There seems to be a crazy number of people sick lately. This time of year it is common to hear about flus and colds but my family wanted to be a little different so we tried pink eye on for size.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I’ve even heard someone mention pink eye but over the past week we’ve suddenly become very familiar.

The term “pink eye” is used to describe the red appearance of the white parts of the eyes that happens as a result of an infection that can be bacterial or viral. Both types often spread from one eye to the other and cause itchy, burning, and swelling of the eye and surrounding tissue.

The viral version is often associated with a cold and usually clears on its own without treatment after about a week. It’s very contagious, just like a cold, and does not require direct contact to spread.

Bacterial pink eye is usually accompanied by a yellow discharge that may cause the eyelids to stick together. It is spread through direct contact which, if you have ever been around sick kids, you know happens A LOT. Antibiotics is the standard treatment and it make take a week or longer to clear.

Unless, of course, you implement an integrative plan! We reduced our healing time to 3-4 days with very little discomfort.

Here are some suggestions to use as part of your pink eye plan:

1. Frequent hand and washcloth washing.
2. Bath the eyes, try not to rub as this causes more irritation. Use a hot washcloth and place over the eyes then gently clean the area. Once clean, especially at bedtime, I found a nice cool cloth over the eyes for a few minutes was very soothing.
3. Use a dropper and apply colloidal silver often
4. Take probiotics, vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin D at doses recommended by your ND
5. Use essential oils – on the soles of feet, rubbed into the lymph node channel that runs from behind the ears and down the neck, on the tummy to stimulate immune cells, and in diffusers. Some good options are Thieves, lavender, frankincense, and myrrh
6. Visualize – the mind is a powerful thing and visualizing healing is a wonderful tool to use with adults and children! We like to image happy monsters going around the body eating up little bugs that are making us sick. We also imagine all of our remedies causing a boost in the number of the helpful guys every time we take a dose. Come up with an image that works for you!