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.
Can I use reg whole milk
No, pasteurized milk is dead. It has no probiotics in it and will not work.
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
I agree with Lisa and a lot of people here talked good about raw milk. I just took my son go to doctor check up. He was so surprised my son health improvement a lot. He ask me did he drink pasterized milk added vitamin d, and orange juice has added vitamin c and he is against raw milk. I didn’t tell the doctor the true but my son and my family drink raw milk for 2 years now, and the raw milk correct his digested system and healed his red eyes couple time, even silver. Those doctors need come back to school and learn more from people experience. One more thing raw milk makes my heart burn go away for good also.
thank you for the advice, but I think most people will admit that it won’t hurt to try something at home for a few days before going into the dr. after a few days, if no improvement, then definitely go to the dr.
Well, from what I know and hear most doctors just want money, and I dont see a single comment saying “i put breastmilk in my child’s eye and it was a disaster” so yeah…
I am shocked and horrified to read what people are prepared to put in their own and their children’s eyes. The eye is by far the most sensitive organ in the body and damage to the eye can result in blindness! I am generally speaking a fan of trying out home remedies but some of what I have read here is totally neglectful of children. Colloidal silver (side effects are irreversible!), lavender (definitely not for the eye area!!), Raw milk (risk of e. coli, campylobacter and salmonella), yogurt (definitely not for the eye area!!) should not be used in children. Also please also do not use: lemon juice (an acid can burn the eye); salt — although this is natural in tears etc it needs to be in a very specific concentration as some eye drops would have; Avoid: Honey; garlic; Vicks vapour rub; lemons/ limes; I have even seen semen on one irresponsible website, can you believe it?? — great if one also wants gonorrhoea, chlamydia or others such infection in the eye also….. Most conjunctivitis (pink eye) disappears in a few days, very common in the child who has the runny nose and sweeps this up to the eye. If lids are really stuck together hold over the eyes a few minutes to soften and repeat a few times. A warm (NOT hot) compresses is great for removing the sticky residue of the eye. A different one for each eye. Clean from the inside out once only to avoid spreading additional germs. Use a cool compress to sooth the eye, ensuring eye is shut (a cloth/flannel soaked in cold previously boiled refrigerated water — a fresh cloth for each eye and wash at a high temperature each time it’s used)- or disposable gauze is fine but do not use cotton wool as bits of fluff may stay in the eye. Handwashing is crucial. Don’t share towels etc until infection cleared up. If symptoms persist over a week or the child is in distress it is crucial to seek professional (doctor/ Pharmacist/ Optician) advice regardless of the costs! Not doing something is likely to cost significantly more in the long run. Personally I have found Chloramphenicol drops good for bacterial eye infections but yes sadly requires a prescription and additional care needed in the under 2 yr olds.
A few safe tips: Place two used/damp teabags in fridge (ensure no milk/sugar on them) cool them for a few hours. Lie back, close eyes, and place over closed eyes for a half an hour. Evidently slices of cleaned uncooked potato have a soothing effect also. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgxLZD251UM (I am an RGN and on many occasions have seen parents rush to A/E ie ER when home remedies to the eye went disastrously wrong. I have absolutely no affiliations with any Drs or pharmaceutical companies etc).
Please share some of these stories.
I have used this in my own eye as well as a childs. How can something that comes out of your own body and meant for drinking by another person cause your eye to go blind or whatever? I’d use this first any day above man made chemicals in my precious eye.
Just saying thank you. I went with clear liquid from yogurt, as that’s all I have. Felt bothersome for a few minutes – longer in the infected eye, shorter in the “just in case” eye. An hour later and there’s no more excessive discharge. This was after I spent 10 minutes on hold for my doctor’s office with every intention of going in. Guessing I’ll stick with the “apply every hour or so” until it clears up. Amazing.
Im nine months pregnant and im producing mostly colostrum would that work also?
YES!!! Even more potent!????
Go to realmilk.com to find a local source of RAW milk.
No access to breastmilk. What type of cow milk should I use? Skim? 2%? Does that matter?
That’s pasteurized, so it probably won’t work. I went with the liquid that collects in a container of yogurt. Worked really well. Getting raw milk is hard if you don’t live on or near a farm.