Pink Eye

if you are breat feeding, washing out the eyes with breast milk works like a charm in most cases.. if not or in addition to.. salt water is good- dissolve 1/2 teaspoon salt in warm water and flush eye with a dropper. One more thing to try is placing a wet bag of chamomile tea on the eye.. good luck!

http://www.home-remedies-for.com/pink-eye/
http://www.learningherbs.com/pink_eye_remedy.html

After a quick search, I found these websites. It looked really practical and interesting.

I've been looking into nutrition lately. The best way to get nutrients and what nutrients we aren't getting in our modern diets. From what you say, you sound like you might be aware of your diet more than most. I am coming to the conclusion that every sickness is a vitamin definciency.

A book on diet I would reccomend:
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
Also I found this cool website on nutrition:
www.naturalways.com

I have a bunch of health information if you are interested just let me know!
I hope you both get better soon!

Wow. My thought is that even if you don't want to see a doctor you darn sure should take the baby to see one. Prescription antibiotic eye drops will work better and faster than sterile water.

You just don't want to mess around with an eye infection - especially with a child who can't tell you exactly what he is feeling or seeing. There could be permanent damage to his eyes.

Yes, I have gone to our homeopathic doctor, who is also an MD and received useful natural instruction for pink eye. I used it for myself and my children. Sterilized water is the right thing, combine a few drops of St. John's wart and Golden Seal, wipe from the nose to the outside and dump the cotton ball, repeat two more times on each side. Do it three times a day.
I hope this is useful.

A little about me:
I am a married mother of fraternal boy twins :)

Hi L.,

This is going to sound weird...I put chamomile tea on a cotton ball or a Q-tip and put compresses on my eye a couple of times a day. It's usually gone right away. Even when I start to feel it coming on, I do it and usually can stop it.

My friend's mom told me about this yeas ago and it really seems to work; however, I don't know that I'd do it for the baby.

Good luck.

Hi L.! How awful for you and your son! Pink eye can be terribly uncomfortable, especially for a little one who may not understand that in order to heal quickly, you have to keep your hands out of your eyes!

Here are a few of the things I have found to work for our family:

1.)we use the homeopathic euphrasia ('eyebright') internally
2.)we use euphrasia tincture (we have also used calendula tincture and homeopathic as well) (about 5 drops in an eye cup...if you don't have one a shot glass will work, of water) as an eyewash. An eyewash is quite simple for an adult, but for a child so young, pretty hard. So for the kids, I do it one of two ways. If your little guy is able to lay still on his back, you can dilute the tincture, then have him lay down and close his eyes. Drop about three to five drops of the dilution into the corners of his eyes, where it will make little pools. (my kids loved having the little pools in their eyes...tell a story or sing a song to go along with it). Be right there with a warm, damp cloth, and have him open his eyes quickly to let the solution in. Then wipe his eyes with the warm cloth. I actually use two cloths...one for each eye. The other way to do it is to make euphrasia compresses, one for each eye, that he can hold over his eyes for as long as possible.
3.)Pink eye can either be a virus or bacteria. If it is a bacteria, then this should be enough, and it should go away in a week or less. If it is a virus, and he has symptoms that are accompanying the pink eye, then I would suggest some immune support, vit. C, lots of rest and lots of water...and of course, lots of comfort and closeness! Either way, wash your bedclothes, his clothes, your clothes, anything he comes into contact with as often as possible, and wash your hands and his hands frequently throughout the day.

We have had pink eye a couple of times, and have used these methods. It was gone within a week or less (for each of us), and we did this without running water. A lot of people have suggested seeing a doctor. I suggest following your gut. If you believe in the remedy you are using, go with that. If you are second guessing yourself, and stressed out the whole time, then I would take yourselves in. I was not comfortable giving my kiddos antibiotic drops, and felt confident that we could heal ourselves. Some people would be more uncomfortable not seeing a doctor. What you do will depend on your comfort level and what *you* feel is best for you and your family.

Best of luck and happy healing!

If you are nursing, squirt a drop or two of breastmilk into his eyes at feedings. This worked for my son.

Liquid silver is an old-time remedy for infections, and is available at health food stores. I bought some at Marlene's, and I also bought a spray bottle there to put it in. I have never used it exclusively to cure pink eye, but I think it would at least help. God bless you and yours, and I hope you are all "as right as rain" very soon! :)

I have had pink eye and the fastest way to get rid of it is by a prescription eye drop from the DR!! I hate pink eye, and it is sooo good to just get it over with!! I am really big on home remedies most of the time, but my advise on this one is definitely go to the doctor!!

Please take the baby to the Dr. as he is little and the infection could worsen. OR Call your Dr.'s office and see if you can just have a prescription called into the pharmacy without him being seen--you know it's pink eye because you passed it to him.

Also, try the health department as they are quite helpful. When I lived in CA they had a sliding scale payment system.

Hi there - We are all about natural medicine and remedies, but my son recently had pink eye and even our naturopath said he needed antibiotic eye drops. It helped our 20 month old son tremendously and gave him relief. That would be my recommendation - take care!

We've always had great success using neosporin (with clean hands, of course) right on the eyeball! Sounds weird, I know, but in two days or less, pink eye is totally gone. The people I've told about this who have used this method also swear by it. Others have said it's gross and goopy on the eyeball, which it is, but it works so well, every time. To those I just say fine ...go to the dr. pay for the office visit, pay for the eye drops (50.00 or more) endure the burning, etc.

It seems like I get pink eye often from allergies. I usually buy the Baush and Lomb allergy drops and it clears right up! Good Luck!

I had pink eye (got it from my daughter) last Summer. It kept coming back because I didn't get the right medication for it. If it's virual it's easier to treat and will go away on it's own in about 7 days. If you get bacterial (like I had). You need a stronger eye drop. Problem is the dr. can't tell which one you have (I guess there's no way to tel). So you just have to treat it. I'd definitely go to the dr. and get some eye drops. Ooops... forgot to mention. It's better to do to an eye dr. than your regular family dr.

Everyone has their own thoughts on homeopathy. I think it has a place for sure, but the best policy for your child is to take them to a doctor. Little bodies suffer differently, especially when they are not able to help themselves or vocalize their pain. Call the pink eye into his doctor and try the homeopath solutions on yourself first.

I went through 3 eye prescriptions until my sisters boyfriend told me to do this and it WORKED!!! All you need is a fresh LIME and plain ol eye wash: fill your eye wash cup with the eye wash, squeeze a couple drops of fresh lime in it, and rinse your eyes, repeat 3-4 times a day. My eye infection was gone in 2-3 days! It works I swear to the good Lord up in Heaven IT WORKS!
Try it!

Oh girl, pink eye is so pervasive - do yourself a favor and get your little one to a doctor at least... You can use the same bottle of eyedrops on yourself, then save it in case you come down with it again. Wash all toys and sheets that came in contact with you and your son before you took the drops for 24 hours. And change your pillow case every morning. Trust me... we've had pink eye going around our family for weeks now and I've had enough! Once you have it, it is so hard to get rid of. I couldn't imagine trying to do it without the eyedrops.

My dad is an optometrist, and whenever any of us has pink eye symptoms the biggest thing he says is to wash hands. Constantly. Usually it will clear up on its own after a few days. He also told me to give everyone their own personal hand towel and to change it everyday. You can also use OTC eye drops like TheraTears several times a day to keep it hydrated. With a baby as young as nine months, you should probably clean his toys, too. If you can keep from reinfecting yourself and each other, that's the biggest hurdle.

Try colloidal silver water. It took my 9 year olds pink eye away within 48 hrs. Get 20 PPM(parts per million) though, not 10 PPM. The 10 was not as effective! Also the Pink Eye drops from Similiason have worked well for us. Good luck!

My husband is a nurse and he said that pink eye is a bacterial infection that does not go away without an antibiotic. If it is not taken care of soon, it could result in vision loss. Once the antiobiotic is used, the pink eye goes away quickly.

You need to see the doctor. If pink eye is left untreated you could go blind.

We have used chamille tea. Make a cup of tea let it cool down enough to dip a cotton ball or a corner of a wash rag and use on eye several times a day. It works great.

L.,

Got milk?

Breast milk has antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties. I used it to treat pink-eye in my babies, and it worked great. The best thing is that it doesn't sting and you can use it as often as you like. Breast milk is also very good as a decongestant for a baby with a cold.

I emptied a bottle of sterile saline nasal spray and filled it part way with breast milk and sprayed as directed into baby's nose. The effect doesn't last long, and the milk has a short shelf life, but it is very effective, and the relief is virtually immediate.

I wouldn't recommend using breast milk unless you have your own, however. Remember, it is a bodily fluid that can carry infectious agents.

Hope this helps.

D. T

Are you still lactating? Breast milk is good for infections of tear ducts early on, and might also be helpful for pink eye.

Next time you see the infection coming on the best thing you can do from keeping it from your baby is washing your hands, but for now you need a antibiotic from an eye Dr.

The only thing that I know of is for you to go to the doctor and both of you to get treated. Pink eye is extrememely contagious. While you are at it you also need to replace all your makeup especially all the eye makeup or you will reinfect yourself.

Contact lense cleaner works very well. It is designed to remove bacteria.

Really, pink eye is one of the most contagious sicknesses. Consider going to the doc. Sorry I don't have another suggestion, but several people I know have gotten it this winter. It's really going around!

re: Pink Eye - when I was a child, my grandmother had a cheap cure that worked. She told my Mom to collect my urine in a bowl, apply it with cotton ball to my eye and the stye would go away. It did and I have never had another stye in my life.
I am a Sr. citizen and back when my grandmother was raising her seven children, using natural methods was a common thing.
try it - it works. M.

I have went on-line and you can find several different cures the contact solution one seemed best to me or the over the counter one works they also said that green tea bags works good, but for young kids I would go to the doctor because the medicine they describe works so much faster. I just dealt w/all of my kids getting pink-eye and it isn't fun!! Good luck!!
S.

Keep the eyelid clean using either a dilute solution of baby shampoo or over the counter lid cleaners. Warm compresses prior to cleaning will help to loosen any debis on the lash. Liberal use of an artificial tear thoughout the day(every 2-4 hours) and a bland lubricating ointment at night(refresh pm is an example). Most cases of pink eye are viral and need to run their course, secondary bacterial can cause the symptoms to be persistant. Antibiotics may be needed if it becomes chronic. See your eye doctor not your general physician.

Also, viral infections can be very contagious so handwashing and not sharing washcloths, towels, etc. is essential to prevent spreading to other family members.

When I had it as a child, my Gramma put hot black tea bags on my eye several times a day, cleared up fast (must be a good strong black tea like oolong, or ceylone and as hot as you can take it.

another home remedy is contact solution and rinse your eye in that, my neighbor swears by that.

and for a homepathic some swear by the aloe plant, my SIL is a aloe diehard.....

Hello L., Sorry but there is no meds to get rid of it, I am a COA and worked in Opthamology for 10 years. Now a stay at home mom, but I still remember my stuff. Pink Eye (Viral Conjunctivitis) is a cold virus in the eyes. Being that it is viral the only way to get rid of it is to let it run its coarse. Often people will go to there family doctor and they will give them emycin ointment or drops but really that does not make it go away just make you more comfertable. The best thing for comfort is cold compresses and if real bothersome you can by over the counter lubricating eye drops. Pink eye is very very contagous so for a few days you should avoid going out if you don't have to and everyone should be washing there hands often and not touching there face. If things become painful or worsen and not better you should see a Opthamologist. Hope this helps.

I heard pink eye is really going around. you really should go to the DR because there are different types. my friend had a viral type that no medicine would help and she just had to wait it out and natural remedies made it worse. there are so many types of medicines that can be prescribed for conjunctivitis and now that your little one has it, go to the DR :)

Sorry! You need to go to the doc. Pink eye is highly communicilbe (spelling?) as you've just now found out!
Don't use each others towels, wash hands frequently, don't share any thing your hands touch with any one else.
You might try Visine, warm cloths to the eyes to help
with the pain. L,L

Unfortunately, there is no alternative treatment for pink eye (conjunctiveitis). If it's the form caused by a virus, it's extremely contagious. You can help not spread it to other family members by disinfecting all the surfaces you've touched, use throw-away tissues after applying medication and then washing your hands after touching either the area around your eyes or your baby's. It's gets progressively worse and can become very painful. You need to take you and your son in immediately to avoid spreading this disease everywhere you go. Don't forget to disinfect the steering wheel, brake release handle and other surfaces you may have touched in your car. This is a good time to take disinfectant wipes with you everywhere you go - you don't want any more germs getting on your hands and you don't want to infect any others.

Conjunctivitis is a nasty bother, but it's easily cured with drops or ointment and isn't expensive to cure.

M.L.

Hi L., you might want to try Eyebright (Euphrasia Officinalis). I've only ever used the capsules but I understand it is also available as a tincture to use topically. Available at the health store.

Hi, all these remedies are great. Never heard of breast milk, sound odd. Pink eye is a viral-bacterial infection and very contagious. You need to see a general doctor. All these remedies helps relive the external symptoms, but do not get rid of the infection. Everyone you have come in contact with has been exposed to the virus. I know this first hand. I had chronic pink-eye. I now get eye infection real easy and have to wear glasses for the rest of my life.
I recommend consulting a doctor and continuing with the remedy of your choice. Seeing a doctor will also let the see if there will be a epidemic. AND MAKE SURE HANDS ARE WASHED AT ALL TIMES

Colloidal silver works like a charm.

Hi L.
My best friend and I have always used Polysporin applied to the edge of the lash area with a q tip. We consulted our pediatrician and he agreed that this would not hurt they eye and it has worked very well on pink eye as well as stys in the eye. As adults we have actually pulled the lid out a bit and put it inside the lid and it works faster but with little ones that is harder to do. We usually did it at nap time and night time....less mess!

I used an eye wash several times a day with just water. You can use a tiny bit of johnson's baby shampoo and wash your eye with it. Rinse well. I also would wash my hands thoroughly before itching it, I know you're not supposed to itch it but I would itch with very clean hands and then rinse my eye again and wash my hands and eye wash thingy very well. You have to wash your hands alot, it's very contagious! Warm compresses help too.

Unless you have a viral infection, pink eye is generally bacterial and can cause serious damage if left untreated. I would suggest going to the doctor for the eye drops they prescribe. There's ususally enough left over for future cases, but I wouldn't risk the infection to go long without consulting at least a nurse.

Hi L., Isn't Pink-eye wonderful? I got it for the first time at age 45, after working in the church nursery. I did go to the doctor, but I initially came down with it on Dec. 23rd and couldn't get to the doc until after Christmas. I used a warm, salt water wash on my eyes. I made it myself, and it absolutely does not burn. It is very comforting. Get on the internet and find a solution recipe. Good luck. S. Teague

your breast milk will cure both his pink eye and yours. sounds crazy but it is true. massaging the duct at the bridge of the nose near the inner eye will help get the gunk out also. good luck.

If you are nursing, the best thing for pink eye is breast milk. I am trying to think of the best way to get it to your eye and keep it sterile. If your son was younger you could just squirt it in his eyes, but 9 months old.... Squirt some in a clean spoon and soak it up in a cotton ball and squeeze drops of milk in each eye a couple of times a day. I wanted to reference this for you but I don't remember what book or who told me. My youngest is 20 years old... I have 3 children and I know I used this method with atleast 2 of them. Good luck.

Hi L.,

If you are still breastfeeding you can squirt some breastmilk in your baby's eye! I know it sounds strange, but it works.
I got this from a source online:
"A particular antibody in the breast milk, called immunoglobulin A, prevents the pink eye bacteria from attaching to the mucosal surface of the eye. This limits the growth of the bacteria, helping to end the eye infection".

You can do a google search too and read up on it.
Good luck!

If you are still nursing you can squirt breast milk in the babies eye or collect some and drop a couple drops in your eyes a few times a day. It sounds funny but the milk has natural antibacterial properties. I did this with my baby and it worked.

let me know if home treatment works please C.

you can use Colloidal Silver and breastmilk. freshly pumped not frozen. My husband got Pink Eye and after using both of those it was gone in 3 days. The Colloidal Silver you can find at New Season's or Whole Foods if you live in Oregon. And breastmilk with any nursing mom. You can have them spray it directly into your eye or get some pumped and then pour into an eye cup then onto your eye.

Pink eye should always be treated with antibiotics and warm compresses. Good Job!

I have used Boric acid and sterilized water solution and it worked well for me.

You should go to the doctor.

There are three types of pink eye or "conjunctivitis". Viral, bacterial and allergy. Bacterial gets treated with antibiotic, Allergy can be treated with antihistamine drops to comfort the itching and irritation and viral will go away on it's own. You have no idea which one it is until going to the doctor and you can ask to not be treated unless it's the bacterial kind. It really isn't right expect your 9 month old son to suffer through this until it may or may not clear up. You are doing right by cleaning with water, clearing with warm water helps keep the goopiness away. However, it can be painful and itchy, as you know and he will not be able to keep his hands away from his eyes.
Good luck and I hope you both feel better soon!

If you are breastfeeding, breastmilk is one of the best cures for pinkeye. Sounds weird, but it works.

Last spring my kids kept getting pink eye for months and I'd sterilize the whole house every night. I was exhausted. They had 2 different prescriptions from the doctor during this time as well. Someone finally recommended Similasan Pink Eye Relief. It worked and it never came back. I got it at Wild Oats. Good luck and I totally sympathize with you, it's NO fun!!!

Hi L. B.

For the pink eye, it's very contagious. The best thing for you to do is to go to the doctor so they can give you the right medicine to treat it. It's one of those things that only the right medicine can help it from the doctor.

I am a licensed daycare provider and I have seen these things for many years. As soon as I see my little ones get it, they are mandatory to go to the doctor to get treated or else everyone will get it.

Love AJ

if you or someone you know is nursing putting breast milk in your, our your son's eye will clear it up quickly.

L.,

Go to your Dr. and get the antibiotic drops. As far as I know it is the only way to stop spreading it around in the family. Which means it's on it's way back to you. I had it, did what you did and 2 weeks later had it again, worse. Finally went to Dr. and so far no repeat.
God Bless you and yours
C. C.

Be careful, it can get worse...many years ago I had in and did not realize it and just thought it was from my contacts and it turned into conjuctivitus(sp). I would advise going to the doctor because it is extrememly contagious and you may be passing in on to other people and not even realize it.

There is no cure except taking you and your baby to the doctor. You both need antibotics.

My kids got pink eye this year (passed to each other quickly from a friend) and it was cleared up in 24 hours with antibiotic eye drops, but unfortunately I did have to go to the doctor to get that prescribed. It was the bacterial kind of pink eye - they tested the goo to determine that. It is highly contagious.

You have had a lot of response to this. I just had to put in my two cents worth. I am not quite sure about Pink Eye, but when I was a kid. Sometimes I would wake up with my eye or eyes glued shut per say due to a mucus build up (a slight eye infection or eye cold). Well, what my mom used to use on us kids was Chamomile tea bags. Take warm water like you are going to make tea and take the tea bag and let the tea drip into your eye(s). The Chamomile has something in it that naturally kills any bacterial in your eye. It usually doesn't hurt or burn either. Just a home remedy that my mom passed on to me that I like to share with others.

Pink eye is similar to a staph infection and you will need to see a doctor. It's highly contagious. And your 9 month old won't keep his hands off his eye, he'll be rubbing them, exasperating the situation. Get him the relief he needs, as well as you. Be sure to use hot water when washing your linens and don't share any towels or wash cloths. Get well soon!!

I just passed a test that had to deal with pink eye and there was not one singel thing about home cures for it. I could be wrong and if I am I would love to know also. As I work in a barn and pink eye starts from getting poop in your eye. Yes it can be passed from person to person and you may never have touched any poop to your eye. With barn chores we all have had it at least once or twice. Any way all I do know of is Dr.
H.

Last summer my son (who was 5 at the time) got pink eye from a friend who had an older sister. I looked on the internet and the one cure that kept coming up was to use soft contact solution. Put it under the bottom lid several times a day. I didn't (and still don't) have medical insurance, so going to the doctor was not an option.

It worked. It started working almost immediately and within 3 days it looked like it was gone. I kept up treatments for a 4th day just to be sure.

I just went to Walgreens and purchased their brand. It was fairly cheap for a large bottle and it worked wonderfully.

Breastmilk helps too. But I don't have any little ones anymore, so I couldn't do that one. :o)

I really hope this helps.
S.

I haven't read other responses so excuse me if I'm being redundant. I'm not sure why you don't want to go to the doctor and get medicine for it. But pink eye is highly, highly contagious and schools and child cares will not let a child with pink eye in until they've been on medication at least 24 hours. (Perhaps not an issue for you.) Even if you don't mind how long it takes to get over, please think about everyone you come in contact with (even just from touching a grocery cart handle) who are very likely to get it if you don't get rid of it.

My pediatrician has said drops don't work for all pink eye, but I think you should investigate.

Morning. I would definitely go see the doctor. Hey I looked up pink eye on Web md for you and pasted the link in here, all you should have to do is copy and paste into your browser and it will take you right to the article on pink eye. I love Web MD on line it is such an awesome free tool! Hope this helps.

Lora

http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/tc/pinkeye-topic-overview

Breast milk works very well! I have also successfully used an infusion of eyebright. You can get the herb at most health food stores and it's very inexpensive. You then boil some water and let the herb sit in the water for a couple of hours and use an eyedropper to put in in your eye. Just a couple of drops in each eye (even if only one eye is affected so far) every few hours.

I would use breastmilk first and try eyebright only if the breastmilk didn't help (it should though).

Best wishes!
~B.

Unfortunately, you will probably have to go to the doctor to get antibiotic eye drops. We just had pink eye this last week, and we tried the natural way to get rid of it. But it spread to my 7 year old daughter's eyes and the baby's eyes. Not fun, but it did clear up quickly with the prescription drops.

Go to the doctor, and try not to touch your eyes and wash wash wash your hands. Some things are best taken care of quickly and this is one of them.

L.,

I have always used evaporated milk. I know it sounds strange, but it really does work. Just drop a few drops in each eye. You can use it several times a day if you need to. It seems to be the fastest remedy I've ever used.

I don't know what family doctor you see, but you should try calling them (if you don't want to go in) and see if the doc will write you a perscripton. That will be the only way to get rid of the infection. You will probably be told to use the same stuff on you and your baby. I would either call or go in ASAP. As a previous post said, you and your baby can go blind if left untreated. My son just had it and he cried and cried because of the pain and itchyness, I took him in right away. The next day his eyes weren't as red and not nearly as goopy. The following day it was pretty much totally gone. Best wishes (please call the doc)
W.

Pink eye is a bacterial infection. Antibiotics is the only way I know of to get rid of it. My mother had pink eye for a month and finally went to the doctor. Antibiotics cleared it up in a week.

There are two kinds of pink eye. Viral and Bacterial. If it is bacterial, my doc and research on the internet said triple antibiotic ointments like neosporin will help. Washing hands often, and not rubbing or even touching your eye is important. If it's viral (comes along with a cold), it will run it's coarse, but hand washing etc. is still very important. Worked for me!

I do know one thing that really helps and that is to continually clean bedding esp. pillow case. hand towels. Wiping down everything. It is kind of like head lice. You have to go through and thoroughly clean your home. Then go through and do it again in a couple days. The pillow case is a biggy change it every day

If you are still nursing your son then breastmilk is the best pink eye remedy I've heard of. It works! Use it for you and your son. You don't need much. Hand express a little and dab it on your eye with clean fingers, eye dropper, or cotton ball. However feels comfortable to you.

This sounds wierd, but if you are still breastfeeding, try some breastmilk in both you and your son's eyes. This worked for my daughter. But if it doesn't work within a couple days, go to the doctor. Pink eye can cause serious side effects if untreated, it can even cause blindness.

I'm sorry to say, but I would go to the Dr. as pink eye is so extremely contagious and spreads like wildfire. My son had this a few months ago and nothing would take it away but antibiotic eye drops. There are two different types, bacterial and viral. The one that doesn't go away on it's own, needs to be treated. Good luck and I hope I don't sound like I'm preaching.....

I had pink eye for few days. Doctor has prescribed me some drops but I didn't get any results, then my friend's grandma told me to try home remedy. you just have to mix the honey and vinegar in warm water and put a drop directly into the infected eyes several times a day. It really works.
http://www.eyehealthguide.net/pink-eye-home-remedies.html

Chamomile tea. Brew some chamomile tea, let it cool and either put some of the tea on a cotten ball and wash your eye with it or place the use chamomile bag over your eye and let it sit there for a bit.