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.
got pink eye a couple weeks ago and collodial silver took care of it in less then a day
I cured my *double* eye pinkeye with raw milk & diluted honey in warm water
Well, I can remember the last time I got pink eye, about 15 years ago. Thanksgiving. My husband got it as well. What a site the 2 of us were. Antibiotics for several days. This past January, I got it again, and realized the symptoms fairly early. A Monday. I found a pink eye home remedy blog, read nearly all the suggestions, and the only thing I had in my home at that time was Neosporin, and tea bags.My mother and sister (who by the way run to the doctor for every little thing) urged me to see a doctor and get a script. I replied “and why? So I can pay a $35 co-pay so they can tell me I have pink eye? I already know that. So they can prescribe antibiotics that I have no coverage for? I’ll look online and see if there are any home remedies I can try.
The remedy that got the most votes was breast milk, which I didn’t have access to. Second was whey from whole milk yogurt. Third was Colloidal Silver, forth was Neosporin, and fifth… fish tetracycline found in a pet shop. I had the neosporin.
Once in the morning and before bedtime I would warm the tube with the lid on in a sink filled with hot water to make the vaseline like substance drip out instead of the unmanageable little sliver that would come out of the tube when I squeezed it. I would pull away my lower lid and put 2 drops of this warmed antibiotic in the pink of my lid, both eyes. Close them and take a nap for an hour or 3. Then proceed with my day.
Indeed vision would be blurred for an hour or so after my day nap, but that became less and less as the day progressed. I did this routine all week, every day, twice a day and by Friday I had no symptoms. That weekend I put the drops in my eye only at night, and by Monday I was fine and stopped the treatment. Viola. Pink eye gone, and it cost me pennies to do it.
I have 6 kids and two dogs…I always ‘try’ home remedies before drugs and doctors/vets.
I don’t see here that anyone says they have tried these remedies on their dogs BUT a friend of the family just bought 3 goats (and they’re city folks…IDK..lol) so hey, why not?
My old Maltese keeps getting eye clogs/infections and the vet has given him the same stuff prescribed for pink eye (expensive)….yet it returns and continues without the RX….I was looking for something that would be a better and cheaper solution and wha laa, I found this site….Thanks! I’m going to go call my ‘Goat Friends’ now and get some milk…see maybe their not so crazy after all…lol! Blessings!
Our family has used virgin coconut oil for pinkeye in the past. Just rub a little in there, blink a bunch, and wait a few moments for any blurry film to subside. This is not the time to put on mascara! :).
Good info. Lucky me I discovered your site by accident (stumbleupon).
I’ve book-marked it for later!
I recently got infected with conjunctivitis and this is 4th day. I wan to share my experience with home remedies. The biggest mistake I made was to try only home remedies. I kept washing my eyes every 2-3 hours with pure honey mixed water for two days; it used to releve me from the itching sensation for sometime but no significant recovery. The I tried rose water for three times; it caused me some pain and so much so that finally my ears started paining. I gain resorted to honey-water and pain water. Then I read that breast milk or raw cow milk can help. So I tried raw cow milk for two times; the condition of my eyes further worsened. I gave up and resorted to plain water again. Throughout these four days I used to feel cold and subsequent fever and head ache. Finally, I visited a doctor. he prescribed me Moxiflozacin and Dexamethasone eye drops, Doxycycline and Lactic Acid Bacilus capsules, Diclofenac Potassium Paracetamol and Aplicaps . With just one dose of each of these medicine I can feel the dramatic difference and I am sure I will be completely well in another 2-3 does. PLEASE DON’T USE THESE MEDICINES WITHOUT CONSULTING A DOCTOR.
Conjunctivitis is highly infectious and painful. So please DON’T ONLY RELAY ON HOME REMEDIES AND SUFFER LIKE ME FOR 4 DAYS. VISIT A DOCTOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. HONEY, ROSE WATER AND MILK WILL NOT GIVE YOU AND LONG LASTING RELIEF. I read that some people recommend using black coffee and urine. PLEASE DON’T USE URINE, YOU CAN GET SOME NASTY INFECTIONS BY THAT. DON’T WASH YOUR EYES BY PUTTING WATER DIRECTLY; IT JUST WORSENS THE INFECTION. FINALLY, VISIT A DOCTOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
It is fascinating that this is the first comment of it’s kind that showed up, and only after someone noted that there was a distinct absence of this type of comment.
I’m trying to figure out how urine which is sterile and can be used in a pinch to sterilize anything can give you an infection?
You actually make it seem so easy along with your presentation however I find this matter to be really one thing that I think I might never understand. It seems too complicated and very huge for me. I am having a look ahead to your subsequent put up, I’ll try to get the hold of it!
I had a little raw milk leftover and tried it. Didn’t really do much for me honestly. I think my pink eye was allergy-induced, because I have other allergic symptoms, and I was rubbing my eyes a lot. I also tried baking soda solution. Putting some castor oil on my eye and around helps with the dry,flaky skin and help it not have the slight itchy feeling. I don’t really know what kind mine is. It started with a little eczema on one eye on my upper eyelid near the duct, then after rubbing it, turned into pink eye, but my eyes did not get swollen until yesterday. The redness is in one eye, but the other eye itches a little around the duct.
My face was red halfway down my cheeks too, and felt a little burning, maybe due to my putting all this stuff in my eye and it running down my face.
Doctors are often only trained in the medical profession, so they do not understand holistic health care as it does not fall within the realm of their course of study. As a BSAE I have spent my life studying homeopathy and know what works and what does not. The best organic eye treatments is a mixtures of: Allium cepa, Allium sativum and Urina. Mixed together with sandalwood and just a hint Atropa belladonna. I also find that spit works really well as does just plain urine.
I’m sorry, but that is just pure ignorance! Let’s put bacteria from your mouth directly into your eye!