We've been experiencing some health issues at the Gunbunny household as of late. My children have contracted conjunctivitis from a friend of theirs and I'm trying to keep it at bay. Besides the unusual spate of hand washing and keeping them from touching their (and eachothers) faces, I decided to try an old method. Knowing that conjunctivitis will burn itself out, I thought the best thing to do is keep their eyes clean and as free from pain and itching as possible, and let it run it's course. Not so; I called the local pharmacies to locate some pain relieving eye drops, and found out they don't carry any such drops anymore. They want you to go to the doctor for an antibiotic. So, after talking to my mother, she recommended Boric Acid. Also to no avail. The pharmacies won't sell it to you, because you are too stupid to prepare an eyewash yourself. They want you to go to the doctor for an antibiotic instead. I located some Boric Acid on Amazon, but a relative found some in their medicine cabinet, along with the eyewash glass. I looked at the container, and the price tag said it was .91 cents. It had to be thirty years old. Boric Acid is Boric Acid, a pretty weak acid at that. I mixed a batch for myself and Mrs Gunbunny according to the directions- 1 1/2 teaspoon in a half pint of previously boiled water. It took a lot of time to dissolve, but went a little faster when I swished the container around gently. I filled the eye cup half full and while leaning over a sink, put the cup to my eye and tilted my head back. It didn't hurt, actually it was less of a pain than using Visene or saline. The Misses and I used the eyecup and Boric acid. So far, we are two weeks into not contracting conjunctivitis. So far so good, as pinkeye can be contagious for two weeks after signs dissipate. The directions were not (strangely enough) specific and actually devoid of information on dosing. I decided to dose once a day to keep the pinkeye away.
@gunbunny ... AlaskaChick RN, concurs completely, with your treatment, and would add some Warm Water Compresses as well, to the effected area... This would be, and was, her treatment, back when our children were in that situation... Good for you folks....
I did use a warm, wet towel to help them open their eyes in the morning. I didn't get the time to make a complete write-up. Here's the rest of the situation: I wound up taking my son to the doctor and getting him antibiotics. His conjunctivitis somehow managed to go from the eyes, down the lacrimal ducts to his sinuses, down the sinuses to the eustationary tubes, and finally to his inner ear. Once he complained about his ear hurting, I knew it was time to take him into the doctor. Ear infections run in my family, so I don't play around with them. Had I been able to get everything I needed (pain/itch relieving eye drops, colloidal silver, and Boric Acid) I believe we could have staved off his inner ear infection. As it happened, we finally came into possession of the Boric Acid at the same day he developed the ear infection. I was a little leery about using the BA on my children- "it's an acid!" everyone kept saying. I tested it out on me, later the Misses went on to try some after she saw I was in no discomfort whatsoever. If this were to happen again, I wouldn't hesitate to use the BA and I'm sure it would have been a completely different story, because I would dose my children with it too. The problem is, (except for colloidal silver, I ran out and need to get more) all the needed chemicals are not available anymore without a doctor's prescription. How pathetic is that? Amazon is my friend, and when this is over, I'll be getting a 16oz bag of Boric Acid and more colliodal silver. I don't know what to do about the eye itchiness. An older child will understand NOT to rub their eyes, but a young child will just keep rubbing. Then, they get it all over their hands and ready to spread it everywhere. Does anyone know what would relieve the itching? Is that another time to use the warm compress? Dosing would be another problem. I would not dose the Boric Acid and colloidal silver back to back; they would probably react with each other in a chemical reaction. Personally, I would spread them out by at least a few hours. Of course, I would only add a drop of colloidal silver if I believe they were having a lot of problems fighting off the infection themselves. Another drop of colloidal silver in the ear canal to help with the ear infection (it worked for me several times) if I caught it early enough. Another problem I had was finding the Amoxicillin! I went to two pharmacies in my area and they couldn't fill the prescription. I went to the third and they had it in abundance. I was shocked- Amoxicillin is like the second most used antibiotic out there. If they don't have that, what else don't they have? Maybe it was a problem with the chain- the two that didn't have it were Rite-Aid pharmacies, the other was CVS. Maybe something to think about, maybe not. Anyway. 3 out of 4 isn't bad, but if I was in a far worse situation, I would be struggling for something to help my son.
I found a cheap spot for Boric Acid Boric Acid its also, in dry form, a great household bug killer I use the eyewash but I do 1 tsp in a cup of water, boil it and let it cool. I have not tried the stronger mix that @gunbunny posted.
Weaker solutions work well. I mix 1/16 (approx.) into 1/8 cup microwaved water (not to boiling). Then use cotton balls saturated in the COOLED liquid for relief of symptoms and itching. Boiling the water does two things, it forces out the chlorine (not chloramine) and purifies. The microwave cooks the bugs instantly so warming the water to 180 degrees (less than 1 minute on high) is enough.
Colloidal silver is like mineral not a chemical so there should be no conflict there . I would, if I had a continuous problem, add CS to my drinking water and get it in my bloodstream and give it a change to deal with the problem internally . may be 3-4 oz a day.
For the women folk, boric acid powder placed in a capsule and inserted vaginally, will cure a yeast infection. A wonderful cure given to me by a doctor who sympathized with my remote location. You may have to repeat it but I never have.
