Home Remedies for Pinkeye

Pinkeye is also known as conjunctivitis. It occurs when the tissues that surround your eyes become inflamed. It can be caused by allergies, viral infections or bacterial infections. How do you know if you have pink eye? If you feel like if you have something in your eye and can not find the source and if your eye itches, most likely you have pink eye. Other symptoms include redness in your eye and swollen eyelids. Sometimes one eye will have show these signs and these travel to you other eye. The reason this happens is pink eye is very contagious and when you touch your infected eye, the germs easily get on your skin and can be transferred anywhere. That is why when a student gets pink eye, they have to be on medication for twenty-four hours before returning back to school.

Since this condition is highly contagious, it is advisable to go to the doctor and get antibiotics. However, some people prefer not to go to the doctor or are unable to go immediately. There are many home remedies that will help relieve the symptoms of pinkeye.

Since Vitamin C is excellent in fighting infections, increasing the amount you take will help clear up your conjunctivitis. Even if you start taking more Vitamin C now, you may prevent the likelihood of getting pink eye.

Add colloidal silver to a glass of water. This has properties that attack bacteria and infections.

Put chamomile teabags in a cup of warm water. Allow it to brew for five minutes. Put these teabags over your eyes. While they will soothe the burning and itching in your eye, it will help draw the infection out.

Place a warm and damp wash cloth over your eye. Keep it in place for ten minutes. Doing this helps reduce the inflammation and also gives you eye a chance to heal from the infection.

Preventions are the best home remedy. Since both the viral and bacterial infections are very contagious, it can be passed from person to person easily. Here are some tips to help prevent from catching pinkeye or passing to another potential victim:

1. Wash hands after touching objects that may have been touched by somebody with pinkeye

2. Do not share towels or washcloths

3. Do not pass pinkeye by touching your eye then touching your uninfected eye

4. Stay home from work or school for at least 24 hours

While the symptoms of pinkeye usually disappear after doing one or more of these home treatments, if the symptoms do not go away or if the pinkeye returns, see your doctor. It can be a sign of a serious medical illness such as glaucoma. It is not worth it, if you lose your eyesight in your eye.

Reference:

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