work just as well for a minor infection such as pinkeye by crowding them out.”
No, they don’t. This is not a good idea.
“What you need to remedy pinkeye is a probiotic laden, non-acidic liquid. For babies and children, the most effective liquid that fits this description is human breastmilk”
I wondered where this myth was coming from. This is not true. Please do not do this to your poor infant. “Treating” a bacterial infection with MORE BACTERIA is not sound medicine, not even “home remedy” medicine.
“If the Mom in your household happens to be breastfeeding, a drop or two of breastmilk expressed into a cup and then applied with a clean eyedropper to the infected eye will rapidly and magically eliminate the infection”
No. That will not “rapidly” or “magically” do anything except expose an eye to unnecessary bacteria. As we established in the beginning, Sarah doesn’t even know when it’s allergies vs when it’s an infection…so you COULD BE *INTRODUCING* bacteria that could CAUSE a bacterial infection into an eye that’s only itchy & watery from a high pollen count.
“This remedy works well for newborn babies also, so no need for the eyedrops that are used immediately after birth if you plan to breastfeed.”
Ok those eye drops Rx’d at birth are to combat the bacteria of the mother’s vaginal canal. Breast milk will not.
“the next best thing would be a few drops of raw cow or goat milk applied to each eye. I recommend treating both eyes even if only one is showing signs of infection, by the way”
So now we’re introducing bacteria from breast milk into a HEALTHY eye…
“Pinkeye is so contagious, that treating only the infected eye will usually result in having to treat the other eye within a short time anyway, so might as well do both from the beginning”
Again, it’s not that contagious.
“Raw cow or goat milk is loaded with immunity boosting probiotics, just like human breastmilk. These beneficial bacteria work immediately on contact to crowd out and eliminate the pathogens at the source of the infection. Reapplication every hour or so should eliminate the infection quickly, perhaps not quite as fast as breastmilk, but still faster by a long shot than getting to the doctor and filling a prescription”
PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. How could anyone, even someone sold on home remedy of mother’s breast milk, be convinced that COW’S milk, which has totally different bacteria, would be beneficial in treating HUMAN “pink eye”?
“the clear, liquid part of yogurt or kefir (whey) can also be used as a fast home remedy”
Again, please do not do this.
“If you find that any members of your family are suffering from pinkeye on a frequent basis, consider adding a cod liver oil supplement to your daily regimen”
This will not work. People with recurrent “pink eye”…are not continually “catching pink eye”. They are ALMOST ALWAYS experiencing an allergic or inflammatory problem that has nothing to do with any bacteria, and no home remedy will work, much less adding some fish oil to your diet.
Here’s a list of things mentioned in this article and/or the comments section that you should NOT to put in your eye:
yogurt
breast milk
cow’s milk
goat’s milk
cat/dog/other mammal milk
whey
honey
tea
hydrogen peroxide
liquid acidophilus
coconut oil
Eye Bright
Golden Seal Root extract
poultice of jewel weed or dutchmans britches
Bio-Kult
And monica (in the comment section): “viral pink eye caused by the herpes virus will not respond to breastmilk or any other raw milk. 2-3 days to heal? Abx eye drops would work insanely quicker” NO. No virus will ever respond to ANY antibiotics.
The big problem with “pink eye” is that its symptoms are the same as just about every inflammatory eye problem. Not only can YOU not tell when you have a bacteria vs a virus vs allergies vs an inflammation like superficial punctate keratitis or iritis or epicleritis, etc etc etc…but neither can your primary care provider. Also, bacterial and viral “pink eye” are BOTH self-limiting…meaning that if left alone, they always go away on their own. They burn out. A bunch of these remedies work by just doing something until it burns out.
Ironically, the one thing mentioned in this article’s comments section that actually kills bacteria & virus is the 1 thing Sarah recommends against: colloidal silver. While I agree heavy metals is not a great idea on your eye surface (b/c it can cause an inflammatory reaction, sometimes severe), at least it works to actually kill bugs and doesn’t INTRODUCE new and totally different bacteria.
Pink eye is poorly understood…even by most non-eye-doc medical professionals. There is no home remedy that works well, and MOST people who THINK they have “pink eye”…don’t.
Thank you for posting, Dr. Prince. You saved me the trouble of typing that exact same thing!
Thank you for the detailed response. You saved me much time in refuting this ignorant garbage.
I find that on a daily basis I am fighting against the term “pinkeye”. At what point will the medical community get together and decide that we should not use the term? Viral, bacterial, inflammatory, allergic, all these reasons for an eye to look pink require different treatment. What I find most troubling is that what I believe schools and daycare providers are usually referring to as pinkeye is viral conjunctivitis which is the one that requires NO treatment.
It scares you when we don’t need you, doesn’t it? The few times I’ve been to the doctor none of them knew what was wrong and all but one wanted to give me steroids or other poisons. Only one was interested in the cause and interested in curing me, not just covering up symptoms. And you actually think breast milk contains something harmful?!!! Oh, I wish I had more time. It really frustrates me when doctors keep people from getting real help.
The above was posted by Laura N. but so far I agree with what the other Laura has said.
Laura, breastmilk is very good for babies, but its supposed to go in their mouth–not their eyes. If someone told you to stuff cottage cheese up your vagina too would you do it? Because you know–cottage cheese is very good for you…Hey–I have an idea… Since breast milk supports immune health, lets start squirting it into surgical wounds right in the O.R.
It always amazes me when people write of their own actual experiences of being healed by natural remedies….and medical professionals then do everything in their power to debunk it. Doctors, you need to listen to what is working for these people. Eye infections, pink eye, call it whatever you want to call it, but these home remedies are working for these people. The next time you get an eye infection, try some of these remedies for yourself before you get on your high horse and debunk it all as myths without any first hand experience at all..
Your claim about whether breastmilk actually “cures” pink eye or not to me is irrelevant since you have no scientific data to back it up. Since when does human breastmilk have harmful bacteria in it? Recent studies have proven than human breastmilk has beneficial bacteria that help prevent infection, more than prebiotics can.
As a child I had pink eye more than once and had to endure days of pain and treatment of horrible eye ointment from the Dr.
Now that I am a Mother, I have used my breastmilk on my children & watched the pink eye disappear within hours. I tried it once on myself and was amazed at how the breastmilk *instantly* eliminated the pain in my eye. That alone is worth a try for me.
If I was to use breastmilk on myself or one of my children and it did not clear up within a day, I would most definitely seek the services of a medical professional. I may not have a medical degree, but I have common sense.
Laura\’s last post: Wake up America! Nipples are just nipples.
“Your claim about whether breastmilk actually “cures” pink eye or not to me is irrelevant since you have no scientific data to back it up.”
Yeah, Dr. Prince. Those years of medical school don’t make you, like, an expert or anything. Please continue to be schooled by a bunch of Mothers (not mothers, but Mothers, with a big “M”) in the comments section of a blog. They KNOW.
Unbelievable, that a doctor can practically look you in the eye and offer medical advice, and you can totally discount his expertise as not sufficient to “back it up.”
There is but maybe one day in the entire run of medical school that covers breastfeeding and/or breastmilk.
So no, I don’t consider any advice from a Doctor regarding breastmilk to be valid without sound scientific evidence.
Medical school may not cover that much but OPTOMETRY school consists of 4 years covering the eye and the rest of the body in great detail…and as the other doctor stated, there are multiple types of “pink eye” AKA conjunctivitis. You need to be evaluated by your eye doctor to help determine what type of conjunctivitis you have so we can properly treat it. Allergic – steroid/allergy drop Bacterial – antibiotic/steroid drop Viral – steroid Herpetic – Herpetic orals and drops (can lead to severe scarring and long term vision loss if not treated in time). Not to mention all the times people think they have “pink eye” because their eye is red. I have seen many corneal ulcers that people thought was simple “pink eye” and in fact they needed heavy duty antibiotics to prevent permanent damage.
You only have 2 eyes, why chace your vision?
Not much time spent on nutrition either. Why do people ask their doctor what to eat?
Years of medical school doesn’t make anyone an expert. It just gives them some information, usually slanted in one general direction. Modern medicine is like some religions; Our way is the Right Way and every other way is wrong. And yes, mothers DO know. They learned from hard experience, from life experience. The school of life can teach anyone more than any college can. How do you think those pioneers lived out in the Midwest without doctors? They used herbs, natural remedies. So did the Indians. Modern medicine does have some good things about it to offer to people, but so does natural remedies and non-traditional healing methods. Open your mind, your heart to more than what some professor tells you in a classroom.
if i get in a car accident or something like that I will go straight to the doctors. for a pink eye, I will try breastmilk first. i may not be an opthamologist, but I have a brain. Also, most people don’t go to opthamologists for eye infections. they go to pediatricians or GPs, who don’t know what they are looking at according to the O.D.’s. Yet somehow those patients survive. I can do at least as well as a GP on this issue, and if it progresses then we’ll think about visiting you, OK???
Thank goodness someone with the facts is speaking up to explain why this really isn’t a good idea–I’m a nurse and also a breast feeding mommy–but I know breastmilk dosen’t belong in your eyes–kudos for providing the medical rationale as to why– sad to say you’ll probably have 10 posts after yours that are mad for you poo pooing thieir remedy though…
I am also a nurse however when our pediatrician recommended two drops of breast milk in our daughter’s eyes twice a day I was skeptical. I did try it and it worked great for clearing up her gunky eyes. I realize there are different causes for pink eye and that breast milk will not work on them all. Just like every other remedy we have doctors that will swear by medicine and medicine only and then we have the doctors that are smart enough to realize that there are home remedies that work just as well maybe even better at times. Some of us in this profession are actually here to help our patients not just treat and make money off of them. Don’t take offense I am not say you personally fit this category.
Chamomile tea (make sure to let it cool before dropping/rinsing out your eyes with it) work great as well.
Breast Milk comes from INSIDE the human body. My understanding is that unless there is an infection INSIDE the breast or around the nipple, breast milk does not have bacteria in it at ALL. Although I wouldn’t necessarily think that unpasturized cow and goat milk would be safe (there could be contamination before getting into the eye since they live outdoors and their nipples are likely not as clean as a humans) to put into the eye or any mucous membrane either. Of COURSE modern medicine would NOT approve of home remedies in general but people shouldn’t let it dissuade them. Do your research. There is nothing more natural than breastmilk and although I’m not saying it cures pink eye, it can’t hurt either. With SUPER germs in today’s society and anti-biotics that aren’t working anymore, many people have gone to home remedies. Breast Milk is a tried and true cure for lots of things and has been used for CENTURIES, much longer than today’s antibiotics. Personally, I’d rather try a home remedy before I’d rush my children to the doctor to wait in a waiting room with illnesses my kids have NEVER seen. I think it’s poor taste to respond to this lady’s post with such disrespect. Take the advice or leave it. Read the recommendation or don’t. Just because you are an eye “doctor” doesn’t give you the right. Just saying!
It’s important for the readers to know both sides of this advice.
I use home remedies myself for plenty of ailments but this is an absurd idea to treat pink eye. Your eyes are the only pair you have. You are putting your child at risk for the infection to worsen by not taking him/her to the doctor. Sadly, there are too many PREVENTABLE cases where delayed care leaves a child with scars on his/her eyes ruining their vision for the rest of their lives. Do not use these methods for treating pink eye.
I don’t know about you Dr. Kim, but being in the medical field, I find talking to some people is much like talking to a doorknob. You explain why they shouldn’t do something and give sound reasons–they already know better. Lynnie commented above that a doctor has no right to give his medical opinion in his hopes he may prevent someone from doing harm to their eyes. Holy cow, if I were about to do something I thought was a great idea that could possibly cause harm, I would be thankful for his two cents. And Lynnie–you’re right about their being no bacteria in breastmilk as a body fluid–while its still INSIDE the body–once is leaves the body its kind of a magnet for bacteria–which is not harmful to the digestive tract but could potentially harm eyes which do not have digestive enzymes. Seriously ladies–home remedies can be awesome–but don’t be so stuck on yourselves that you can’t take well-intended advice without getting offended. I get it that Dr. Prince came off sounding like a know-it-all but come on already and grow up. The advice he gave was smart and ultimately was intended to help people see the need to treat a condition properly.
I just read your blog and I learned a lot from you. I will include into my cleaning routine. But I work as a residential lighting sales person, I do not recommend to clean lighting fixture with any chemical cleaners. The chemicals in household cleaners will damage the finish and the glass pieces of your fixtures. It may not happen next day but eventually the finish or coating on the glass peels off. The newer fixtures you have, you need to be more careful. Please do this, just drop a dishwashing liquid on a wet soft cloth, and then ring it tightly. Wipe the fixture with the cloth only. NEVER put the glass pieces in a dishwasher.
I used the breast milk method to reat pink eye MANY times, always successfully, with all 3 of my children. It works. And it is highly annoying to hear you say it is absurd. You clearly know not of what you speak.
Breastmilk is not sterile. It’s not sterile inside the body and it’s not sterile outside the body. That finding was debunked. Not to sound like a know-it-all but a 10 sec google search on the subject will tell you all about it.
I have always been told that you clean your hands and your nipple and then squirt the breastmilk directly into the eye. I did it when my baby had a clogged duct in his eye. My friend’s dr actually recommended it to her for her baby.
A clogged tear duct almost always resolves on its own. Breastmilk will not help
I hear coconut milk works is that true?
Do the natural remedies address the contagious factor. I teach the young ones and pinkeye will travel through a classroom quickly.
I am so disgusted by everything written here. Here’s why. How many of you lovely ladies actually know you have “pinkeye” Are you sure that’s what you have? How many of you went to school and know how to use a slit lamp on yourself or your child and have one in your home? Do you know that while using home rememdies are great when you know for sure playing with something you know nothing about is really dumb. Having been in eye care industry for over 20 years and seeing the damage home rememedies do please stop giving out advise..By the way corneal ulcers, keratitis, etc start out looking like “pinkeye” oh wait you can’t tell the differerce???? Maybe seeing a eyecare professional is the best thing to do
and when we take our kids to the pediatrician, they don’t know what it is either and just prescribe an antibiotic.
This is a great tool. I am a strong believer in some homeopathic treatments. However, as an optometrist, I would like to warn you that not all red eyes are conjunctivitis and there are other types of conjunctivitis which are more serious. Please go to your eye doctor because delayed or mistreatment of certain red eyes may cause severe complications or even blindness!
When I was a child, my Mom always made us rinse our eyes out with a shot glass of milk (that was the 50′s so it was REAL milk). When we got out of the pool for the day, we always did it to rinse out the chlorine. Maybe that is why I never had an eyesite problem until I hit 60?
From my past knowledge, I’ve never had pink eye. But, I did have a case of acanthamoeba keratitis, so I do understand that its important to see an eye doctor depending on how severe it is (my eyes looked like blowfish for 4 months). Apparently this breastmilk remedy works, or else someone made a lot of fake names and fake stories, which I doubt. Case in point, though, is do your research. And, if this remedy doesn’t work within a day or two, at the most, i wouldhave go to a doctor.
Exactly.
What most of the people outraged at the suggestion of using breastmilk are ignoring is that nobody is saying to treat with breastmilk for days OR in cases where the condition does not improve within a day.
I believe in homeopathic remedies but would NEVER avoid professional medical care if the condition did not improve in a reasonable amount of time. When it comes to eyes, that would be a day, in my opinion.
Laura\’s last post: Owl Love You Forever
As am opthalmic assistant working alongside ODs and MDs and assisting in surgeries, I can tell you that many patients inappropriately assume they have pink-eye. Heck, even immediate care and emergency room doctors misdiagnose it. The reason being is because it is impossible to tell pink eye from other conjuctival, allergic, and corneal issues without looking at the patient through a slit lamp. If breast milk is working, it is probably just the soothing liquid on a patient with red eyes due to allergies. Please use an over the counter drop such as Systane, Refresh, or Optive. They can be used several times a day, as they are saline drops. They are more sanitary, more natural to your eye’s anatomy, and can calm the symptoms of allergies. If after a few days the symptoms are no better or they are worse, consult a doctor. DO NOT use tea, milk, or any other at home remedies in the eye, as bacteria could reside in these products. DO use warm compresses against the lid for 5-10 minutes, massage the lid gently, and use Ocusoft of Sterilid wipes.
Can you please explain to me HOW these eye drops are “more natural” and “more sanitary” than human breastmilk?
One of the reasons I go to breastmilk first than *any* OTC remedy is that there has never been a recall on breastmilk.
Can you say the same for OTC treatments?
Laura\’s last post: Owl Love You Forever
Very cool. I will keep this in mind as my toddler is starting preschool. Hello cesspool of germs and bacteria? I do wonder, are you suggesting to people to not get the eye cream administered immediately after birth? Do these remedies work on STDs? That is what that eye cream is for. I have direct experience with this as my child, who we adopted at birth contracted a nasty case of what we thought was pink eye at about 7 days old. It was in fact, Chlamydia. This is one of those silent STDs that you can have without ever getting symptoms. That cream worked on one eye. Chlamydia could have blinded our baby and infected her lungs if not treated with a powerful and course of treatment. I just hated smacking our child with strong antibiotics right out of the gate but felt we had no choice. Without going to the doctor would would not have known what we were dealing with and could have possibly been gambling with her health.
When My young children got pink eye I used fennel tea made from ground fennel seeds.
I would put very warm fennel tea compresses on for 20minutes or so 3-4 times a day for several days. The inflammation always cleared up!
I never had to fight with my kids to do, this they loved it!
The drops and ointment were always a battle.
A lady I used to work with said she used her child’s urine in his own eyes when he got ‘pinkeye’. She swore by this, but all of her co-workers felt uneasy about this approach…sounded crazy to us!
how about just washing your hands often. then use baby shampoo on your face and eyes daily. done.
Oh wow this is great! My pediatrician suggested I squirt a little bit of my breast milk in my 2 month olds eye after every breast feeding. She even stated it may sound crazy but she had to throw it out there since she would hate to put my daughter on antibiotics so early. I told her I would definitely give it a try! She had also said if I didn’t see improvement then give her a call tomorrow afternoon. Well I had seen improvement and didn’t give her a call and after three days it was gone. She also stated that if I see it irritated at all then don’t hesitate to squirt a little breast milk in again. About a week later I did notice it to be irritated again and did just as she had told me to and it was gone the next day. My daughter is now 4 months old. I just seen the mediation again and thanked her for the advice (I swear Im lucky I live in a small town in California! where else would I get some great natural advise?!). I had told the pediatrician how I told my grandmother about this great natural way of curing the clogged tear duct and how my grandmother thought it was crazy. She said well your grandmother was probably one of those who was told it was bad to breast feed your babies. Crazy!! My grandmother was born in to that generation where they were being told not to breast feed their babies! My uncle (grandmothers first born) wasn’t breast fed at all because of this. Grandma did go on to breast feed the rest of her children, but how crazy is that right? Anyway our pediatrician said that everyone before that time knew to put breast milk into your babies eye but around that time it was lost and people no longer did it. How sad is that? Try the natural way first. I thinks its awfully sad when people are afraid of the natural and can’t get their heads out of the media box.
That is wonderful that you have a Dr. that supports such common sense approaches.
I agree with you, it is very sad.
Laura\’s last post: Owl Love You Forever
A clogged tear duct is not uncommon in infants and almost always clears on its own. We recommend warm compresses and massage to the area but not antibiotics for that problem. You should take your daughter to an eye doctor who can evaluate her with the proper equipment if she continues to have eye problems.
One thing about cod liver oil supplements- to get them from Organic fish sources (or Clean) ..since our waters are SO Polluted – oils in animals is where many of the ingested toxins reside..
if its itchy and the crust is more like crystals may be just allergic conjunctivitis. the breast milk sound like a good idea but make sure that you have no allergies to raw cow or goats milk also there is a reason why we pasteurize milk. I think it is important to keep your whole body healthy to keep your eyes healthy. I like the info about vitamin A and other supplements. Often I see those who started out with itchy allergy eyes that they did not treat, turn into bacterial conjunctivitis from rubbing them with dirty fingers. Prevention is key! Treat the itch and help to prevent the infection. If you get pink eye every year around the same time, chances are that it is allergy related. If you use an antibiotic and it doesn’t work, chances are that it is allergic or viral conjunctivitis. If both eyes start off red, itchy or crusty, chances are its due to allergies. try patanase or pataday or visine or Zyrtec and increase ingestion of honey from your area.
Just so you know, conjunctivitis is not always viral. There is also bacterial conjunctivitis that can be cured with antibiotics. Anything unsterile should not be put in the eye.
I keep seeing this pop up on pinterest and I chose to ignore it for a while. I am a fan of many homeopathic remedies, the problem with this remedy is simply that there are too many causes of red eye to think that there is one cure. Frankly, it is dangerous to self diagnose “pink eye”. The body’s immune response is different based on whether the etiology is allergic, bacterial, or viral and breast milk is not a cure all. There are also many things that can cause “pink eye” that can be very dangerous if left untreated. Although I am 1 year shy of becoming an optometrist, I can tell you that if my sister called to tell me that my niece had “pink eye” I would never allow her to seek this as a sole treatment.
This scares me…
Most cases of pink eye or conjunctivitis are viral, and so most the time it will eventually resolve on its own without any intervention. If it bacterial conjunctivitis, trying honey in your eye or just using peobiotics is risky. If the infection is not treated properly, and you can lose your sight or damage it severely. Do me a favor, if it doesn’t resolve or improve in 3-4 days, go to your provider and get a prescription antibiotic eye drop that is 4 dollars at walmart.
Silly question but where can you buy the raw cow milk? We have 1%,2% and whole milk here and I’m currently dealing with pink eye
If breast is still n it clear stage will it work
So this MIGHT work for pink eye, but what if you mis diagnose, and it ISN’T pink eye??? It could possibly be iritis, acute glaucoma, posterior synechiae, or other VERY serious eye problems that need to be treated RIGHT away, and with an ophthalmologist monitoring you. Common people misdiagnose all the time, and don’t go to the doctor because everyone always thinks its just pink eye. It’s very ignorant to try to treat yourself without having the proper diagnosis from a physician.
i don’t like your attitude. if you acted like that with me in the dr’s office I can promise you i would never be back. It is very ignorant to behave as though everyone but yourself and your esteemed colleagues are doddering morons.
I tried a drop of beer which my friend said would help but it didn’t. Was she just joshing me?
I found this article while I was scrolling through Pinterest. Although you seem to have your heart in the right place, I would never tell someone not to go to the doctor. As an ophthalmic assistant working for one of the most prestigous eye care facilities in the United States, I have seen large numbers of cases that when going untreated can severely harm a patient’s eye health. There is no such thing as “pink eye”, it is not a medical term found in any eye care professional’s textbook. Conjunctivitis is a serious condition. Redness is never anything to be taken lightly. Any discharge coming for the eye can mean several different things depending upon viscosity, color, duration. Furthermore there are many different types of conjunctivitis-allergic, bacterial, viral, etc. When left untreated can lead to epidemic keratoconjunctivitis, tissue damage, and even blindness. Without a proper education, you could advise someone to do something that makes it worse. So please kindly reword where you state, “no trip to the doctor required” out of safety for yourself and readers or remove your post. Please don’t give any reader any reason to sue you.
I know breastmilk works; I’ve long wondered if raw cow’s milk wouldn’t also work!
Joselyn Hoffman Schutz yes, breastmilk is ideal but if Mom isn’t breastfeeding at the time, raw milk is a great stand-in!
Of course, the irony is that if you are getting plenty of vitamin A in the diet like you would if you are drinking whole raw milk and taking cod liver oil, pinkeye is a very rare thing.
well human breastmilk works really well too for those who have young kids/babies:-))
aw great tip!
Sonia Oualha Morin Yes, the post discusses breastmilk as the ideal option but most people don’t have breastmilk readily available.
Thanks for sharing! I wish I’d known this last month when pe went through our family for the first time.
…it’s also hard to use if the breastfeeding mama has pinkeye! Raw cow’s milk is a bit easier, lol!
I use BM dripped into the ear for ear infections too!
Raw milk is the bomb!
Interesting…
Awesome, thanks! And, paying for the Dr. visit is a pain, in addition to making the appointment, going, and filling an RX. We’re self-pay so anything to avoid an actual Dr. visit is great!
In the mid-1950s when I was a kid, our mother used this folk-medicine for pink eye on us (children were many times more prone to the infection than adults). And I am pretty sure she learned of it from her mother or grandmother. She would also wet a facecloth with early morning dew by running it gently over blades of grass that still have the dewdrops on them… And use it to clean the area around the eyes instead of tap water. That is probably the equivalent of distilled water in the modern
urban areas.
Bragg’s apple cider vinegar!! Will sting like heck for a minute but it works wonderfully. =)
Just in time! My daughter got pink eye yesterday and I usually let it run it’s course, but use a warm cloth for soothing and cleaning mucus (if any).
I’ve heard from my mother that they used to drop breast milk when they had it.
Worked for my girls twice. Two applications later – no pink at all. Thanks, Sarah!
I always used breastmilk for eye infections when I was nursing my kids. Worked every time.
I knew about breast milk, but didn’t realize its virtue was in its rawness!
Where would I get raw milk?????
raw milk and honey
Sara, is there a way you could add a “share” button to you facebook posts? I often want to share your info but have no way to do so.
Jenny Anderson Henning there is a share option just below the post itself. This post has already been shared a number of times, so I know it’s working.
Awesome!!!!
I’ve heard breast milk works so it would make sense raw milk would work too!!!
Excellent!!
Breast milk clears pink eye in record time! I know first hand!
Tracee, raw milk sales vary by state. In some it’s illegal. Here in California they sell it at Sprout’s Market and the local food co-op.
Colloidal silver works wonders, too.
Would probiotics from water kefir work?!
Used the raw milk for my daughter today and her eye is getting better! Awesome remedy!!!
Family of 7 and we’ve never had it!
Not sure we have either (family of 10). One or 2 applications of breastmilk in a crusty baby’s eye and it’s gone. None of us have ever had the PINK eyes though. I’m surprised it’s so common.
I sure wish I had known this last week…I came down with pink eye…my doctor, who does alot of homeopathic things, said all she knew of was yellow tarrow (I think that’s right), and I couldn’t find that in our little town, so we went the antibiotic drops route. I will say that we’ve been drinking raw, organic, milk for over a year now, so our vitamin A levels should be up to par…and at 36, this is the first time ever for me to have pink eye (first time for all three of my littler children as well).
We use young living lavender essential oil. One drop on the brow bone three times a day. It is gone in three days or less. Use young living only. They are the only EO company with their own farms so you know what you are getting is pure.
Crazy question…. What is raw milk? The regular milk in your fridge for making cereal? Lol
Milk that is not pasteurized, all the good stuff still in it (good bacteria, enzymes, etc.) You can learn more at realmilk.com.
The easiest way to get rid of pink eye is to peel and shred a potatoe, wrap the shred in gauze and lay it on the eye, it will draw it right out, proven effective twice with my husband!!!!!
i used my own breast milk
This is absolutely insane. My husband, who is an ophthalmologist read this along with the comments and was furious. You could not be more wrong. People, consult with any type of optometrist, ophthalmologist, pharmacist or any md at all and I don’t think you would find one that would support this “information.”
Exactly why some of us stay away from doctors. Nothing against the MDs themselves, just the fact that so much of their “education” is from the pharmaceutical companies or funded by them.
Sorry but the more publicly known form of pink eye is indeed a viral infection and does not respond to antibiotics as you may suggest. You have your pathogens crossed I am afraid. Viral conjunctivitis is extremely contagious and is only treated through palliative care until the virus has receded and the infection resolves. Bacterial conjunctivitis is rather caused by many types of bacteria, typically gram positive in origin and can in fact be treated through anti-bacterial medications. In regards to such a pro-biotic therapy, it may or may not be effective, but is not proven to treat any such infection, and I would be concerned about its basic nature and the effect that it has on the ocular pH as well as the integrity of the ocular tear film. It is still extremely important to consult a doctor of optometry regarding ocular issues as you can not be sure whether it is bacterial, viral or of other etiology in its nature. The ocular surface is sensitive and fragile, and does not respond well to foreign bodies.
Not trying to be ugly…but you ONLY get 1 set of eyes people…I will be darned if I am dropping anything that a Dr does not tell me is ok
have you read the comments? if you have, you will see what a wide range of opinions dr’s have on this. how do you know what your dr recommends is correct? you have to use your brain to evaluate it, not just blindly obey.
Exactly! Isn’t doctor error the #1 cause of death in America. I think that’s what Dr. Mercola said.
Hello,
any ideas to get rid of eye styes, instead of the usual over the counter medications/antibiotics and hot compresses?
Thank you
I’d try a good quality colloidal silver in the eye or maybe some young living (or other quality) essential oil (several would work) around the eyes (not in). Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if breast milk or raw milk work for that too, but I don’t know.
Where in the world do you get the idea that just because breastmilk is good for a baby that it is sterile because it’s inside the body? By that reasoning, people shouldn’t get HIV from blood. I definitely believe that some home remedies work but this is just idiotic.
Ceecee….. These people have obviously TRIED this remedy and found that there is something in the milk….some component….that makes it actually work for them. Why are you trying to debunk something you haven’t even tried?
um… blood is different than breastmilk – the two cannot be compared. and FYI – HIV is NOT passed the breastmilk. Before you go around passing off judgement and calling names – think before you speak.
As an eyecare professional, this is an awful recommendation and no one should listen to this home remedy. It is a fantastic way to cause permanent damage to the eye. Maybe you should get some medical training before offering up advice. There is a reason professionals go to school for so long.
so, i have been reading the comments although very helpful i need a little furhter help. I took my 4 year oild son to the doctor hven’t gotten his medications yet , but the doctor also told me to feed him for 2 days? only liquids,(gatorade. water, apple juice) toast and bananas? oh and rice milk but what gives? i gave him cooked vegetables in soup no meat what else can i feed him? i feel awful because he keeps telling me he is hungry and asking for meat help! thanx
You took him for pinkeye? What the heck? I’m all for diet restrictions to help the body heal but pasteurized juice, gatorade, and toast? I can’t think of ANYTHING that’d be good for. Doctors should not be giving nutritional advice since they get little to no education in it. The soup sounds great but I’d give the poor kid some grass fed beef! Lol! Seriously, good job making the most of it by giving him veggie soup! I don’t know if he just has pink eye or what (prob, since you’re here), but I’d avoid sugar (Gatorade), maybe grains, and eat lots of greens.
how can dr’s even be qualified to give any advice without knowledge about nutrition? so many ailments diseases are caused by food and drink and environmental things. are drs even qualified without this knowledge? deep thoughts.
Chinese medicine advise: Bone broth soup, absolutely no sugar including fruit and juice, no grains. Yes, cod liver oil, and raw milk to wash the eye out with! Go see an acupuncturist with experience with babies/children! Acupuncture can rid the body of infection along with herbal remedies if needed. I raised my son and our animals on all herbal and chinese medical remedies! Hospitals are horribly “un-sterile” places to bring people to.
My friend’s child got severe pink-eye as diagnosed by her pediatrician 22yrs in practice “the worst case I’ve ever seen.” We weren’t surprised when our daughter caught it too since they had a recent play date. I went ahead with trying the breast milk mixed with some of her probiotics and dropped it into her eyes every few hours. (I have also used this successfully for ear infections.) I also used a cool compress as needed and it was cleared away within 1-2 days. I have worked in the medical field for years and am always appalled at the over-prescribing of steroids and antibiotics. I don’t deny that there is a place for them, but I feel there are too many Dr’s that use it as their band-aid solution which gets rid of symptoms but doesn’t solve curing and preventing what caused the issue in the first place.
And yes, we also are “one of those” that doesn’t vaccinate, we homeschool and seek holistic/homeopathic care for our household. Our kids are very active in the community and sports and are rarely ill. Any sickness they do get, they get over very quickly.
Thank you so much for this post! My son had the beginnings of conjunctivitis yesterday. After going to bed and waking up at 11pm, he had a glob of mucous covering his eye. I then found your post, but I didnt have any breast milk or raw milk. I ended up using some powdered probiotic (acidophilus) that I mixed it with some water. I only had the courage to try this since you mentioned that even the whey from yogurt or kefir would work. When he woke up in the morning I was prepared with a warm cloth, ready to greet a monster of an eye, but I was shocked to see just a few tiny crusties. It had worked!
I took him to the doc today for his cough and told him what I did. He basically laughed at me saying that probiotics definitely did not cure it – he must have not had conjunctivitis (as though what I saw at 11pm didnt happen). I was upset, but I am used to medical doctors only trusting medicine. (frustrating, but that’s how they are trained.) I am so thankful that I found this and tried it out.
Thank you so much for sharing your information!
Thank you for this! I just pinned it
Ohmygosh!! The liquid yogurt thing is amazing!!! I had just one eye with conjunctivitis and then it spread to the other eye over night. I saw this , this morning and tried it and its feels so much better!!! Thank you so much!
A few months ago I read on this site that Rosemary also works well to get rid of eye infections. I am out of work and can’t afford the vet and my dog developed what looked like pink eye. I made a tea out of 1 tsp dried Rosemary herb in 2-3cups of water. I put the water in a pot, added the rosemary herb and brought the water to a boil. I let it boil for about 20 seconds and then shut the burner off to let it cool down and allow the herb to steep till it was cool enough to be comfortable.(I kept the Rosemary herb in the “tea” all day, too. No straining. The water will slowly turn light brown from the oil in the Rosemary leeching out into it and that’s ok). When this “tea” got to a comfortable warm temperature I dipped a paper towel into it and washed my dog’s eyes out with it. I did this 4 to 5 times each day and his eyes cleared up beautifully. I washed them for one week straight like this, making sure I got as much of the “tea” into each eye as I possibly could. Each morning I made a fresh pot of Rosemary Tea. His eyes looked good in 4 days but I still went the full week to make sure.
Just stumbled across this… I woke up with pink eye this morning. I have only had it one other time 4 years ago, when my daughter first started going daycare. I have raw milk on hand, coconut oil… and I am using them interchangeably. They have provided soothing so far. I also took a therapeutic dose of FCLO, since I am extremely inconsistent about it. I’ll report back with my results.. .Fingers crossed!
Hi. My 4 years old son started had bronchitis every season changed. At first i do not know how to make him feel better with drinking a lot of water. He got sick a lot when he went to PK at 4, doctor gave him all kind of asthma medicine. He inhaled the steroid and got bad reaction. We brought him to the emergency that day. Went to allergist, the Doc call him allergy induced asthma b/c the test showed him allergy with all kind of pollen. I cried a lot when he got sick and my gut told me something was wrong. He has no allergy before why now, we stopped seeing the doctor and i brought him to Natural opathic doctor but this guy was no good, tried to sell his med and trying take our money and prevent us to give my son raw milk. We found another doctor, he got some kind of machine that touch all the finger and toes, can know what food to avoid and what kind of vitamins my boy can has to push his immune system. With that machine he found out my boy has a lot electric inside his body ( like phone, computer, game)and flu shot made his immune went crazy. He has no food allergy, he is healthy no need multivitamin and his body didn’t like any suplement. So we had to buy the medal for him to wear when he played game, stop flu shot, but the doctor still gave him vitamin c, d, fish oil ( we used to take everyday), and some imunno kids (herbs inside), zinc and the water from the machine. It called tree mix, water with electric pollen. the doctor said it made the brain remember those pollen so when he inhaled them, the brain will not tell the body to re act. Use silver when he got bronchitis. it worked wonder. I do not know how to explain for you to understand but my boy was doing very well for a year no asthma medicine anymore. But i didn’t want to trust that doctor too much b/c one time i mention raw milk he didn’t agree to let my boy has it . And want us to see him every month eventhought my boy had no sick at all and prevent us to give him gluten( he has no allergy with it). And refused to put him on the machine to check how much tree mix he got, that was enough or when he should stop. He took that tree mix for almost a year. I know that doctor wanted to buy time so can has more money. Last summer We brought him to TX and stayed there for 3 months( my father passed away), my son got no sick at all, no allergy with pollen. We came back, the doctor gave us bee pollen, he said it is good for my son gave him 1/2 tsp everyday. Silly me not check the information about bee pollen, i gave my son 1/2 tsp and he got allergy reaction after that night, got stuff nose and infection. We had to use the silver but he got 2 weeks to recovery. His body was weak and he went back to school in September got cold in the fall right away. we brought him back to the doctor, he said i am sorry , you should see me every month now not 3 months. And gave me all kind of vitamin a with lung support, herbs, i do not know what to do, so i gave new med for him and he got allery with the new med, runny nose an infection again. After we email the doctor and said the bee pollen somehow made his immune system went crazy again. New med, old med (the vitamin he took for 1 year) even fish oil, his body rejected. he got allergy again. I can not put anything to his system anymore. So we quit to see that doctor, i think he wanted my boy got sick so we can see him more often so he can get our money more. That darm doctor should tell me bee pollen can not ingest too much at the first time. i am afraid of doctor now, do not know who i should beleive, beleive my son’s primary doctor, he always tell us to give my boy albuterol when he got bronchitis, no way he is free of that asthma med a year now, he became normal boy, no asthma at all. beleive the naturalpath doctor, i got no luck to find a good doctor.
We has to stop any vitamin and i gave my son raw milk everyday. His gut recovery fast with the raw milk. And i tried to give him back the suplemment but his body is still rejecting them one by one. And Now the first time he got PINK EYES recurrent 4 time since OCTOBER to now. His primary doctor had to change 3 antibiotic drops. I went to this website and used raw milk. It worked perfect, we do not need the drops any more. I gave him carlson cod liver oil. it went very well for 3 months, now seem like he got allergy with the liver oil as well, i has to stop and he got PINK EYEs right now. But it got worse this time i has to use the drops again. do not know why the raw milk doesn’t work this time. I gave him the L’ilcritters gummy vites for vitamin A but he got a bit rash this morning so i think his body doesn’t like systhenic vitamin A. I just order the green pasture cod liver oil. Hope it helps him with NATURAL vitamin A, I do not know what to do now. Any suggestions, ideas, to stop his pink eyes recurrent again,thank you for a long post and my long story.
I would prefer to put a ‘dirty’, natural and raw food laden with good bacteria such as raw milk in my eye – and yes, I treasure them both, they’re kind of important – than any chemical from a factory.
After a few days of conjunctivitis (stuck eyelids on a morning, sore eyes, halo vision) I was fed up and read this webpage. Just as many medics spout how dangerous it is to eat/drink natural, ‘raw’ food such as unpasteurised milk (their facts are so desperately wrong here – it is actually pasteurised milk which can kill, if a little bit ‘off’) or unpasteurised cheeses (they taste better, and I trust my body’s reactions to food – and since when have the French been wrong on cheese?) they start on about how theoretically dangerous it is to put an entirely natural, clean substance in your eye.
Our eyes mangae to survive in heavily-polluted air (with high levels of toxic chemicals), dust blown from soil (which one teaspoonful of contains enough bacteria to kill hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions) and even the odd insect, if you’re a cyclist. Even chlorine in a public swimming pool (and the other nasties in there!)
Just ten minutes after swabbing with natural cow’s milk (organic, no less), my eyes are clearer and feel better than they have since the conjunctivitis started. I will continue with the treatment (doesn’t make anyone any money, that’s the real problem I suppose) and report back.
great point. last wednesday night my eye was bothering me and I looked up this article. I used breastmilk at first and the irritation went away immediately. the next day i got to colloidal silver and alternated the milk and the silver every hour or two. It took two and a half full days to resolve and for me to be able to put my contacts back in. It worked! The only reason I started using silver is because the milk is a precious commodity here that I am still feeding to baby so I didn’t want to take away much from him. my eye was red, I had goop and it was almost sealed in the morning when i woke up. there were no scratches or debris in my eye, I checked. I suspect it was bacterial, and since it cleared up so quickly I think that confirms my suspicions.
Okay this is great to know! We’ve been using breast milk. I had heard to use raw cow’s milk (which we drink), and I may since we have been getting BM from friends… the raw milk may just be easier and less awkward! Ha. But great to know about FCLO! We actually do take this, but my daughter, who has the pink eye, does not. She’s allergic to cinnamon, which is the kind of FCLO we get. (I hear this is something they out grow, so I’ve been giving her another brand of fish oil, though nothing compares to FCLO.) Maybe it’s time to see if she’s outgrown that cinnamon allergy – or to get another flavor just for her. Thanks for this!
After a day and a half, the conjunctivitis all but cleared up, swabbing my eyes in milk every morning and evening. Another three days later and every last trace was gone.
Over ten days later, there is no return of the symptoms at all – unlike so many cases you hear of when prescription medicine is finished.
What if you dissolvd pro-biotic tablet, in purified water? Would that work?
My son gets pink eye quite often & actually has it right. I’m going to try thebreastmilk. My son hates the eye drops & says they burn. I hate seeing him squirm from the pain.
When I had pink eye, the pharmacist told me to use J&J baby shampoo to relieve the pain. But it has to be J&J because there is an analgesic. Just close you eye and rub on, works great.
{ 5 trackbacks }