Pink Eye

[Mango]

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of pink eye naturally? My 6 yo woke up with it today :( .

[Rawkinlocs]

Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)...a drop or two in a glass of water or fresh juice twice daily. My daughter had this last week. I made sure she didn't rub the eye and I gave her the GSE, which is a natural "antibiotic" and it went away...didn't spread to her other eye or anything.

So, if you don't want to take her in (all they'll do is give her antibiotics anyway), that is my personal suggestion. Also, make sure she eats lightly and mainly fresh fruit and drink water.

[Mango]

Thanks! How long did it take to go away? I know my dh will be pressuring me to take her to the doctor.

[Rawkinlocs]

It took approximately 3-4 days...maybe 5, I didn't really count. But it wasn't there longer than a week I know that. I remember my brother-in-law and his wife had pink eye...went to the doctor for the meds...it took about the same amount of time, actually a little longer for it to go away than it took for my daughter.

Again, as long as you make sure she eats cleanly (not sure if she's all raw or not...but no cooked food, dairy, etc) and give her the drops in water twice a day (upon arising and before bed) it shouldn't linger on too long.

[RowanC]

This is one of those rare instances where I may agree with your DH and say "take her to the doctor for antibiotics."

There are different types of pinkeye (conjunctivitis). Most are viruses and yes, the GFSE along with warm compresses should help clear that up. Give it 4 days.

However, some are bacterial/staph infections. Some types are highly contagious and can spread through the entire family and to any children she plays with.

If it is infectious bacterial conjunctivities, warm compresses can kill the germs that cause it and it may go away within a few days. If her eye doesn't look too bad, you might want to try this first along with the GFSE. If it does not start clearning up within FOUR days, it may be staph-caused, and you probably need antibiotics.

If the eye is swollen, you can put a compress of peeled, grated, fresh potato wrapped in gauze on the eye. It is astrigent and healing.

In the meantime, make her wash her hands constantly. Try to keep her hands away from the eye. And everyone else in the house needs to also wash hands a lot, just like if someone had a cold/flu.

I got this info from Prescription for Herbal Healing, my BIBLE for home health care. Every mom should have a copy, imo. It is by Phyllis Balch.

[Mango]

Thanks Rowan. I have that book too. I absolutely love it! It is also nice to hear from people what has worked for them and what hasn't. I am going to try to do this naturally. If it doesn't start to look better in a couple of days, I will call the dr. Unfortunately it is happening at a pretty bad time of the year. :rolleyes:

[RowanC]

Yeah :( Poor baby. But let's just visualize it clearing up on its own :)

I love that book too. I have about 10 herbals, but that's the one I grab first. I like that she actually tells you how much of everything to use, like a prescription. If I can't find what I need in there, then I go to the other books, but I really like it.

I'm not so keen on her Nutritional Healing book, but honestly probably haven't given it a chance. I didn't buy it. Do you have it?

[VibinOnLife!]

I have never heard of taking antibiotics for pink eye. Every time that I've had it they gave me medicated eye drops. Maybe that's the antibiotic? I went through this weird stage in the mid 90s where I had it 3 times back to back. I'm sure that I was reinfecting myself. And those were the only times in my life I'd ever had it.

Anyway, it may sound strange, but the best cure for pink eye is a few drops of breast milk in the eye. Since your daughter is 6 you might not have access to this, but if anyone here ever needs it, my breastfeeding friends swear by it! :)

Both of the ideas here sound good. I would do the GSE and potatoes over the eyes. Potatoes are very drawing.

Another thing that should help is the herb called Eyebright. You can open a few capsules into water and make a tea, strain it and place a few drops into the eye. Eyebright has been used as a folk medicine to treat eye inflammations and infections, coughs, and poor memory. Eyebright has been used since the middle ages as a tonic and astringent. The constituents of eyebright include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin B complex, iron, silicon, iodine, copper, and zinc.

Hope she's better soon!

[faith4u]

Colloidal Silver works so great for this. It doesn't sting either which is an added bonus.

The pink eye is usually almost gone by the end of the day if you do it three times per day. I ususally continue it for a couple of days to be sure. It works so well compared to the time I took my kids to the dr. and had to put drops in their eyes for days and days and days.

[Mango]

Yeah :( Poor baby. But let's just visualize it clearing up on its own :)

I love that book too. I have about 10 herbals, but that's the one I grab first. I like that she actually tells you how much of everything to use, like a prescription. If I can't find what I need in there, then I go to the other books, but I really like it.

I'm not so keen on her Nutritional Healing book, but honestly probably haven't given it a chance. I didn't buy it. Do you have it?

It is the Nutritional Healing book that I have not the Prescription for Herbal Healing :rolleyes: . Maybe I will have to get that one too because I love this book.

[Mango]

Colloidal Silver works so great for this. It doesn't sting either which is an added bonus.

The pink eye is usually almost gone by the end of the day if you do it three times per day. I ususally continue it for a couple of days to be sure. It works so well compared to the time I took my kids to the dr. and had to put drops in their eyes for days and days and days.


I just want to clarify.....do you put the colloidal silver in the eye or take it orally?

[juliebove]

Similislan now makes OTC drops for pinkeye. They are soothing and work very well. Eye scrubs are another important thing to do. I've been told this by several different eye Drs.

First get a few cheap washcloths or soft dishcloths. You want cheap because you're going to throw them away after use. Cut each one into a small square, perhaps 3" on each side. Then use some warm water and tear free baby shampoo. Mix a drop of shampoo with a little warm water and gently scrub the eyelid using the square. Rinse well. Repeat the procedure on the other eye, using a clean square. Do this at least twice daily, preferably as often as every 2 hours. This will remove the sticky buildup that can be irritating and will make her want to rub her eye.

Also be very careful with towels and other linens. If she dries her face on a towel it will need to be washed before anyone else can use it. So you might have her use a paper towel to dry off on. Pillowcases are another source of contaminant. They will need to be changed nightly.

And lastly, there is a form of strep that can cause pink eye. In young kids this is sometimes the only symptom and they don't get the typical sore throat. If it is that she may need medical attention.

[luckitri]

I had this recently. I read on-line to take a tsp raw honey and cook in 1 cup pure water. Then take a clean cloth and drip the solution into the eye. It worked really well. I honestly do not know what it was or how bad it could have gotten because I got rid of it in a couple of hours. Sat here in front of the 'puter and dripped it in one eye and read with the other.

[Mango]

Thanks so much for the help everyone! She woke up this morning and the pink eye was gone. I really wanted her to go to school today so she wouldn't miss out on the Christmas party.

I went a little overboard with trying to heal the pink eye. I bought the Similislan drops, eye bright, and GSE. We did the warm compresses about 4 times yesterday. I can't believe the difference.

Thanks again!

[Rawkinlocs]

Mango, that's wonderful...I'm so happy she's all better and you were able to use natural things! :)