Most eye drop solutions are nothing more than saline solution. Buy an eye dropper and fill it with saline solution (that costs 99 cents a pint on sale) and use that when your eyes are dry. Much better than paying $3-$5 for 1 ounce of eye drops!
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That same saline solution can also be used for nose drops to clear a stuffy nose. It's even safe to use on newborns, an age you wouldn't be able to use most over-the-counter decongestants.
You need to be extremely careful with putting anything in your eyes that is not sterile. An eye infection is not worth it.
What like swimming in the sea or pool, or walking in the rain or washing your face....
Putting anything homemade in your eyes can be dangerous. If it isn't absolutely sterile you could get an infection.
Visine has a powerful astringent called 'tetrahydrozoline' which is why it is so effective. It also contains anti-microbial agents to maintain sterility.
add a few drops of silver colloidal water to sterilize, and of course boil for a few minutes (before you add the colloidal of course..)
Isn't gargling with salt water (saline water) medicinal when it kills the bacteria and I get relief from my sore throat? ( probably one of the most effective methods I have ever used ...)
John and Sharon must be insiders to the eyecare industry. Indoctrinated! "Gotta buy our industry's drops and solutions--it's the ONLY way!"
To make your own saline, use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of baking soda!
Enjoy
I am getting the impression that some readers may be thinking about sterility of any solution as a lasting property. Yes, eye drops are sterile when you purchase and first open them but that can quickly change if the tip touches your eye. Most of these solutions would have some form of preservative to not spoil. I am no expert but the water we shower with is not sterile, yes? We are tolerant to a degree and one reader's suggestion of boiling the home-made solution sounds good. A quick search on sterilization should do it.
You can not just put in "1/4 to 1/2 tsp of salt" into water and get saline. Saline is 0.9% salt in water, which means it has a specific amount of salt per quantity of water. For every 100ml of water, there needs to be 0.9 g of salt, anything less and the solution will be hypotonic (less salt concentration than the body), anything more and it will be hypertonic (more salt concentration than the body). In addition, saline solution can only last a day or so when in contact with outside air- it will soon become contaminated.
I used to get sore eyes from cats (well not from the cats directly - the eyes were mine) and home-made saline solution with a not particularly precise amount of salt in boiled water (that had of course cooled before I put it to my eyes) worked wonders every time. It doesn't need to be that precise to work great for allergic soothing.
I used this for a science fair project and it worked fine. 1/4 teaspoon iodized salt boiled into 1 cup of tap water.
Iodized salt has aluminum derivatives and anti caking agents in it. Tap water is pretty toxic also. Just the chemicals they bleach it out with would be a red flag for me. Boiling the chemical tap water does not help make it safe for the eye.
not all of us can take over the counter eye drops. I am allergic as well. I will try this recipe. Sounds amazing. Salt is also a natural antibacterial. I can't wait to see how this will work for my eyes. Infections I would think would more likely to get by dirty hands rubbing eye which are dry all the time. Thank you for this recipe
no thank you chemicals are worse. ro water would also work to boil. I am so excited to try this recipe.
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