Honey – A Brief
We all love honey, right? And this love is shared by most people around the world. Honey has been a popular and essential part of Ayurveda since ages. Also known as ‘Shahad‘ in Hindi, ‘Tene‘ in Telugu, and ‘Madha‘ in Marathi, it owes its sweetness to the presence of monosaccharides, glucose, and fructose. Its shelf life extends up to thousands of years, making it an essential part of our kitchen. Apart from imparting flavor to food, honey also helps in curing many health ailments. The most important, yet most surprising of them is its effect on our eyes. If you go through the pages of ancient history, you’ll find that honey was used for curing several eye disorders (1). So, it is not surprising that honey was extremely popular amongst the Egyptians and Indians. Modern researchers have only reinforced this fact. For many eye infections, such as eye irritation, conjunctivitis, glaucoma, and trachoma, honey proves to be the absolute medicine. If consumed regularly, honey can prevent eye cataract to a large extent. Impressive, isn’t it?
Benefits Of Honey For Eyes
1. Cures Eye Ailments
Fresh and untreated honey is often the best medicine for a wide range of eye disorders. Honey is the best cure for eye diseases such as blepharoconjunctivitis, corneal ulcers of inflammatory and traumatic origin, and ulcerative blepharitis because of its antibacterial properties (2). For eye troubles, such as dimness of the cornea, fresh comb honey is probably the best option. If the cataract is in the initial stage, fresh comb honey is again an ideal remedy.
2. Refreshes Tired Eyes
Do you feel exhausted after sitting for long hours in front of the computer? If yes, honey is the best thing for relieving your strained eyes. Apply honey over closed eyelids. Take rest and relax with some good music playing in the background. After half an hour, wash off the honey with cold water. Your eyes will feel refreshed (3).
3. Cures Dry Eye
In today’s electronic age, many of us fall prey to dry eyes. Dry eye is a common condition in which the eye isn’t able to supply required amount of tears needed for its lubrication. Usually, the sufferers face a variety of symptoms, including pain, itchiness, reddening of the eye, and blurring of vision. This condition can easily be treated with the help of honey (4). All you need to do is to make an eyewash with honey and warm water and wash your eyes thoroughly with it. Do it before sleeping every alternate night and see the effects.
4. Prevents Macular Degeneration
As we age, we find our vision getting weaker and weaker. This blurred vision is associated with macular degeneration, which can easily be prevented with the help of honey (5). This sweet liquid is full of antioxidants that help in keeping our eye muscles healthy and working in the best way. So, if you are 25 or 50, be assured of good eyesight with the regular usage of honey.
5. Protects Your Eyes From Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a condition in which there is fluid build-up in the front part of the eye. This build-up increases the intraocular pressure in the eye, and can even lead to permanent damage to our optic nerves, resulting in vision loss. Many studies have stated that using honey as an eye drop regularly reduces the possibility of occurrence of this disease by 50% (6).
6. Keeps Your Vision Intact
It goes without saying that honey is super effective in protecting our vision (7). This is because apart from being rich in antioxidants, it also has various essential vitamins and minerals like zinc. We need an adequate amount of zinc in our body for proper functioning of our optical nerves. Use honey eye drops regularly to protect your vision.
7. Cures Conjunctivitis
We all, at some point in time or the other, fall victim to the pink eye and are forced to wear sunglasses to prevent it from spreading. This condition is even more prevalent in small children, making them all agitated and irritated from watery eyes and itching. Well, several studies have pointed out that honey eye drops work effectively cure conjunctivitis (8).
8. Reduces Eye Wrinkles
We all afraid of signs of aging that throw us off the hook even before we start feeling old. Thankfully, apart from treating eye disorders, honey is also amazing in reducing wrinkles and fine lines around our eyes (9). You just need to apply some honey on your closed eyes and let it rest for 15 minutes. Then, wash it off with warm water.
9. Treats Sore Eyes
From staying up the entire night to being a victim of an eye infection, there are many reasons that lead to sore eyes. However, you can get rid of this puffiness by using honey (10). Consume honey regularly, and you will be okay in no time.
10. Heals Eye Infection
Have you ever used honey for eye infection? Honey is coined to be the best remedy for curing all sorts of eye infections, whether they are caused due to bacteria, virus, or any other microorganisms. As we already know, honey has antibacterial properties, which make it essential in the cure of eye infections (11). All you need to do is mix equal quantities of honey and boiling water and apply this solution on your eye with the help of a cotton ball. Do it daily for best results.
11. Works As An Optic Nerve Tonic
Honey can also act as an optic nerve tonic (12). It helps in increasing the production of nitric oxide that is required for efficient blood flow to the optic nerves. So, start using honey now to ensure better vision in the future.
12. Improves Eye Lens Protein Oxidation
Whether you add it to food or use it as an eyewash, utilizing honey on a regular basis can improve eye lens oxidation, which provides you with long-lasting good vision (13).
13. Can Help In Lightening Eye Color
It might come as a surprise, but it has been proved time and again that you can use honey to lighten your eye color, that too naturally. To lighten eyes with honey, you will need to have some patience and the correct ingredients in proper proportions. Use pure honey and water for eyes to obtain the best results.
1 drop of raw honey 5 drops of warm bottled water
Make sure you store the solution in a cool and dark place. Caution: Putting anything in your eyes without proper consultation can lead to loss of vision. So, consult your doctor before taking this big step.
How To Use Honey For Eyes
The uses of honey are varied. It is popular as an external application as well as used for internal consumption. We are acquainted with many foods where honey is an essential ingredient. However, it is important to know how one may apply this liquid gold externally as well.
1. Eyewash
You need a teaspoon each of honey and warm bottled water. Dissolve honey in the warm water and let it cool down for some time. You may also refrigerate it for faster cooling. Use the solution as an eyewash when it is cool.
2. Eye Drops
For making honey eye drops, you should always go for fresh comb honey. Dissolve this honey well in the proportionate amount of distilled boiled water. Use the solution twice or thrice a day, depending on its density. Tip: While you make the honey eye drops at home, you should always remember not to store the solution for more than a week. You can make the solution on a regular basis. Do not worry if you experience an itching sensation immediately after applying the drops. This burning sensation is normal, and it will cool down gradually.
3. Topical Application
For making a soothing and relaxing eye mask, you can use egg white and vitamin E gel along with honey. For the first mask, mix a teaspoon of honey with 2-3 drops of lemon juice and egg white and apply it under your eyes. Wash it after 10-15 minutes. Put a tablespoon of vitamin E gel and a teaspoon honey in a small container and whisk well. Use this as an eye mask thrice a week for best results.
A Word Of Caution
Our eyes are really precious. Hence, we need to look out for all the possible risks associated with any product we put in our eyes, and the same goes for honey. Let’s take a look at what you need to consider before using honey for eyes: Is honey good for dark circles? Yes, honey is good for reducing dark circles. Apply a little amount of honey around your eyes before going to sleep. You may wash it off after 15 minutes or leave it on overnight.
