What Are the Best Home Remedies for Pink Eye?
There are few infections that are more bothersome and irritating than pink eye. Babies, kids, adults, and even dogs, cats, cows, goats, and guinea pigs can contract the malady. Known as conjunctivitis in medical circles, pink eye generally comes in the categories of bacterial, allergic, and viral. Luckily, there are home remedies for pink eye, as well as medical solutions.
To help relieve the general discomfort that comes with a case of pink eye, one should apply warm compresses to the bloodshot, swollen, mucous-secreting eye a number of times per day. Other than that, most of the home remedies for pink eye consist of applying various drops at specific intervals. Homeopathic practitioners often advise using drops containing substances such as chamomile and belladonna. Other home remedies for pink eye include placing teabags over the eyes, and using a boric acid or saltwater eyewash. Some people have been know to wash out the afflicted eye with warm water that has been infused with a few drops of honey.
It should be noted that none of these home remedies for pink eye have been proven successful in clinical tests. They are neither recommended nor suggested, and belong more to the “old wives tale” category of possible cures. The only certain way to care for a case of pink eye is to visit one’s physician and follow his or her advice. Although pink eye normally doesn’t cause any lasting or permanent damage to vision, it’s still not a condition with which one should fool around.
For a case of bacterial pink eye, a medical doctor will usually prescribe antibiotic eye drops, which should completely eliminate the problem after just a few days of use. Viral pink eye, as is true with all viruses, does not respond to antibiotics. It simply has to run its course. In this case one might want to try a home remedy for pink eye, but it would be wise to first check with a physician to make sure it is safe. If a person has pink eye caused by an allergy, the physician will generally provide drops that contain antihistamines, steroids, or some sort of anti-inflammatory medication.
The best home remedies for pink eye involve making sure that no one else in the family catches it. This is a highly contagious infection, and thus there should be no sharing of towels or pillowcases. In a home where pink eye has come to visit, everyone should wash his or her hands numerous times a day with hot, soapy water, and avoid touching his or her eyes.
Written by Ron Marr
