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.Â
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.Â
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.
Thank you for this! I just pinned it 🙂
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!
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 for your post. I am totally into no vaccines after my son got his first round of dtap. My husband didnt want him to have any but i tried it and now wish I didn’t. My son hasn’t been sick once at he is 7 months. He was born during flu season and was never affected by it. Thank God! I know it’s bc of Breastfeeding and not vaccinating.
As for Breastmilk has so many wonderful remedies that I am now finding out about thanks to sites like this that post them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When my four year old was a baby, he had terrible baby acne. In my search of home remedies, and many failures, I found a page about the benefits of breast milk. Not only did my own breast milk clear up his baby acne AND cradle cap, as recommended, it worked for small cuts and scrapes, took the itch out of mosquito bites, and was suggested to work for MANY things…including pink eye! I am aware a doctor usually knows better, but the use of home remedies has not only been effective for me many times, it has been extremely cost effective!!! And just saying….but what makes an ophthalmologist a professional in the healing remedies of breast milk??!!!!!!!!!!! http://voices.yahoo.com/breast-milk-its-many-uses-156688.html
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.
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.
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.