The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Rhonda (Lakewood, Ca) on 06/13/2015
★★★★★
After trying the cures suggested on EC, I had to take the time to report how well they worked. My eyes first started tearing so much, it looked and felt like I was crying. My vision was blurry and the skin around was irritated. Then they started to feel like I had something in them so I went to the eye doctor thinking I had pink eye but the doctor said no and gave me some antibiotic drops since I insisted. They continued to get progressively worse. I started feeling pressure behind my eyes and they became sensitive to light and weren't focusing properly. I went to a different eye doctor who ruled out glaucoma and gave me more eye drops and a diagnosis of dry eyes. He said it was due to age and that I would have this condition from now on. The drops barely gave me any relief. I was very concerned about the future of my eyes.
Fortunately, I knew about EC and decided to give it a try. I used the remedies that were most accessible before going to bed: aloe vera and castor oil on eyelids, oil pulling, and honey inside bottom lid plus I drank a little apple cider vinegar.
The next morning, improvements were noticeable! Each day they continue to improve. The sun doesn't bother me. Computer and cell phone glare doesn't bother me. They get a little moist at times but no more tears or conjunctivitis symptoms and the pressure behind my eyes is gone. They occasionally do get a little dry and that seems to make them blurry when I'm reading and I wake up with one dry eye but that one was worse off to begin with.
I will try some of the other remedies if it continues. I didn't expect the remedies to work but desperate enough to try and I am glad that I did. Thank you posters and bless you for helping others like me.
Castor Oil
Posted by AngeleAlAahna (Florida) on 07/27/2021
★★★★★
I felt instant relief, back to normal. I feel I don't even have eyeballs.
Fish or Flax Seed Oil
Posted by Grandmah (Long Island, Ny, Usa) on 01/08/2012
★★★★★
Since I have been taking Omega super krill I do not have dry eyes.
Acupuncture
Posted by Almost Cured (Washington, Dc, Usa) on 12/31/2010
★★★★★
Hi - I had gradually worsening dry eyes due to lots of computer time and, I realize, worsening circulation despite exercising vigorously on a daily basis. I did oil pulling in the summer and it helped some, but then tried acupunture this fall for general wellness (after a marathon) and alas! Dry eyes became significantly better, along with circulation in extremities. I cannot speak more highly to the benefits of acupunture. Do yourself a favor and try it out in 2011!
Coconut Oil
Posted by C. (Charlotte, NC) on 03/15/2015
★★★★☆
My eyes are dry, especially my right eye. I wear contacts as well as glasses. (Mostly contacts, extended wear.) My eye doc once asked me if I sleep with my eyes open. I asked why and she mentioned something about dry eyes. That was years ago.
I had read about coconut oil being used in the eyes for parasites and even though my condition was different, I felt like it wouldn't hurt to put coconut oil in my own eyes. I did some research and decided to go ahead. I opened a fresh jar of coconut oil (organic unrefined), washed my hands, removed my lenses, got a clean spoon, and scooped out a tiny bit with the tip of the spoon.
Coconut oil melts pretty much as soon as it hits skin so I thought it should melt quickly in my eye as well. (I keep my unopened jars of coconut oil on the floor in my office so the oil is usually more on the solid side.)
I went into the bathroom (better lighting though I didn't really need to see anything) and held my head back. Then I realized I didn't want to put the spoon in my eye so I put a little oil on the tip of my clean finger. I kind of swiped my finger in my eye just enough to get the oil in without actually touching my eye with my finger. It felt soothing then it burned a tiny bit. Not in a bad way, much the same as when I use my saline to flush my eyes when they feel dirty or gritty after returning home from being out all day.
I used a cotton swab to swipe lightly across my eyeball, in an effort to remove any dirt or debris that might be present. Then I added more oil and rolled my eyeball back and forth a few times, to make sure it got under my eyelid, etc. After a while, it felt really good. Then I did the other eye.
The downside was that the oil left a film on my eyes, which meant I had to wear my glasses so I didn't get the oil on my contact lenses. I didn't know how long it would take for the film to subside but I knew I didn't want to oil up my lenses. Luckily I didn't have to go anywhere the next day.
Since then, I do it whenever I need to soothe my eyes, when they get red or feel too irritated from my contacts. I always try for a time when I'll be able to wear my glasses for at least 24 hours.
I still have dry eyes but when I use the coconut oil, it is very soothing. I'm not sure if using the oil more often would eventually "cure" me of dry eyes. Maybe if I didn't rely so much on my contact lenses.
Oil Pulling
Posted by Maryann (Springfield, Ma) on 03/19/2010
★★★★★
Hurray for this website!!! I have been bothered by "Dry Eyes" for YEARS! Yesterday I happened upon your oil pulling remedy and figured "oh, well, it can't hurt to try". I used the only oil I had on had which was a homemade blend I make for my skin of sweet almond and grapeseed. Within 20 minutes of using the treatment you suggested I was SHOCKED to feel relief from it. I have been using over the counter eye drops all day long everyday for years. Yesterday after your remedy I didn't use any and I still haven't used any in over 24 hours!!! Thank you!!! Talk about FAST RELIEF!! I am thrilled!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by E'Leighne (Compton, California) on 03/04/2008
★★★★★
... I just started taking 1T cider vinegar every day in my water for about 2 weeks. I noticed my eyes are not as dry in the mornings as they usually are.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Paola (Canada) on 05/24/2015
To reply for the parasite in distilled water, you can safely replace the distilled water to a contact lens solution that has no chemical in it its the saline solution of baush& lomb for sensitive eyes. Found in different pharmacies .
Nettles
Posted by Kerri (Fl) on 02/14/2024
★★★★★
Ever since covid, I have had regular issues with my eyes being red and dry and burning. Several visits to the eye Dr were not much help. All they say is looks like maybe an allergic reaction. I've never had allergies before and it's interesting that the first time this issue started, I ended up with covid two days later. But NETTLES have come to the rescue. I take 2 capsules as soon as I notice symptoms and my eyes are relieved very quickly. So far I haven't taken them more than once per day, but I may do that soon. Anyone else out there with lots of eye problems that started during the "covid" years?
Dietary Changes
Posted by Annie (MA) on 01/16/2023
★★★★★
I have dry eyes but giving up coffee which quite a few of EC readers recommend would be hard for me! So I cold brew it overnight using dark roast beans which are less acidic than light roast. Cold-brewed coffee is less acidic than regular. I limit coffee to about 4 oz / day because it's so dehydrating. Also, most days I eat a handful of raw pumpkin seeds, which are very alkaline. While I still have some dry eye and dry mouth at night only, a humidifier has helped somewhat.
Since thyroid medication for low thyroid can also cause dryness, especially if you're an elder, and since coffee and most herbs are dehydrating (some herbs more than others), hydrating foods like cucumbers and watermelons can help. When my eyes were at their worst, I put cucumber slices on my closed eyelids for about 20 minutes several times a day and on the first day there was real improvement.
On the second and third day I also ate half a cucumber and continued with the slices. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), hot and dry is associated with yang and cold and damp with yin. Not only is apartment air mostly too hot and dry in winter, chemicals in our air and water are very drying. Dry eye is an inflammatory condition with redness, heat and not enough yin fluids. So "strengthening yin" is recommended for convalescing, chronically ill or frail people. Some foods that strengthen yin are cooked string beans and beets, many whole grains, sardines, eggs, seaweed, and certain beans. Eyes are considered skin and in TCM skin conditions are linked to the liver.
Also associated with the liver are irritability and anger-- hot emotions. They resolve when the liver energy is flowing. Liver thrives on movement and dance---even moving in place when cooped up inside! Reading on EC that aloe can cure dry eye makes sense to me from a TCM perspective: aloe is cooling and mercifully soothing for inflammation, burns and severe itching. I don't use liquid aloe b/c all brands preserve it with citric acid, which I can't tolerate. So I keep aloe plants and snip off a small bit of branch when needed. I'm grateful to this plant!
TMG, Vitamin A +
Posted by mastershay (Albuquerque, NM) on 03/29/2022
★★★★★
The following keeps my eyes feeling good after having been dry for 10+ years:
TMG (Trimethyl glycine)
Sinus rinse with three drops of emulsified vitamin A (along with the salt and baking soda)
Dextrose (no other form of sugar)
Castile soap, fragrance-free for shampoo and everything (regular soaps irritate my eyes)
The following make my eyes feel worse:
Straight Sugar and foods with it (all other forms other than dextrose... however, a certain clear soda would temporarily make my eyes better)
Diets too low in starchy foods, such as G.A.P.S. (starches are needed to convert to glucose)
Castor Oil
Posted by MissM (NY) on 12/28/2020
You should try taking hyaluronic acid. See if this can help you. Most people apply HA as serum to skin, but it's actually very helpful internally.
Inversion
Posted by Sasha (Santa Barbara) on 04/28/2019
★★★★★
I had dry eye for years, my MD ran thyroid and hormone test, all normal. I saw 4 different eye doctors did what they suggested, I even got the blue light blocking eyeglasses, to stop eye strain I took drops and tried everything … castor oil, didn't help me. I also stopped gluten and sugar. One day my chiropractor suggested a inversion table for my back so I got one and use it daily for 12 minutes a day. Within one week my dry eye problem disappeared.( inversion tables are NOT recommended for people that have high pressure/glaucoma in their eyes)
Anyhow at that same time I started the inversion table, I had also started adding two to three teaspoons of Lecithin Granules, to my smoothies I noticed that it made the whites of my eyes super white and clear. So, perhaps it is the combination of the two that worked.
Evening Primrose Oil, Vitamin E
Posted by Katherine (Cincinatti) on 05/31/2018
★★★★★
I take evening primrose oil AND vitamin E oil since going through menopause to treat very dry eyes. The combo is very effective. I take 1 capsule of vitamin e in the morning and 1 capsule of EPO, morning and evening. Hope this helps
Manuka Honey
Posted by Dee (Florida) on 12/18/2017
★★★★★
I tired many things for my dry itchy eyes. What worked for me was natural raw Honey or Manuka Honey. You can dab it on the eyes straight or dilute it in a drop of pure water.
Fruit
Posted by Coco (Earth) on 06/18/2017
★★★★★
My dry red eyes are 100% cured! I have a pinguculae in each eye too which have significantly reduced in size and are becoming paler. The blood vessels in my eyes are pale pink now instead of being big red and angry looking.
In just two days of eating 1 pakistani fresh ripe mango in the morning an hour before eating any other food and 1 mango in the evening my dry eyes are completely relieved. This is a miracle!
Mangos from the indian subcontinent are very high in nutrition. I am going to do this every day during mango season. I eat other fruits as well but mangos made the biggest difference. When mango season is over I will keep eating a large amount of juicy fruits (a large amount of oranges, kiwis, melon, seeded grapes, cherries, etc). My body must have been severely lacking nutrition.
It has been exactly one week since I started eating two larges Pakistani mangos a day. I can see a lovely healthy shiny tear film over my eye. The change has been so drastic. I can't stop looking at my eyes. I used to hate looking at them, but now they are beautiful! :)
I tried other things too before I upped my fruit intake (apple cider vinegar eye drops, castor oil eye drops, etc). These were treating the symptom, not the cause. The cause was I wasn't eating the amount of fruit my body needed!
I can't tell you how happy I am. This has made such a positive difference to my life.
Please, please increase your fruit intake. In one day have the equivalent of two large oranges, 10 cherries, 10 seeded grapes, a quarter of pineapple, 2 kiwis. It sounds like a lot of fruit to eat every day but this is the amount of fruit we NEED to be eating every day.
My skin is also more moisturised, I dont need to apply oil to it after a shower anymore like I have had to for the last 25 years!
Honestly, this is nothing short of a miracle!
Frankincense and Lemon Oil
Posted by Rob (Kentucky) on 01/05/2015
★★★★★
I have suffered from dry eyes with itchy eyelids and goop forming in my eyes for over two years and was prescribed various eye drops from my VA Dr's to keep my eyes lubed, "treat the symptoms and not the problem" is the way Dr's do medicine today. Finally, I went to a older OP Dr who told me that my dry eye was called Blepharitis (blef-uh-RI-tis) and commonly occurs when tiny oil glands located near the base of the eyelashes malfunction and clog. This leads to inflamed, irritated and itchy eyelids. Several diseases and conditions can cause blepharitis but in my case it was caused by microscopic mite, partying in my oil glands and clogging up the lubricating process.
He prescribed a new essential oil towlet that contained Tea Tree Oil with other compounded to whip my eyes with 2x/daily, but after 2 weeks of use, my eyes looked sunk into my head and the chemicals in the towlets dried up my eyes so back that I didn't finish the 30 day supply.
Now to how I cured myself. I beleive in the healing properties of plants and hit the research books to which plant oils are safe for use around the eyes. What I came up with is Frankincense and Lemon oil. Here is my recipe:
*one teaspoon coconut oil
*10 drops frankincense oil - properties as an antiseptic, disinfectant, astringent.
*10 drops lemon oil - properties are anti-infection, astringent, antiseptic, disinfectant.
Both oils are used in womens beauty creams so dont be scared of using them. (NEVER put essential oils in eyes! )
Mix until uniformed in a small glass or ceramic dipping bowl.
Using your clean finger apply mixture around your eye (but not in it) cover top and lower skin of your eyelids. Then around the eye socket, over nose bridge and down your nose and over your eye brows. Do this at night before bed for 14 days. Cured and I must say my eyesight is much sharper today. Ca'nt explain that one.
Castor Oil
Posted by Edna (Hayward, Ca) on 07/12/2013
★★★★★
I have been using castor oil for dry eyes after using many different eye drops that did not work.
The other result that I have observed is that it also makes eyebags minimized. Apply cold expressed castor oil with your clean finger to lower and upper eyelids - on top of the lashes, Results- eyebags will remarkably disappear.
Baking Soda
Posted by Nancy Bennett (Michigan) on 07/27/2018
How often should this be done? once, twice a day?
Grape Seed Oil
Posted by M_mtz (El Centro, Ca, Usa) on 11/20/2011
★★★★★
Hi all- Went shopping at a local grocery store few months ago and they had a sale on Grape Seed Oil so thought I'd give it a try for cooking instead of the regular olive oil, never use Veg Oil or other bad oils. I used it for frying eggs in the morning. So surprised when the following day, my dry eyes were completely normal again. I'm 50 so just thought dry eye was part of aging process. Was not looking for a remedy and stumbled upon it by surprise and glad to have normal eye lube again! Thought I had to pass it on! Also use it on my skin and love the texture. I've heard it a super antioxidant. My friend now uses it on her salads and loves it as she says it is much lighter than olive oil. Best wishes to all!
Grape Seed Oil
Posted by M_mtz (El Centro, Ca, USA) on 06/03/2012
Hi Francisca- Dying to know if that GSO help you any? I've continued to use it and it's been well over a year and notices some changes. Besides completely clearing my dry eye problem, I use it after my morning shower and now my feet have never been softer! I don't even put it on my feet as I'm afraid of slipping but I guess it has traveled from ingesting or whatever and my formerly dinosaur feet are now almost as soft as my hands and they have never been like that! Also notice my thyroid glands on my right side which were slightly swollen, have very slowly started to feel less so. Also, I'm a big girl, 52 and just went to have lab work and could not believe almost all my levels were perfect. Never had such good lab results! Will continue use and report back! Cheers All!! In Good Health, Martha
Aloe Vera, Avoid Coffee
Posted by Eileen (Summerville, Sc) on 01/28/2014
I'm sorry to sound dense, but do I apply it to the inside of my eyelid or on the outside of my eyelid? I have two aloe plants and can use fresh, pure aloe. I'm hoping this will work for me. I had lasik surgery, and now my eyes are so dry and the lasik is not working. It's been 6 months since the surgery.
Fish or Flax Seed Oil
Posted by Dina (Naples, Florida) on 07/08/2010
★★★★★
Fish OIL make me feel much better by the next day. I took 1200 mg before going to bed that night and 2400 mg (2 cap of 1200 mg) the next morning,so far no dry eyes, Thank you all for the information!
