My husband and I are struggling with seasonal allergies at the moment. Our eyes are itchy, and feel like they are full of something, but they aren't gunky. My mother in law suggested lime juice mixed with water as an eyewash. I love her, but I don't always trust her home remedies because some of them are old wives tales. And lime juice in my eye doesn't sound good. Do you know of a natural remedy for this? We can live with the headaches and sneezing, but the eye thing is really bothersome.
I got some local honey from the farmer's market. It tastes so much better than the clover honey from the grocery store by the way! Either the spoonful of honey every morning is working or the main culprit was my lilac bush, which is no longer blooming. Whichever it is, my eyes feel better. I can tell a difference with my throat and nose symptoms after eating the honey, so I'm going to keep that up. But just in case the eye irritation was due mostly to my lilacs, which only bloom for 2-4 weeks every year, I'm keeping a list of your suggestions for next year. Thank you all for your good advice!
eyebright, nettle, quercetin, and homeopathic allergy remedies. All can be found at vitamin cottage or whole foods.
J. :-)
Dr Christopher's Eye Bright works AMAZING!!! You can dilute it so it it almost like just water and it still works. I highly recommend it.
I also have seasonal allergies and the thing that helps me is to eat honey. The key to making the honey work though is that it has to be made from bees in your area. The reason is that the bees are making the honey from the pollen that you are reacting to, and eating it helps lessen the reaction that you get. So eat it on your toast, in your tea (if you drink tea) any way that you can. I find that somedays I have to take an extra "dose" because it is a really bad day. On those days I will take a spoon from the drawer (about a tablespoon) and fill it up and take it and then I will be fine. It even will help the kids although they won't need as much as you and your hubby will. Try it and see what works for you.
Saline drops are good for rinsing out your eyes. It's balanced to be close to your natural tears and has no other medication (make sure you read labels of saline drops to verify that they are only saline). You can get them in the eye care area of any regular store.
For dealing with itchy, puffy, irritated eye area (not the eyes themselves, but the eyelids and surrounding area, which are often inflamed as well) try cucumber. It's got natural anti-inflamatories in it. You can honestly just slice a cucumber and put it over your eyes (Spa treatment! lol). I also recommend Mary Kay's soothing eye gel. It has cucumber extract and chamomile, another anti inflamatory, in a convenient get you can carry with you. Gently dab it around your eyes and it soaks in and soothes, while you get on with your day. You can even keep it in the fridge so that it's nice and cool. Find a consultant at www.marykay.com (click on shop with a consultant and you can put in your zip code) or, if you're in the Salt Lake area contact me (click on my name) and I can hook you up :)
Hi Carrie. Yea, I would stay away from lime juice in the eyes- that just logically sounds like a bad idea! I found something that is natural and has worked wonders for me- not only for my itchy, watery eyes, but for my sneezing, itchy throat, and hay fever. If you would like more info, you can email me at ____@____.com care!
I'm sorry I don't have any help fo you. I just had to laugh about the lime juice. Ouch that would hurt! =) Don't knock til you try it, I guess, but still common sense tells me...not a good idea. lol
I hope you find some answers.
A cold wash cloth will go a long way to ease the itch. There are also herbal allergy drops OTC called Similasan that work great. Also good OTC are Alaway or Zaditor (these are safe for long term use where as Opcon and naphcon are only for short term use.) Sometimes if it's really bad you just need a good RX from your eye doctor. There are several eye drops out there that are safe for long term use (ie over the spring, summer and fall. If you can't find relief see a local optometrist!
Colloidal Silver, as long as you get the right kind, is great for anything eye-related. I use it in my eyes for styes, and for pink-eye w/ my kids. You can also take it internally to build up your immune system when people around you are sick or you feel like you're coming down w/ something (or traveling on an airplane, etc).
You can get the kind I use here:
http://www.mylifeforce.net/amystarr/colloidal-silver.html
Enjoy!
A.
I know you said natural, but my doctor recommended some drops for my eyes, that were absolutely driving me crazy!! I use a natural tears type drop every morning to help with the dryness, but it just wasn't cutting it and I was going nuts! He told me to get Alaway - inexpensive and at Wal-mart and the best thing ever. It worked great and I even reduced how often I was using it, to only every once in awhile, which is fabulous! Just thought I'd share - good luck!
I do two things: Opcon A drops (found at any drugstore) and quercitin (a natural supplement found in many veggies)which can be found at natural health food stores. Good luck!
We do nasal rinses. They help with the headaches and sneezing, as well. As long as I'm faithful, I don't need meds. I can wear my contacts now with no problem, which used to be painful during allergy season. Hope you feel better soon!
I'm a Nutritional Herbologist and what my family uses is a formula with marshmallow root and astragalus root. It comes in capsules called Immucalm and in luquid form called Kid-e-Soothe. Both of these are made by the Dr. Christopher company and can be purchased at a healthfood store. The only difference between the two formulas is the liquid form is in glycerin for the benefit of children, and it tastes pretty good. They work equally well and we use them on adults and children alike in our home. You take both of the orally, but they do help to reduce itchy, red, irritated eyes. It's perfectly safe to take a dose every hour if needed.
Witchhazel. You can make tea if you strain it with a CLOTH - like a dish towel. Then you use an eye cup to rinse your eye. OR if you're desperate, you can use the palm of your hand.
They also make a witch hazel eye rinse. They have it near the eye drops section at the grocery store. It comes with an eye cup and directions.
Witch hazel is a natural astringent. So, in addition to rinsing your eye, it will reduce redness. It works great for both allergies and pink eye.
http://www.herballegacy.com/Eye_Ailments.html
I have also heard that grape seed extract is great for allergies.
