Susan (Stroudsburg, Pa) on 04/04/2011
Replied By Beverly (AL) on 07/04/2022
Replied By Rob (Kentucky) on 03/11/2024
How to Make a Boric Acid Eye Wash
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Bottled Water Boiled
- 1/8 to 1 teaspoon of Boric Acid Powder
Note:
- 1/8 is a weaker solution
- one teaspoon is a stronger solution
Directions:
Use sterilized containers to make this solution. My Grandma would boil the water on the stove, turn the heat off and then add the 1/8 teaspoon Boric acid and stir until the Boric acid was completely incorporated into the water. She would cool it completely and keep it in a sterilized jelly jar.
She would pour it in our eyes with a eyedropper when we were kids and she thought we had an infection. I like to keep it in a bottle and soak a cotton ball to put against my eye. It always worked. Boric acid is an antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-fungal. It reduces inflammation and itchiness. My Grandmother also used this on the dogs and I have as well with wonderful results.
Replied By Madelyn (Idaho) on 03/12/2024
Thanks for the clarification, Rob!I made up a batch of the drops and used them a couple of times before my son went to bed. His eyes are already looking better. I'm grateful to have this remedy on hand.
Replied By Rob (Kentucky) on 10/16/2024
Boric Acid Eye Wash Solution: Rob's Improved Formula
- Boric acid – 1/8 (weaker)– one teaspoon (stronger), Boric acid readily dissolves in hot water.
- Sodium chloride USP – one teaspoon (I use neti-pot salt that comes in packets)
- Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) – 1/4 teaspoon, It acts as a buffer so the formula won't sting or burn the eyes and also alkaline the formula.
- Povidone-iodine – see below
- Water – one cup (8oz) boiled and cooled
Some people have gotten results using just one or two ingredients to resolve their eye issue's. This formula is for more difficult cases where the infection can be caused by fungus (like candida, keratitis, endophthalmitis) bacteria (like chlamydial, gonorrhoeae, stapphlococcus, streptococcus) virus (like herpes simplex type 1, adenovirus, zoster virus) parasites (like amoeba, acanthamoebia, demox mites, toxoplasma, ets..)
It gets pretty gross when you think how micoorganisms are transmitted. Like, from mother to the baby during childbirth or due to the contact of infected semen or vaginal fluids with the eyes. These infections can be spread from eye to eye by fingers, watery vaginal discharges from women and men not washing their hands afterwards, shared towels or cloths, coughing and sneezing, touching surfaces like door knobs or gas pumps and eye-seeking flies. Always wash your hands throughly several times daily.
How to use: Allow solution to cool to luke warm and apply either with an eye cup wash or by soaking a cotton ball saturated with the boric acid solution washing the eye carefully and allowing the solution into the eye. Relief and healing is very quick, often within the day of application. Use 3 times a day for pink eye. It is very soothing. I have never taken my kids to the doctor for pink eye. This clears it up so fast.
Note: If using eye cups to rinse out eyes, I like to use one drop or more of Povidone iodine 10% (increase to tolerance) in the eye cup solution, which is about 1oz.
Replied By Rob (Kentucky) on 10/08/2024
This form of acute ophthalmia is similar to the one just described. It is very communicable and most probably transmits infection by a specific organism.
Weeks was the first to describe a definite micro-organism causing this disease. The Weeks bacillus is short and has rounded ends. It stains very easily with methylene blue. It is intensely contagious and spreads rapidly, especially in schools. Children under fifteen years are especially susceptible.
The diplo-bacillus of Morax was described by him in June, 1896, in the Annal de l'Institut Pasteur. The inflammation is frequently due to the presence of the diplo-bacilli. The inflammation usually begins in one eye and infects the other a few days later. Its course may be either chronic or acute. Gauze saturated with warm boric acid solution should be applied over the eye, and warmth continued by the external application of an electric pad or hot water bottle. Some cases respond better to cold applications, but these are exceptional.
From the Book: Diseases of Infancy and Childhood for Practitioners and Students in Medicine Vol 2, page 985,1928 by Louis Fischer MD
Replied By Rio (Portland) on 02/08/2026
There's a flu going around here that causes pink eyes.
I keep a salt mixture of 1/4 Borax and 3/4 Celtic sea salt on hand at all times for nasal rinsing. I used this and made solution for the eyes, w a drop of iodine and a dram of colloidal silver. Works great! I used it and it kept me from getting the pink eyes.
Replied By Rob (Kentucky) on 02/09/2026
Back in the early 1930's – 60's there was an Eye Wash sold called “Collyrium Eye Wash” sold in a Cobalt Blue Bottle. It came with a cool glass blue eye cup as the lid. It's ingredients were boric acid, borax.Source image: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1878840170/vintage-collyrium-cobalt-blue-bottle-eye
or google search images “Collyrium boric acid eye wash vintage”