Easy method for resolving pinkeye by harnessing the power of probiotics. No meds needed!
Pinkeye, also called conjunctivitis or madras eye, is an extremely contagious bacterial or viral infection. The illness involves the outermost layer of the eye and the inside surface of the eyelid.
It is a common seasonal condition when pollen counts are high, allergies are running rampant, and immunity for most people is very low from moderate to severe vitamin D deficiency. This problem is compounded from being inside all winter out of the vitamin D producing rays of the sun.
Symptoms of Pinkeye
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.
Conjunctivitis is Extremely Contagious
Pinkeye can spread rapidly through a household, which is why action is needed immediately to stop the infection. Most people 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 conventional remedy. Relief is mercifully quick once the drops are applied. Before the wonderful sensation of 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. Add to this the expense of the visit and filling the prescription which combined could easily total $50 or even more.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just fix this simple infection at home with none of the intervening steps?
Simple Home Remedy
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.
Harness the Power of Probiotics
What you need to remedy pinkeye is a probiotic-rich, 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. First milk or colostrum works even faster (note that colostrum supplements do not work).
Reapplication may be necessary every hour for a few hours, but in almost 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.
Probiotic Options
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.
The probiotic strains in fresh, unprocessed dairy are especially suited for clearing a pinkeye 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.
Note that pasteurized or organic store milk also does not work because they contain no probiotics.
Other Sources of Beneficial Microbes
No fresh from the cow dairy easily available where you live?
You can also mix the contents of a probiotic capsule in a few ounces of water and drip a few drops into the eye.
I recommend this baby probiotic brand as it the strain found in breastmilk and has no other additives.
This has been known to work as well.
Frequent Pinkeye May Indicate Nutritional Deficiency
Are you or any members of your family suffering from pinkeye symptoms on a frequent basis? If so, consider adding a cod liver oil supplement to your daily regimen.
This is the brand my family has used since 2015.
Deficiency in vitamin A, one of the most critical vitamins for optimal eye health, can result in frequent pinkeye infections. Incidentally, it also contributes to other illnesses such as croup and night blindness.
Unprocessed cod liver oil that is tested free of impurities is the best source of natural Vitamin A.
If the cod liver oil is processed (most brands are), then the Vitamin A is most likely synthetic.
This is because it has been destroyed by heat or chemical processing. Synthetic vitamin A does not have the same benefits for the eyes.
Multivitamins have the same problem. They contain only synthetic vitamin A or beta carotene. Note that beta carotene is not true vitamin A.
It is a precursor that the body must convert to true vitamin A. Many people simply do not make this conversion very well especially if they have any sort of digestive problems.
How Long Until Improvement?
The pinkeye home remedy described in this article should resolve the infection rapidly.
Usually, symptoms improve within hours. After a few applications, the eye should be fine within 24 hours.
If not, the infection may be viral in nature or related to some other underlying condition. Seeing a doctor is recommended at that point.
Works for Pets Too!
Keep in mind that this pinkeye home remedy doesn’t just work for children and adults.
Believe it or not, this home remedy is also safe to use on pets who have any sort of eye-related bacterial issues.
I’ve personally used it on guinea pigs and cats over the years with great success.
We tried this in our house with our raw milk and it didn’t work. 🙁
Just be sure it’s pink eye. A few months ago I was convinced I had pink eye but instead it was an eye infection. In 5 days even under the care of doctors, it got so bad I nearly lost my eye. I was also told it could have been fatal. I prefer and use natural and homeopathic remedies often but in this case, I was glad I chose to go in.
I don’t have access to raw cow or goat milk however I could get raw sheep milk…..would work too?!
I live in Kansas City, not the country, but I looked on craigslist for raw milk,,,looks like lots of people sell it in areas around KC. So I’ll get some today to try on my puffy red eyes.
I woke up this morning after working in the yard yesterday, and sneezing (this morning I have a really runny nose), but yesterday the inside of my left eye was hurting as I was talking to the neighbor. Then before I woke up this morning, my right outer eye was hurting. And sure enough…my eyes lids were swollen and eyes are kind of red.
Soooo, I am going for a drive to a farmer that I found on craigslist instead of going to the cookout with my hubby at our CSA farmer get-together. CSA stands for Community Sustainable Agriculture. We pay them around 250.00 in the spring and they give us veggies and fruit every week from May to October. It’s an effort to start farms around the KC area instead of relying on farmers’ produce in other countries by way of the grocery store and big fossil fuel eating ships, trucks or railroads.
I’ll try to post an update…bookmarking now! 🙂
no no no it’s soooo simple. got garlic? got a teabag? mkay. cut up a clove of garlic and place it in a wine glass with the teabag and pour purified water over them to fill it. leave for 30 min. now use the gently squeezed teabag to dab the closed eye and wipe the gunk off. it’s ok if the eye is closed because as you squeeze the teabag the healing water will seep in and kill all the germs. I have cured many many a pink eye this way.
does the garlic water burn or sting your eye, even if it is closed? I was looking for something for a my little kids?
I tried Tulsi breakfast tea bag in garlic water and it did not help. Then I used Chamomile caffeine free tea in garlic water as well as rosemary as indicated here and it works. That was Thursday night and Friday morning. By afternoon on Friday, the pain subsided but the redness did not go away immediately. It is going away gradually. Today is Saturday morning as I am writing and I still have some redness in that eye. However, I am glad that the pain is gone. thank you all for the information provided in this forum. It has helped me greatly. Reduced cost and doctors visit. The last time I had pink eye I went to the eye doctor, he requested for several test and I do not remember what he gave me may be an antibiotic drop after the results came negative to what they were looking for. I’ll try any of the home remedy and only see a doctor if it does not work. Once again thank you all for the information.
Hi all,
I initially had this pink eye and my doctor told it was due to Herpes virus and suggested an ointment. On using that, things started worsening and I changed my doctor. This new doctor told that the previous treatment was wrong and suggested me to use Loteprednol drops and I was asked to reduce the dosage gradually. Using that gave me a great relief. But my eyes are completely dependant on that drops and the infection recurs in a week, since the day I stop the drops. The doctor says that it is because of my weak immune system the virus is reccurring. There is already a scar developed in my other eye and my vision is not normal. If the same happens to my left eye, I’m scared I will be partially blind :-(. Someone please suggest me what to do?
I will say incorporate Garlic into your diet. Raw is best, but there are garlic pills if you prefer. Eat lots more fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Drink more water at least 8 glasses a day. Try to get some sunlight everyday. Begin a moderate exercise routine- immune system booster. These combined will boost your immune system, and the garlic will fight the infection.
Also read, the many comments posted on here, there are a couple of remedies mentioned you can try although i’ll be careful since you already have some scaring in your eyes. Hope you get better.
Does this work on dogs as well?
I just came down with conjunctivitis this evening. I have an itchy, watery, painful, red eye that has yellow pus and very swollen. I tried dropping colloidal silver with natural tear drops, and a hot wet wash cloth. But, nothing helped a much; as fast…as vitamin A oil applied directly to my whole eyelid And eyeball. Not beta carotene, but vitamin A oil..retinol. It’s really incredible…I could feel the swelling going down by the seconds. I’ve breasted and squirted milk in my babies eyes as well and it worked like a dream…20 years ago.
We have used coconut water kefir for a recurring infection in my daughter’s eye. There is a white dot on her iris and pink coming out around it. It does not itch or sting and there is no oozing, but her eye is sensitive to light.
Unfortunately, we stop as soon as it seems gone and it comes back weeks or months later. I’m now trying salt water from the sole’ that I made and drink and am hoping that that will help.
I’m getting to the point of feeling like I should see an eye doctor, but can’t imagine that he will do anything other than give us antibiotics. It’s not a normal pink eye though so I am curious for a diagnosis…
Is she OK? I woke up with a bit of crustiness and after some research freaked myself out about it being Acanthamoeba Keratitis which presents with reoccurring eye infections and a white ring on cornea ??
Why on earth have you not gone to the doctor?? That doesn’t even sound like pink eye. Any infection that keeps coming back needs to be examined by a professional. The eye is not something to ignore. Please take her right away.
Pease take your Daughter to Dr or an eye specialist, ASP, I feel this is very important, it could be something more serious, 1. for her sake, it is painful, get it dealt with once and for all As what you are doing is not solving it, she needs it looked at professionally.. 2. For your peace of mind. 3. For my peace of mind! Good luck!
This is very helpful article and esp. good for moms. Kids are esp.. prone to pinkeye when they start going to daycare and are around other kids. And using breast milk will save on numerous doctors visit. Jim, your comment is understandable since you don’t understand the healing properties of breast milk or other probiotic type of home remedies. But, they work and are safe. Many women have used these home remedies for centuries.