Pink Eye Remedies

Have a crusted over, irritated or blood shot eye and need to know pink eye remedies? Pink eye or conjunctivitis is the infection or inflammation of the membrane that covers the eye. Pink eye can bacterial or viral or stem from allergies. If you’re not sure if you have pink eye, you should see your ophthalmologist to rule out other eye problems before trying any remedies at home. But if you’ve experienced pink eye before and are able to diagnose yourself, you can use these pink eye remedies to soothe the irritated eye at home and avoid a trip to the doctor’s office.

1. Warm with water wash. Using a warm, wet washcloth, gently wipe around the eye. The warm washcloth will loosen any dried mucus and help keep crusted mucus and dust from reentering the infected eye. Make sure that the washcloth is warm, not hot. A washcloth that is too hot may burn the delicate skin around the eye. Wash the wash cloth well after using it. Pink eye is very contagious and you don't want to infect your other eye.
2. Cool water press. Buy a package of cotton rounds at your local drugstore. Dip a clean cotton round into ice cold water. Lie down on your back and apply the cold, wet cotton round to the infected eye. Keep the cotton round on the eye for three to five minutes or until the round is no longer cold. Repeat three to four times at day or as necessary to relieve itching and pain.
3. Eye drops. Purchase some eye drops and use them three to four times a day. Check with your doctor or a pharmacist to see which types of over the counter (OTC) drops treat pink eye. Often saline solutions or “artificial tears” are best because they will lubricate the eye and provide relief, without over-drying the eye or causing any undesirable side effects.
4. Medication. In most cases, pink eye will go away on its own within four days. If these pink eye remedies don’t work for you and you still have irritation and redness after four days, you should see you eye doctor. Your doctor will be able to prescribe drops or an ointment that will cure your pink eye effectively.