About two years ago, I started suffering from what my optometrist and my MD diagnosed as dry eye syndrome. Among the symptoms were redness and irritation, a feeling that something like sand was present in the eyes, and sometimes itchiness and a teary discharge. In my case, the eyes produce tears, but they dry up very quickly, causing a lack of lubrication. The culprit, according to the practitioners, is the natural aging process. In other words, some of my organs are getting old and tired and stopped functioning properly.
What to do to alleviate the symptoms? Well, the only recommendations the practitioners recommended were apply warm compresses, take frequent breaks from the computer and use artificial tears or ointments.
Not trusting the long term effects that these chemical solutions may have on my general health, I started looking for a natural remedy. From euphrasia drops, tea, and compresses, to sea buckthorn oil nothing seemed to help.
Then an herbalist suggested one drop of castor oil in each eye before sleep. Castor oil is extracted by pressing the seeds of the castor plant, also known as Ricinus communis. It is most commonly used as a laxative and in a variety of beauty care products and it has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. It contains mostly ricinoleic acid, which helps prevent and treat skin ailments, such as acne, inflammation, and abrasions. It is also used to help hair grow.
So I bought a bottle of very inexpensive cold-pressed organic castor oil at the local health food store, applied one drop to each eye, and lo and behold, my symptoms disappeared almost immediately. I discovered that the effect lasts longer if I apply one drop with my fingertip inside the eye and around it as soon as I wake up. Not only do the symptoms disappear for most of the day, but as an added benefit, my eyelashes seem to be longer and the skin around my eyes is less wrinkly.
At Herbalitea, we believe in the healing power of nature. Although we don’t sell castor oil, we use it to prepare custom made creams for a variety of skin conditions. Please contact us if you are interested in our creams.
