Home Remedies for Pink Eye

Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment for Conjuctivitis

These home remedies for pink eye will reduce the itchiness and redness caused by conjunctivitis infections.

Pink eye is a common condition especially in children. It is an inflammation of the surface of the white part of the eye and is relatively harmless but uncomfortable.

The symptoms of pink eye are the white part of the eye turning pink or red. The eyes may itch and there may be a discharge of fluid sometimes yellowish. It is common that the eye is difficult to open in the morning because of being "glued" shut with dried discharge. It can start in one eye and spread to the other eye as well.

Pink Eye Causes

Pink eye can be caused by irritants in the air, allergies, a virus, or a bacteria. Is pink eye contageous? Pink eye caused by a virus or a bacteria can be contageous. It is not unusual for several children in a school to come down with pink eye at the same time. It is spread by touching someone's hands who has pink eye and has been rubbing their eyes to relieve the itch. It can be spread by sharing a towel that has been used by an infected person. The inflammation of pink eye usually goes away on its own in two or three days but treatments can help with the discomfort.

If pink eye does not improve or disappear after three days, a doctor needs to be consulted. Don't hesitate to do this. Your vision or the vision of your child may be at stake.

Tried and True Home Remedies for Pink Eye

• Use the herb Euphrasia, commonly called Eyebright, as an eyewash. Use the leaves to make a tea by steeping them in hot water for several minutes. Let the liquid cool and then strain. Use an eye cup to wash the eye. You can also use tincture of Eyebright by adding five drops to water that has been boiled and then cooled. Dip a cotton ball or pad into the water and wash the eye.

• Chamomile tea bags are very soothing and will reduce inflammation. Moisten a Chamomile tea bag with either warm or cold water and place over the eye for ten minutes. Repeat throughout the day.

• You can also use a cold compress made with just sterile water to soothe the discomfort. Do this three or four times a day. If you use a towel or wash cloth for this be sure to use a clean one each time and put the used cloths into a separate laundry bag to be washed later.

• Make it a habit to wash your hands frequently. If it is a child that has pink eye, make sure they wash their hands after touching their eyes.

An age-old home remedy for pink eye is boric acid. Younger people recoil at the thought of putting acid in their eyes. But really, it is not battery acid we are talking about here. My grandmother had 11 kids and she always used boric acid for pink eye. None of them suffered eye damage. I remember my mother using boric acid for my pink eye. I remember it being very soothing and it worked. The fact is most pink eye medications on the drug store shelves contain boric acid.

Yes, boric acid is used to kill insects. It kills them by dehydrating them. We are not insects.

Now, you don't use straight boric acid crystals in your eyes. Your package of boric acid may actually say that boric acid is an eye irritant and I am sure it would be if you put the crystals directly into your eye.

This is the recipe for boric acid pink eye treatment from the University of Maryland Medical Center:

Add one teaspoon boric acid and 10 drops of tincture of goldenseal to one cup of boiling water. Strain and cool. (You can leave out the goldenseal if you want.) Apply the cool liquid to the eye with a steril eye dropper or eye cup. You can also moisten a cotton pad with the liquid and gently swab the eye.

Boric acid can be purchased at pharmacies and drug stores. Some pharmacies don't stock it any more. They would much rather sell you commercial products containing boric acid that cost more money.

If you are one of those people that dislikes putting anything in your eyes you most likely will like Conjunct-a-Clear which you take internally two or three times a day whenever you have a flare up of conjunctivitis. Then you can use Conjunct-a-Clear Wash on cotton balls as a compress over your eyes to soothe and clear the gunk away. This really helps with the itchiness.

It is very important to use a fresh solution every day when using home remedies for pink eye. If you use an eye dropper or eye cup, sterilize it first. Dispose of cotton balls or pads immediately. Wash any cloths or towels before using again. Wash your hands often. It is difficult to keep children from rubbing at their eyes when they itch. Make sure they wash their hands frequently.

Take out contact lenses immediately, clean them, and leave them out until the pink eye is gone. If you have daily or monthly lenses, throw them away.