Home Treatment For Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is a common eye disease that may be caused by excessive eye strain or infections due virus or bacteria. Due to conjunctivitis the eyes turn pink and hence the problem is often called pink eyes. This causes irritation and soreness in the eyes.

Conjunctivitis is a highly contagious disease and it is treatable. The human body itself takes measures to cure the pink eyes. Since the soreness causes pain, many home treatments are suggested and they also found to be very effective.

Homeopathy

Calcarea carbonicum, once per day for three days is suggested by homeopathy doctors to treat conjunctivitis for infants who suffer from other problems like seating and constipation. For those who are severe victims, Belladonna is found to be very effective.

Wash your eyes often

To reduce the irritation and pain grandmas suggest you to wash your eyes often. Nowadays many solutions are used for washing the pink eyes. These are available as eye wash or solutions in which cotton balls are dipped and applied on eyes. The cotton balls and other tools must be clean as you are dealing with infectious eyes.

Some eyebath solutions include a mixture of eyebright or goldenseal and they are used three times a day. A teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of warm water can also be used for washing your infected eyes. Another effective eyewash solution is a tablespoon of boric acid in a quart of lukewarm water or milk.

Effective eye drops

Colloidal silver is used effectively as an eye drop for pink eyes. Honey fights bacteria and hence can be used as an eye drop to cure pink eyes. Castor oil is a natural coolant that can be applied three times a day to reduce the pain.

Aroma oils

Cosmetic experts suggest the use of cotton balls dipped in aroma oils to cure pink eyes. These aroma oils induce the natural treatment ability of the human body and thus cure infection at a faster rate. Chamomile, lavender and rose oils are generally used for controlling the infection in the eyes.

Tea is also a remedy

Bioflavonoids that is present in tea is found to fight the infection that is caused by conjunctivitis. Tea bags that are moist or dipped in milk is used as a remedy for irritation. Eyebright tea, green tea and black tea contain tannic acid that soothes the itch that is caused by pink eyes.

Conjunctivitis creates discomfort for people due to the irritation and soreness. The disease is cured by the body itself if you don't take any medicine. All these home remedies will help you reduce the pain caused by pink eyes. When you take medicines, your infection will be treated and healed fast. When you have mild infections you can just use the home remedies. But if your infection is severe and you have pain then you must consult your doctor. When you have pink eyes reduce the strain on the eyes and always wash your hands after touching your eyes as the bacteria causing infection can easily spread to others by touching.

By Aakash Shah

Burning Eyes – Causes of Burning Eyes

Burning eyes affects about 30% of reading glasses wearers at one time or another. It is the commonest symptom of dry eyes. Most just suffer in silence, but there are simple steps that can be taken to help the condition.

Eye burning with discharge is burning, itching, or drainage from the eye of any substance other than tears. Lots of different things can make your eyes burn. Smoke, pollen, or a viral infection such as a cold or the flu can cause eyes to itch, burn, water, and redden. In these cases the burning and itching usually go away when the irritant is removed.

Sometimes burning and itching eyes are due to environmental pollutants that might be eliminated by social action. If secondhand cigarette smoke is annoying, say so. If an industrial plant in the area is polluting, contact the EPA for solutions.

Unprotected eyes can also be burned by the ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun, tanning lamps or arc welding equipment. Like sunburns to the skin, you won't feel pain until hours later, when the eyes and the area around them swell. Near-UV rays can damage your retina. The risk of sunburn to the eyes is very high when sunlight is reflected off water, sand or snow.

Causes of Burning eyes

Chronic dry or burning eyes can be caused by age, some medications, and disease. Itchy, burning eyelids can also result from infection.

Tears bathe the eye, washing out dust and debris and keeping the eye moist. They also contain enzymes that neutralize the microorganisms that colonize the eye. Tears are essential for good eye health.

Allergy is caused by an oversensitive immune system, which leads to a misdirected immune response. The immune system normally protects the body against harmful substances, such as bacteria and viruses. It reacts to substances (allergens) that are generally harmless and in most people do not cause a problem.

Sometimes burning and itching eyes are due to environmental pollutants that might be eliminated by social action. If secondhand cigarette smoke is annoying, say so. If an industrial plant in the area is polluting, contact the EPA for solutions.

Pink eye or viral conjunctivitis causes a red or bloodshot eye and excessive tearing. If you suspect pink eye, remember to wash your hands often, and avoid touching the unaffected eye. The infection will run its course in about 10 days.

During the normal aging process, our bodies and our eyes produce gradually less and less oil. This reduction in oil in the tear film results in quicker evaporation leading to the formation of dry spots on our eyes.

Treatment for Burning eyes

Artificial tears used four-to-six times a day can also relieve symptoms. Avoid over-the-counter eyedrops other than artificial tears because they will eventually make symptoms worse.

Antihistamines in the form of eye-drops or ointments may be prescribed. Cortisone-like eye ointments are not often prescribed. These medications will reduce many types of inflammation, but can make certain infections, such as herpes, worse.

Conserving the tears in your own eyes is another approach to keeping the eyes moist. Tears drain out of the eye through a small canal into the nose (that is why your nose runs when you cry). Your ophthalmologist may close these canals either temporarily or permanently. This closure conserves your own tears and makes artificial tears last longer.

By: peterhutch

What You Need to Know About Eye Allergies

Don't ignore itchy, watery eyes. Many times, this discomfort is caused by eye allergies, and depending on the severity, it may be easily treated. These allergies are uncomfortable, irritating and, at times, painful.
What Are the Symptoms of Eye Allergies?
Eye allergies commonly cause red, itchy eyes and swollen eyelids. This allergy can be very irritating and unsightly. Allergies occur when you come in contact with an allergen and the mast cells in your eyes release histamines that can cause your eyes to water and itch. This may be accompanied with a combination of other symptoms such as a runny nose, coughing, sneezing or a headache.
What Can Trigger Eye Allergies?
There are many things in our environment that can trigger an allergic reaction that can affect your eyes. The most common triggers are grass, weeds, trees and pet dander. Perfume, cigarette smoke and many other allergens can cause reactions ranging from mild to severe. You may be allergic to a specific indoor or outdoor allergen or you can have a reaction to a broad range of allergens.
How Can Eye Allergies be Treated?
It is best to limit your contact with anything that may cause an allergic reaction but at times it can be unavoidable. The most common reaction to an allergy of the eyes is seasonal allergic conjunctivitis. Some mild allergy symptoms can be treated with over-the-counter medications, but if you find that this does not control your symptoms, or if your symptoms are severe and disruptive to your daily activities, you should visit a health professional. Allergies in general will not harm your eyesight but there are some rarer conditions that cause inflammation and can affect your eye sight.
Contact Lenses and Eye Allergies
Some contact wearers suffer from these allergies. Symptoms can make it difficult to wear contacts. Allergens can adhere to your lenses and cause a reaction. Before you use eye drops to alleviate your symptoms, check with your doctor to make sure that they don't contain anything that may harm your lenses. You may also consider switching to disposable lenses that you change nightly. Allergens are less likely to adhere to your lenses and cause discomfort with frequent replacement.
You can check your local allergy map to see when allergy season in your area is active. It will help to have on hand any allergy medications you need to control flare-ups. Your doctor can also offer advice and medications to eliminate or reduce your symptoms.
 By Des Taylo

How To Get Rid of Pink Eye Symptoms

While natural remedies for pink eye may relieve irritating symptoms, any home treatments should not be used as substitutes for a physician's care. Extended use of non-clinical treatments for pink eye will result in worsening symptoms, better chances of infecting others and the possibility that what you think is pink eye may be something more serious, such as an ulcer, rheumatic diseases and systemic lupus erythematosus. Allowing one of these conditions to continue without professional treatment may result in permanent vision loss.
Medically referred to as conjunctivitis, this is the infection of the membrane that protects the whites of the eyes and the inner eyelids. Reasons for developing pinkeye include the introduction of allergy-causing irritants into the eye, bacteria and viruses. Bacterial conjunctivitis and viral conjunctivitis are the most common forms of pink eye, with children being more vulnerable to the infection than adults. Bacterial pinkeye is usually the result of a streptococci or staphylococci bacteria entering the eye and infecting membranes. Symptoms include itching, green or yellowish discharge, extreme redness of the sclera (white part of the eyeball), sharp pain and swelling. In addition, lymph nodes near the ears may be swelled as well.
Adenoviruses are responsible for viral pinkeye and basically produce the same symptoms as bacterial pink eye except the discharge is watery and clear rather than yellowish or greenish. Additionally, viral pink eye affects more people in early spring and/or late fall than any other time of the year. It is often accompanied by sinus congestion and sensitivity to bright lights.
Several home remedies, such as "artificial tears" eyedrops or applying a warm compress on the affected eyes may relieve the pain and itching of pinkeye. If you wear contact lens and develop pink eye symptoms, you might consider not wearing the lenses until your doctor determines the cause of the conjunctivitis. Since bacterial conjunctivitis is much more contagious than the viral kind, the use of contact lenses may only contribute to re-infecting the eye.
Boric acid eyewash is an old remedy that will clean the eye and relieve symptoms. Mix one cup of boiled water with 1/8 teaspoon of boric acid, allow the mixture to cool, and then place one or two eye drops in the affected eye. Pinkeye sufferers can also try placing damp, warm tea bags on infected eyes, which may ease the swelling and pain. Try soaking cotton balls in boiled saltwater, letting them cool, and then placing them on eyelids to help fight bacterial conjunctivitis.
Certain herbs can also be used as natural remedies for pink eye, such as jasmine flowers, calendula and damp chamomile tea bags. Fill a glass jar with distilled water and about 10 to 15 jasmine flowers. Let the flowers soak for eight hours before placing one or two drops of the mixture into the affected eye. Calendula has antiseptic properties and seems to be effective in soothing inflammation. Use calendula as an eyewash or as a compress once or twice a day to relieve symptoms of pink eye.
By Thomas H. Redmond