Pinkeye: Fast and Easy Home Remedy (pets too!)

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.