Natural Remedies for Common Eye Problems

We’ve all been there—you wake up with some eye discomfort and aren’t sure what to do. Do you need to make an appointment to see a doctor today? Or is there something you can do at home to make your eye feel better? Some eye conditions, like a detached retina, are vision-threatening, but other issues are small and may not warrant an immediate trip to the eye doctor. But that doesn’t make them any less annoying! What can be done? Are there any natural remedies for common eye problems?

It’s not always easy to find the best and most effective ways to treat common vision conditions at home. So, we’ve done our research to help you! Here are a few natural remedies for some of the most common eye problems you can do from the comfort of your home.

1. Styes

Styes, though harmless in the long run, are possibly the most annoying eye problem. A stye is a tender, often red, lump that forms on the edge of the eyelid. A lump may sometimes form on the inside of the eyelid which is called a chalazion.

A stye often begins its short life as a pimple-type of lump on the eyelid and expands in size for three days. After two to five days, the stye will break and drain on its own. You’ll likely feel completely normal in a week. However, styes can sometimes be painful.

Chalazia, on the other hand, take more time to grow and will likely not cause any pain. However, chalazia may affect your vision depending on where they develop and how large they grow. They often go away within a month with no treatment.

Both styes and chalazia are caused by a bacterial infection or when the oil ducts become blocked.

Natural Remedies for Styes

Just because these lumps go away without treatment doesn’t mean that there aren’t natural remedies for these common eye problems that will ease the symptoms in the meantime.

The best way to alleviate a stye is to use a warm compress. This compress will also help to open up the glands so that the stye can heal and drain more quickly. Use a warm and wet compress, such as a cloth damp with lukewarm water, on the affected eye for five to 10 minutes. For the best and most effective results, do this three to six times a day until the stye has healed.

It’s very important that during the healing process you do not try to pop the stye yourself. It isn’t like a pimple, even though it may look like one. Let it open on its own. It’s also important not to wear eye makeup during this time.

If your stye does not go away within a week or the chalazion grows to impair your vision, a doctor may need to drain the lump. Do not attempt to do this on your own.

2. Night Blindness

Night blindness can happen for numerous reasons and leaves us almost unable to see at night. This impedes our ability to go out during the night and can affect night driving.

Although the name night blindness implies total blindness, it doesn’t actually mean you’re blind at night. It just means you have low night vision. People with night blindness can see in the dark, but it’s more of a struggle. Their retinas don’t take in what little light there is as effectively as eyes normally would.

Still, night blindness can be debilitating especially to the elderly. It can result in a loss of freedom and make people dependent on others when going out at night.

Though night blindness is not a disease, it is a symptom of an underlying problem. Vision conditions that can cause night blindness include myopia, cataracts, glaucoma, and vitamin A deficiency.

Natural Remedies for Night Blindness

There are several natural remedies available to help improve low night vision. There is no cure for it, unless the night blindness is caused by a vitamin A deficiency. In that case, the person affected will need to address the deficiency to cure the night blindness.

For everyone else, here are some tips to help see once the sun goes down:

• Have your eyes adjust to the dark naturally. This remedy takes a lot of patience as it requires you to sit in a dark room for 20 minutes. Doing this right before it gets dark outside will allow you to see once the sun sets because your eyes will already be adjusted to the light.
• Give your eyes a little massage. Close your eyes and gently apply pressure to the eyes with your fingers or palms. Do this for about 10 seconds, then rest for a second and open your eyes. You should be able to see slightly better in the dark after this.
• Don’t look at direct light at night. This is especially important if you’re driving. Looking at a direct light source can temporarily blind people with night blindness. So if you see a pair of headlights coming toward you, avert your eyes to the side of the road as they drive by.

3. Uveitis

Uveitis is a complicated vision problem because it is a very broad term used to describe inflammation in the eyes. For our purposes, we’ll be focusing on a less severe type of uveitis that normally affects the uvea.

The uvea is the middle layer of the eye that rests between the white of the eye and the deep inner layers. Uveitis is most common in the front of the eye, anterior uveitis. However, it can also affect the ciliary body (intermediate uveitis) and the back of the eye (posterior uveitis).

Uveitis can be caused by almost anything. Regardless of the cause, uveitis can cause quite a lot of discomfort. Symptoms include redness in the eye, pain, blurred vision, floaters in the eye, and sensitivity to light.

Natural Remedies for Uveitis

Unlike the other eye problems on our list, uveitis can become a serious condition if not treated. If you think you may have inflammation in the eye, talk to your doctor immediately.

A typical treatment for uveitis is prescription eye drops and antibiotics. However, these two natural remedies for this eye problem work in the short-term but don’t hold off future uveitis developments.

To prevent uveitis from coming back, you need to eat an anti-inflammatory diet. This includes a diet high in vegetables, whole grains, fish, and fruit. Other foods like ginger, turmeric, and green tea are natural anti-inflammatories.

If you’re not big on tea but love your coffee in the morning, try mixing in turmeric with the coffee and your sweetener of choice (we recommend coconut oil). This way you have a natural anti-inflammatory in addition to your necessary morning jolt!

So next time you develop a stye or uveal infection, or you’re having trouble seeing at night, try these at-home remedies. If symptoms persist, it’s important that you visit an eye doctor to make sure your eyes are properly taken care of.