While it is important to head to the doctor to get treatment for pink eye, it is nice to be able to treat it at home if you cannot see a medical professional right away. Fortunately, there are a few home remedies that allow anyone to be able to reduce discomfort while waiting to see a doctor. If your eyes feel uncomfortable, treating pink eye using some home remedies may help.
Primary Steps
One of the first steps to take is to make sure your eyes are as comfortable as they can be when affected by pink eye. This means that you should keep any contact lenses out while the eyes are healing, as they will not only further irritate your eyes, but also may still have the virus or bacteria on them, infecting the eyes again. You should also avoid wearing eye makeup during this time so that the eyes stay as comfortable as they can be.
Using Compresses
If you have lots of drainage that results in crust around the eyes, you should boil warm water and salt together, wait for it to cool, and then wipe the crust away from the eyes with this mixture on a soft cloth. Once you have gotten rid of the crust, you can use the washcloth as a warm compress, holding it against your eyes for a few minutes several times each day. This is best for the infectious forms of pink eye, while treating pink eye caused by allergies is usually easier with a cold compress. Make sure to use a clean washcloth everyday.
Eye Drops
Treating pink eye that is caused by allergies is quite easy when you use eye drops that are made for this purpose, such as antihistamines and anti-inflammatory eye drops. If your pink eye is caused by dry weather or lots of wind, you should use drops that are meant to keep moisture in your eyes. Unfortunately, over-the-counter eye drops do not treat contagious pink eye very effectively, and the kind made for reducing redness should especially be avoided since they will only irritate your eyes further. Your doctor will likely give you antibiotic drops if you have bacterial pink eye, so consider using other treatments like compresses in the meantime.